DELAWARE STATE FAIR RECEIVES ADVERTISING AWARDS

HARRINGTON, DE - November 7, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Staff, directors, and superintendents of the Delaware State Fair recently returned from the 2005 Maryland Association of Fairs & Shows (MAAFS) annual convention held in Gaithersburg, Maryland. According to the Delaware State Fair’s marketing and publicity director, Tricia Southard, “Given the Delaware State Fair is the only state/county fair in our state, we joined MAAFS for the ability to network with our industry peers.” According to Southard, the purpose of the MAAFS organization is to provide a mechanism for sharing information, including: ideas, methods, practices and regulations which impact fair management/operations and contribute to the best interests of the fair-going public. This sharing is accomplished through newsletters, a shared library, and the annual convention.

During the 2005 MAAFS convention, member fairs submitted items from their 2005 advertising campaigns in what is known as the Communications Awards Contest. Southard stated, “The purpose of the competition is to improve the advertising and publicity programs of fairs and shows and to provide recognition for those doing an outstanding job.” Southard explained each entry is judged on the following set of criteria:

-Motivational
-Informative
-Indicative of creative excellence
-Appropriate to activities, audience and media used
-Utilization of a central theme
-Indicative of production excellence

For the 100,000+ attendance division, the Delaware State Fair is pleased to announce its receipt of the following awards:

First place:
-Best advertising campaign
-Newspaper ad, black and white
-Promotional advertising, outdoor
-Printed promotional material, multi-page publication
-Radio
-Television
-Premium Book
-Slide presentation

Second place:
-Printed promotional material, brochure/flyer

Many of the items submitted to the MAAFS convention will be judged against fairs from across the globe at the International Association of Fairs and Expositions' (IAFE) annual convention held at the end of the month in Las Vegas, Nevada.###