San Diego County Fair

The nation’s 5th largest Fair has been a southern California institution for nearly 75 years. In 2009, the state’s 22nd District Agricultural District engaged Loma Media to create and execute a broad-based advertising campaign to help drive attendance in a difficult economic environment.

Building on the Fair’s ‘Music Mania’ theme, integrated tactics featured a dynamic mix of television & radio spots, print & outdoor advertising, plus animated online “viral” videos that provided a humorous edge to the campaign.

Electronic media was designed with “beds” for easy updating, to exploit special offers targeted to specific demographics on a daily basis.

For the first time, the Fair’s internal marketing team worked with a single partner to create unified campaigns in English and Spanish. Incorporating key cultural distinctions into the creative, Loma helped leverage an overarching thematic into concepts that resonated with targeted audiences.

The overall creative was built around an upbeat jingle written by John DeBello that played in both languages, serving as a bed for radio and television. Graphic design evoked the spirit of “old time” county fairs, underscoring familiar values and warm family experiences.

When the numbers were tallied, the 2009 San Diego County Fair had set an all-time attendance record.