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A Fair To Remember

Mainstream events like festivals and fairs can offer huge benefits to your business.

Posted 2/20/2012

By Sean O'Brien

Cows and pigs, funnel cakes and cotton candy: when you think about a state fair these are the images that probably come to mind. But take another look. Few places offer such intense foot traffic, and for forward-thinking retailers events like state fairs and festivals can be untapped bonanzas for business.

The Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul is the second largest state fair in the country, attracting between 100,000 and 230,000 people a day over its twelve-day run. The grounds are a mile square―you could see the whole fair in a day, but most need a return visit. And one of the attractions that keeps people coming back is the 3rd Lair Skatepark skate course and retail store.

During the twelve-day run of the Minnesota State Fair, 3rd Lair's 30-by-40 foot retail tent outsells its normal shop four-to-one.

3rd Lair Co-owner Mark Muller recalls submitting proposals to the fair for years before he ever got a call back. "It's extremely hard to get in because every business in Minnesota is trying to get in there to promote what they're selling," he says. "On the third year of us trying to get in, they finally accepted our proposal."

That was ten years ago. These days the 50-foot by 100-foot skatepark and 30-by-40 retail booth have become fair fixtures, complete with bleachers, picnic tables, benches, a fingerboard park, and an incredibly lucrative retail component.

"It’s a huge time commitment for us!" exclaims Muller. "It take us four weeks to setup the park, booth, and everything else. Then there are the twelve days of the fair itself, and about two weeks to take it all down. So it's a two-month commitment. Because of the fair's liability concerns, the park is only open to official 3rd Lair skaters, but we offer seven demos a day for twelve days straight. So it's a ton of work."

But Muller says it's done amazing things for his business. "We sell more at the fair than we do at our onsite shop―by about quadruple!" he says. "We bring out a fully inventoried skate shop―both hardgoods and softgoods. Our best sellers are 3rd Lair T-shirts and 3rd Lair completes. We also have our entire zone stocked with flyers promoting our upcoming events and skateboarding programs. We go through a ton of these every day. We hand out free session tokens and coupons to bring people to the park, and we see a ton of those once the fair is over. Every year it's amazing to hear how many people haven't heard of us before―even though they live within miles of the skatepark."

Considering the fair's incredible foot traffic, it's no small feat just to keep an eye on everything, put together completes, and keep the place looking good. "At minimum we have four people working at all times," he says. "During the weekends up to 10 people are working the booth. On the park side we have to schedule eight riders per show―that’s 56 people a day for twelve days straight! That’s a lot of opportunity for failure or rider cancellations. So it’s a pretty hectic schedule to maintain."

And although rare, things can get crazy. "We've literally had a perfect track record leading up to this year," says Muller. "But during this one demo we got a double whammy. First, a board shot into the crowd and split a girl's head open. Then, five minutes later, a rider slammed and knocked himself out cold! The ambulance was already called for the girl, but when they got there they attended to the rider first. That was a crazy set of circumstances. I couldn’t believe it!"

But it hardly changed his thoughts about the fair. "We'll go back every year until they fire us," says Muller. "We're always trying to make our zone more interactive, like offering stencils and a photo booth. We also might be doing a skateboard contest that ties in with our Summer Series―which is our little league of skateboarding for the state of Minnesota. That is, if we can get the fair to look beyond the liabilities issue."

Ultimately Muller says retailers should consider the opportunity these types of community events might have on their business: "It's amazing the type of positive contact you can have at these things that will help create awareness. There's always upfront costs getting into it and pulling it off, but it's totally worth it in my eyes. If you can create relevance at the event you're attending, eventually event organizers will acknowledge that. Then they won't want you to go away. In fact, they might even start paying you for your presence!"