Arlington County Fair
Outsourcing Marketing Support: Leveraging the Expertise of a Local Agency
- Comprehensive Marketing & Communications Services
- Social Media Strategy & Management
- Content Planning & Development
- Digital Advertising Strategy & Management
- Copywriting
- Graphic Design
- Event Planning
- Website Design & Development
Arlington County Fair
Outsourcing Marketing Support: Leveraging the Expertise of a Local Agency
- Comprehensive Marketing & Communications Services
- Social Media Strategy & Management
- Content Planning & Development
- Digital Advertising Strategy & Management
- Copywriting
- Graphic Design
- Event Planning
- Website Design & Development
The Challenge
As an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, the Arlington County Fair has limited capacity to create and execute their marketing strategy. Looking for an agency with local knowledge and dedicated, on-call social media and PR support, they hired us in 2023 and today, we are the Fair’s agency-of-record, charged with developing and managing a robust digital marketing and earned media campaign, organizing the Fair’s opening event, and promoting major messages and themes.
The Solution
Social Media Graphics Strategy & Management
Much of our work focuses on revitalizing the Fair’s social media presence. To optimize their accounts, establish a cohesive look-and-feel, and grow the accounts’ following, we use a combination of short-form videos and eye-catching graphics. We also develop a content calendar, craft copy, and manage the Fair’s social media accounts throughout the year.
Content Strategy and Creation
Our team’s content strategy connects the Fair’s messaging to the broader community. It includes a mix of informational and entertaining messaging to attract vendors, sponsors, entertainers, and, ultimately, visitors.
Digital and Print Ad Management
To grow audience reach, drive traffic to the Fair’s website, and increase engagement on social media, we’ve designed and managed paid digital campaigns on Meta and local news media sites. We’ve created various paid ad types, including short-form videos, GIFs, and static graphics, and audience segments to strategically deploy the breadth of the Fair’s messaging. We’ve also provided graphic design support for print signage deployed on Metro buses and digital graphics for electronic signage in the region.
Website Design and Development
In 2024 we gave the Fair’s website a facelift, improving the user experience with streamlined navigation, clearer page layout, and more succinct content. We deployed the new site in the spring in time to launch our campaign to attract vendors and entertainers for August’s Fair.
Impact
While increasing sales has not been the primary objective, it is the Fair Board’s proxy measurement for foot traffic: Ticket sales in 2023 (and again in 2024) were the highest in the Fair’s 47-year history. In addition, over our 2-year seasonal engagement, we’ve seen a 68% growth in followers on Instagram and 18% on Facebook, in addition to increased engagement across both platforms. All our digital campaigns have exceeded industry digital advertising performance benchmarks. And our earned media strategy garnered dozens of live and live-to-tape segments broadcast on television and radio, as well as numerous print and digital articles about the Fair including coverage by the Connection, Gazette Leader, Northern Virginia Magazine, and The Washington Post.
“Jennifer and her team have been instrumental in helping us increase our engagement through our social media channels, connect us with local leaders for our opening ceremony, and manage our PR efforts with local media outlets…I highly recommend Arlington Strategy to anyone looking for a top-notch strategy and marketing firm.”
–Matt Richard
Arlington County Fair
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