The DuPage County Fair is the only county fair in Illinois located in a completely urban setting. Historical research showed that when the first DuPage County Fair was held in 1955, the county was 85% farmland. By 2000, the last farm vanished as DuPage County was absorbed into Chicago’s urban sprawl.

Objectives:
·Generate awareness for the DuPage County Fair and reach new publics to drive higher attendance.
·Celebrate the history and heritage of the half century milestone,
·Garner local and national media attention.
 

Strategies/Tactics:
·GR-PR built relationships with local government officials and their constituents through the first ever Mayor’s Hog Calling Contest.
·Provided free admission tickets to students through DuPage library reading programs and student achievement program at DuPage schools.
·Press materials were distributed at planned intervals before, during and after the fair to publicize all aspects of the fair.

Results:
·Attendance (190,926) increased 11% from 2003.
·Print impressions reached more than 46 million.
·National media attention included ESPN’s Sportscenter, Fox News Channel and 226 U.S. markets representing 32 states.
·TV clips of the local fair also went international into Canada on national Canadian network - CTV.
·TV impressions reached more than 13 million.
·From GR-PR’s tracking of print and TV, 59,265,951 impressions were generated.

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