PRP Companies, a local business solutions provider, was named Sponsor of the Year for the California Mid-State Fair on Friday February 1, 2013. This award comes after the California Mid-State Fair won the Merrill Award, the highest honor a fair can receive from the Western Fairs Association.
“This award came as a complete surprise to us!” said Todd Ventura, president of PRP Companies. “I am both honored and humbled to receive the award Sponsor of the Year, and to be in the company of the previous winners.”
PRP Companies, formerly Poor Richards Press, is a business solutions provider. The company and the California Mid-State Fair have been partners since the 1970s but this was the first time PRP Companies acted as a corporate sponsor for the fair. PRP companies provided banners, signs, QR Codes, and design.
“The variety of services that PRP Companies offers makes them a great sponsor for the California Mid-State Fair because there are so many facets to our annual event,” said Vivian Robertson, California Mid-State Fair CEO. “The team at PRP Companies allowed my staff to develop new, ground breaking promotions and furnished us with all of the tools for execution.”
The Merrill Award was given to a team of six fairs, including the California Mid-State Fair, Grand National Rodeo, Monterey County Fair, San Benito County Fair, Santa Barbara County Fair, and Ventura County Fair. This partnership was the first time six fairs joined to promote one existing wine competition, increasing the economic benefits for each fair as well as generating savings for the wineries.
The campaign associated with this award was the Gold Medal Wine Tour, which offered individuals free admission to the fair after visiting and scanning QR codes at three of the 35 participating Gold Medal winners tasting rooms. With the goal of increasing tasting room traffic for the Central Coast Wine Competition winners, this marketing promotion used PRP Companies technology with QR codes to generate one of the most successful off-site ticket promotions ever. This effort also won first place in the WFA Achievement Awards for Excellence in Fairtime Innovative Marketing Strategy.
Currently there are plans to continue a sponsorship between PRP Companies and the California Mid-State Fair in 2013.
“Now the challenge of exceeding our previous success comes into play,” said Ventura. “The wheels are definitely turning and we’re in the process of coming up with something bigger and better for this year.”