"Strategy" has become a catch-all term for people who don’t actually do anything. I’m sorry, but there—I said it.
These days, it feels like every company has a team of strategists, a branding committee, and a mission statement so broad it could apply to a shoe company or a theme park. But when it comes to selling tickets, landing sponsors, or getting people through the gates, strategy alone won’t cut it.
Yes, strategy is important—essential, even. It sets direction, provides focus, and helps avoid wasted effort. But in an industry that lives and dies on execution, it’s the do-ers who make things happen. And too often, they’re buried under layers of corporate seat-fillers who love talking about "alignment" but have never actually closed a sponsorship deal, booked an artist, negotiated with a vendor, or launched a successful ad campaign in their life.
Sponsorships: Big Ideas Don’t Sign Checks
The strategist in the meeting room says, “We should get a beverage partner. Maybe a cool alcohol brand.” Brilliant. But unless someone is pounding the phones, getting ghosted on emails, walking into offices, and working through months of back-and-forth to close a deal, nothing happens. The difference between a “great idea” and an actual result is the person willing to do the work.
Talent Buying: "Just Book Garth Brooks"
It’s easy to say, “We need a massive headliner this year. Let’s book Garth Brooks!” Sure. You and every other fair with a checkbook. The real work? Having the contacts, making the calls, hearing the reasons why that’s not going to happen, pivoting, negotiating, countering, and finding a rising country star who can still pull a crowd—without blowing the entire talent budget.
Vendor Relations: Wacky Foods Don’t Fry Themselves
Everyone loves a good viral food item. The strategist says, “We need more crazy, Instagram-worthy food this year!” But who’s actually talking to vendors, convincing them to take a risk on a new concept, helping them understand why it benefits their bottom line, and making sure they send high-quality promo photos (not a 16kb iPhone 4 image with bad lighting)? Then there’s securing their social handles, coordinating Instagram collabs, and making sure the marketing actually delivers customers to their booth. Need I go on?
Marketing: Post and Hope Does Not Sell Tickets!
Strategy says, “We need to increase online ticket sales.” A-ha. No kidding. But unless someone is securing assets from artists’ teams, optimizing creative, executing campaigns, tracking conversions, and testing targeting—guess what? No one is clicking Buy Now. Execution drives results, not the genius who says, “Sell more!”
The Fair Industry Runs on Sweat, Hustle, and Adrenaline
Fairs don’t run on strategy decks. They run on action. On the people who take the messy, frustrating, hands-on approach to getting things done. The ones who push past the brainstorming phase and actually put ideas into motion.
So here’s the challenge: Next time someone throws out a big, broad strategic idea, ask them what they’re doing today to make it happen. If they don’t have an answer, suggest another industry for them—maybe Hollywood.
Less talking. More doing. That’s the real strategy. That’s what makes our industry great.
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