PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners have decided against using a proposed new ticketing system this year at the county fair.
“You have two and a half commissioners who are not comfortable moving ahead with (Afton Tickets Inc. of Portland, Ore.) at this time,” County Commissioner Mark Ozias told Don Crawford, director of county parks, fair and facilities at the commissioners’ Monday work session.
Ozias said if the county parks staff came back with a recommendation to use a “point of sale” system like those in restaurants, he would support that.
Crawford wrote in a Monday afternoon email that a simple point of sale system is being investigated, but due to infrastructure costs and lack of time, switching to a new payment system for the fair will be on hold until 2024 at least.
Crawford had proposed at the commissioners’ April 17 work session using Afton as a new ticketing system at the fair, but the commissioners had asked for more information, including a comparison with other companies.
Crawford said being able to buy tickets in the fair’s preseason would allow Facebook and Instagram targeted marketing in a way that gives someone a way to go to that website and buy tickets.
“So more people are going to buy tickets. If they don’t show up, still have their money,” he said.
Commissioner Mike French said this system would solve the problems of too much cash on hand at the fair and long ticket lines and allowing people to use credit cards. And the company would have everyone’s email address in the second year, allowing for more marketing and early sales.
Ozias questioned what the new system was trying to solve.
“Do we have attendance issues? What are we trying to accomplish? Could we do more marketing and get more attendance?
“What’s the full benefit of a ticketing service like this? I want to know what we get hope to get from this marketing,” he said.
Crawford said that, after talking with officials from other county fairs, maybe 20 percent of fairgoers would buy their tickets online at first, but that quickly increases to 50 percent.
One dollar and 29 cents out of each $10 fair ticket would pay for the tech support, Crawford said. The company also provides targeted marketing and social media marketing, which would replace less efficient and expensive ways to advertise, he said.
“Social media ad cost is minor versus print or radio,” Crawford said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.
