Commercial Exhibits & Concessions Awards
Sponsored by:
Pickering Events, LLC.
Pickering Events brings together decades of proven experience and international award-winning expertise in facility, events, and fairgrounds management.Deadline:
All entries must be uploaded by October 1, 2025, by 11:59p.m. CST!
Procedures:
Guidelines:
Divisions:
Judging:
All qualified entries are invited to showcase their entry or entries at the Annual IAFE Convention in Denver. You do not need to have placed in the competition to participate. If you are unable to attend in person and wish to ship your entry, it must arrive at the IAFE Office no later than November 1. Please note that disqualified entries are not eligible for display.
Innovative Layout Changes
DESCRIPTION: Submitted layout changes must impact traffic flow, guest experience, and/or profitability. Supplemental documentation must include before and after layout maps and/or photos, not to exceed 10 pages.
Submission Rules
Judging Criteria:
Benefits to the Fair, Guest & Vendor (45 points)
Innovation and scale of layout changes (35 points)
Adaptability of the method/strategy to different size Fairs (20 points)
Marketing and Promotion
DESCRIPTION: This category recognizes a fair’s efforts to promote and advertise its vendors, enhancing their visibility and driving guest engagement. Submissions should highlight creative and effective marketing strategies used by the fair to showcase vendors, including, but not limited to, social media campaigns, print materials, digital advertising, featured vendor spotlights, interactive promotions, or on-site activations.
Supporting material may include photos, videos (30-second max), social media analytics, advertising samples, promotional schedules, or other documentation showcasing the fair’s efforts to market its vendors, not to exceed five pages.
Submission Rules
Judging Criteria:
Effectiveness & Engagement (40 points)- How well did the fair’s marketing efforts drive attention to vendors and encourage guest interaction?
Originality & Creativity (25 points)- How unique and innovative were the promotional strategies?
Goal Achievement & Measurable Results (20 points)- Did the campaign meet its intended objectives for vendor visibility and guest engagement?
Adaptability to Different Fairs (15 points)- Could this strategy be successfully applied at fairs of different sizes?
Vendor Communications & Operations
Submission Rules
Judging Criteria:
Effectiveness & Benefits to Vendors and Fair Operations (40 points)
Originality & Innovation in Communication/Operations (30 points)
Goal Achievement & Measurable Results (20 points)
Adaptability to Different Fairs (10 points)
Vendor Recognition
DESCRIPTION: This category is specific to how your fair or facility recognizes its vending participants (Commercial Vendors, Concessionaires, or Vendor-Related Associates) rather than how you promote them. Supporting materials including but not limited to photos- with captions, video clips- 30 second max, forms, digital proof/artwork copy, and social media links, not to exceed five pages.
Examples: Best Fair Food or Top Vendor as contest or people’s choice with awards like stickers, trophies, signs or plaque during an award presentation, next year’s deposit as incentive, first choice of future location
Submission Rules
Judging Criteria:
Goal Achievement (45 points)
Originality (35 points)
Adaptability of the method/strategy to different size fairs (20 points)