• Rockbourne Fair

Rockbourne Fair is a beloved pre-Christmas shopping event that has run annually for over 30 years, raising funds for the Salisbury District Hospital Stars Appeal. In 2018, a new committee brought in Utterly Social to refresh the event’s branding, build a digital presence from the ground up, and broaden its appeal beyond its existing, loyal audience.

With no social media presence and no cohesive visual identity, Utterly Social was tasked with elevating the fair’s profile, engaging new attendees and stallholders, and generating consistent buzz in the lead-up to the event.

Challenges

  • Zero starting point: The event had no existing social channels or audience base.
  • Outdated branding: The fair lacked a consistent look and feel that reflected its high-quality, curated experience.
  • Event-specific promotion: As a once-a-year event, the social campaign had to generate significant traction in a limited timeframe.
  • Stallholder support: Vendors needed assets and encouragement to promote their involvement and help amplify campaign reach.

Solution

Utterly Social delivered a bold, strategic refresh of Rockbourne Fair’s digital identity and ongoing promotional strategy.

  • Visual rebrand: Introduced a modern brand aesthetic including new logos, colour palettes, tone of voice, and event straplines to give the fair a more contemporary feel while retaining its charm.
  • Platform focus: Built the event’s Instagram presence from scratch – now a thriving, engaged community with nearly 2,000 followers. Also expanded reach via Facebook and Twitter/X.
  • Content creation: Produced visually engaging posts showcasing stallholders, products, behind-the-scenes prep, charity involvement, and festive inspiration.
  • Community building: Created a warm, supportive space on Instagram with high engagement, ongoing follower interaction, and collaborations with stallholders.
  • Buzz building: Structured a countdown campaign with escalating excitement in the weeks leading up to the event to drive awareness, word-of-mouth, and footfall.

“Our annual Christmas shopping event has been going for over 30 years but had very little presence on social media and no cohesive branding until Sarah at Utterly Social took over and completely transformed us. We now have a fresh new look, a growing following on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and a great buzz about our event, months before it begins.

We have had excellent feedback from our customers and stallholders, many saying the reason they chose to come to our event over others, was our exciting and inspiring social media presence. Her marketing advice has been invaluable and she has been a pleasure to work with.”

~ Bev Moulding, Chair, Rockbourne Fair

Key services delivered:

  • STRATEGY & PLANNING
  • BRANDING
  • AUDIENCE BUILDING
  • COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
  • CONTENT CREATION
  • CONTENT PUBLISHING
  • COMPETITIONS & CAMPAIGNS
  • PAID ADVERTISING
  • ANALYTICS & REPORTING

Results

  • Audience growth: Organically built Rockbourne Fair’s Instagram from zero to nearly 2,000 engaged followers, supported by complementary Facebook and Twitter/X channels.
  • Supportive community: Fostered a loyal, interactive community that regularly engages with posts and actively promotes the event.
  • Buzz & attendance: Social media generated anticipation and FOMO, with many attendees and stallholders citing it as the reason they chose the fair over others.
  • Charity impact: Since 2018, the fair has raised an incredible £261,534 for the Stars Appeal, supported in part by its growing visibility and digital reach.
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