Saffire Blog

2013 Year in Review

In a similar fashion to Barbara Walters’ most interesting people of 2013, we’ve decided to compile Saffire’s Extraordinary Events of 2013. We’re all a part of a fast-moving industry, and at the end of the year it seems like we can take a moment to reflect on key happenings in our field. A few of … Continue reading “2013 Year in Review”

George Strait Announces Farewell Tour

George Strait officially said in 2013 that he will hang up his boots after this current tour. The die-hard faithful have flocked to ticket outlets, with tickets being sold and resold at record numbers at venues across the country.

Calgary Stampede Traditions Continue, “Come Hell or High Water”

The Calgary Stampede, faced with crippling floodwaters just 14 days before their opening, were able to not only put together an event that Calgarians won’t soon forget, but also raise over $2 million for flood victims through T-Shirts and donations. You can view a short video documentary of the 2013 Calgary Stampede here.

An Iconic Marathon Struck by a Devastating Finish

For many event organizers, safety plans took on a new meaning after a nation watched stunned while police searched for a brother who set bombs to explode on the finish line at the Boston Marathon. 3 people were killed, and hundreds others wounded in an event that won’t soon be forgotten by America.

Big Tex Makes a Triumphant Return

After the beloved icon of the State Fair of Texas tragically caught on fire in 2012, he was back in all his glory for the 2013 fair. Thousands of donors from the community and beyond contributed to the rebuilding effort. Now Big Tex stands just as tall, and even more stylish than ever in larger than life Wranglers and Luccheses.

100^th Client Joins Saffire

With the addition of Extraco Events Center, Saffire reached a big milestone. We’ve come a long way since our first event client in 2009, and reaching the 100^th client only gets us more excited to be a part of the industry. It may not be world news, but it was an extraordinary event for the Saffire team.

The year 2013 was nothing short of eventful. With so many trials and triumphs, it’s awesome to be a part of an industry that celebrates each other’s victories and lends a helping hand during each other’s hardships. With a year like this, it’s hard to imagine what 2014 will have in store!

Welcome Downtown Rock Springs

As the promotional and development arm for the City of Rock Springs, Wyoming, the Urban Renewal Agency was established to reinvigorate and support the downtown area of Rock Springs in 2006. Promoting shopping, tourism, dining, and events, Downtown Rock Springs also supports the preservation and renovation of many historic buildings and helps to recruit businesses to relocate to the downtown area through their efforts and membership in the national Main Street Movement. We are thrilled to join the marketing efforts for promoting the City of Rock Spring’s Downtown development by giving them an online destination to match their unique culture and further promote the funding and marketing of their area online!

Welcome Extraco Events Center

This week we were overjoyed to welcome the Extraco Events Center as our 100th member of the Saffire Family! We’ve been friends with the folks at this venue in Waco, Texas for quite some time as they are the hosts of the Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo, one of our first clients. As we continue to expand into the world of venues and event centers, we are excited to do so with our friends as we help them market the vast amount of events they have at their event center. You can catch all kinds of performances at Extraco Events Center, including the RAM Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo in January and a fantastic Margarita & Salsa Festival in August. We look forward to furthering our relationship with this awesome establishment.

Welcome El Paso County Fair

We would like to welcome the El Paso County Fair of Calhan, Colorado to the Saffire Family! (They are located right outside of Colorado Springs for those of you who may not be as familiar with Colorado geography.) We’ve seen the team from El Paso County at a few conventions in the last year, including Colorado Association of Fairs & Shows and International Association of Fairs & Events. Meeting with the nice people here on multiple occasions helped them to make the decision to work with Saffire for their online marketing efforts. We couldn’t be more thrilled! We are looking forward to celebrating the future success of this fair and helping them continue to grow as an outstanding county fair of Colorado.

Welcome Central Washington Fair Association!

Saffire is proud to announce a new partnership with The Central Washington Fair Association based out of Yakima, Washington. This group produces several big events a year including their largest, the Central Washington State Fair, which occurs every September. We met these folks at the Washington State Fairs Association convention a few years back and … Continue reading “Welcome Central Washington Fair Association!”

Saffire is proud to announce a new partnership with The Central Washington Fair Association based out of Yakima, Washington. This group produces several big events a year including their largest, the Central Washington State Fair, which occurs every September. We met these folks at the Washington State Fairs Association convention a few years back and started the conversation about moving this well-oiled marketing machine’s online efforts to Saffire. We are excited to help them combine their fair, fair park, and event center websites to give their customers the best online experience possible!

Saffire heads to Las Vegas for the IAFE Convention

That’s right; it’s that time of year again! We’ve all worked or slept off the Thanksgiving turkey by now (hopefully), and we’re packing our bags to go to one of the largest trade shows the events industry has to offer. First and foremost, we love the opportunity to meet with folks from the fair world … Continue reading “Saffire heads to Las Vegas for the IAFE Convention”

That’s right; it’s that time of year again! We’ve all worked or slept off the Thanksgiving turkey by now (hopefully), and we’re packing our bags to go to one of the largest trade shows the events industry has to offer. First and foremost, we love the opportunity to meet with folks from the fair world to find out a little bit more about their events, celebrate their successes, hear about their obstacles, offer our online marketing advice, hang out with them after trade show hours, oh AND visit Sin City!

This year we’re thrilled to be presenting on multiple occasions throughout the convention. (You can see our interactive schedule on our website here.) We’d love for you to come sit in and listen!

Tuesday, Dec. 10

11:15 – 12:30 PM – Dream Big on Small Budgets – Technology, Aaron Pederson, Technical Director
11:15 – 12:30 PM – It’s an All Year Af-Fair, Kendra Wright, President
3:00 – 4:00 PM – Product Showcase – Increase Bucks & Butts for Your Event with Saffire, Kendra Wright, President

Wednesday, Dec. 11

8:00 – 9:00 AM – Secret Sauce of Advance Revenue for your Fair, Kendra Wright, President
2:00 – 3:00 PM – Product Showcase – Increase Bucks & Butts for Your Event with Saffire, Kendra Wright, President

Another time you could see us while attending IAFE is at the trade show! The hours are Monday, Dec. 9, 2:30 – 6:30 PM; Tuesday, Dec. 10, 12:30 – 5:30 PM and Wednesday, Dec. 11, 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM. While you may gather valuable information about vendors, entertainers, products and more, we know the most important piece of the trade show puzzle is stopping by the Saffire booth (#1122) and spinning the Wheel O’ Crap! You’ll make our day if you stop and chat with us and we’ll hopefully make yours as you could win a Saffire:

FREE High Five
Sweet Tattoo
Amazing Felt Tip Pen
“No Guy” Button
Boot Koozie
Tumbler
“Making Nerdy Cool” T-shirt

The next thing you’ll definitely want to add to your agenda is the Saffire Tacky Christmas Happy Hour! This will be our third year to host one of our infamous parties in our Paris Hotel suite on Tuesday, Dec. 10 5:30 – 7:00 PM ( room number to be announced during trade show & via email). Stop by booth #1122 and get an invite card which will include a special SaffireScan code. When you arrive at our party, present the invite to have your code scanned to see what “neat” holiday costume item you’ve won! While you’re there, be sure to try a Cup o’ Good Cheer Cocktail, some Rosemary Pecans, Merry Meatballs, home-made sugar cookies, and of course our World Famous Saffire Queso!

As you can see, we have quite a bit of fun preparing for this grand adventure to Las Vegas, especially when packing crock pots is one of the first things on our list. You may find this to be one of the most interesting things in our suitcase, but we couldn’t host one of our parties without a handy crock pot or two (or maybe three). The look on the TSA agents’ faces as they sift through koozies and crock pots is enough to make it all worth it.

We can’t wait to see you all at the convention. We’re sure it will be a blast. Safe travels!

Giving Thanks

It’s so easy to get caught up in the rush of the holiday season. Especially this year with Thanksgiving so late in the month, it has almost been overlooked, especially by retail stores, itching to get the most out of holiday budgets. Here at Saffire, we have much to be thankful for, and we couldn’t … Continue reading “Giving Thanks”

Here at Saffire, we have much to be thankful for, and we couldn’t let today pass without expressing our gratitude to those who have been a part of our success. We are proud to officially announce that over 100 events, venues and destinations trust Saffire to support their online presence. We couldn’t be where we are today without each one of you.

We are appreciative of the confidence you put in us as well as the effort that you have given to improve both your website and the Saffire platform. We truly couldn’t do it without you.

We hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

With our deepest thanks,
Kendra, Aaron, Jeremy & The Saffire Team

Welcome Western Heritage Classic

We are so excited to announce that the Western Heritage Classic is joining the Saffire family! As one of the top ranch rodeos in the country, “The Heritage” prides itself on its authenticity by limiting participants to 10 invitation only ranches across Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. These ranches must meet very strict criteria in order to be a part of the event. Other highlights of the event include Matched Horse Races, a Chuchwagon Cookoff and the “World’s Largest” Bit & Spur trade show. As an event that happens at our recently acquired client, the Expo Center of Taylor County in Abilene, Texas, the folks that run this ranch rodeo were thrilled to see the ease-of-use of the Saffire software and potential for their online marketing. We love doubling up on websites for our clients as their broader audience will become even more comfortable with how to navigate the sites, have a more enjoyable experience at these online destinations and will be more likely to attend or purchase!

Welcome Five State Fair

Join us in welcoming the Five State Fair to the Saffire family! We’ve been talking to the folks of Liberal, KS for quite a while and when we met up with them at the Colorado Association of Fairs & Shows (CAFS) Convention last week they decided it was time to really take control of their online marketing! Interestingly, Liberal, Kansas is the home of The Wizard of Oz and located near the intersection of five great states; Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. Needless to say we can’t wait to see where Dorothy lived and check out their awesome fair!

Saffire Update: Version 2.5 Release

We’ve been working hard this fall at Saffire and one of our greatest accomplishments is the update to our software: Version 2.5. Providing our clients with the latest technology and features that they’ve requested is one of our greatest pleasures so here’s a brief list of what has been added to Saffire! Customized landing pages … Continue reading “Saffire Update: Version 2.5 Release”

Customized landing pages for our interactive event schedule and event categories.
A third view is now an option for the interactive event schedule; Expanded View offers a hybrid display of an event with photo and description.
Dynamic (custom) pages can now be copied to an email campaign or to a new page.
Items for sale have the capability for advance day and time “Buy Now” buttons, with the option for a countdown.
Event countdown and dates are dynamic so that multiple events can be advertised in the header.

There are many more features and tweaks made to our platform so that our clients’ website management experience is even better. If you’re interested in finding out more about our latest release or want to understand all that Saffire has to offer send us an email at info@saffire.com.