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• Tower or bridge ($3,000 - $5,000 each, depending on size, if home made, no labour. Calculator will budget $4,000).

• Walkie-talkies or cell phones for staff to communicate.

• Sound system (some people use it on wagon rides to tell people a story along the ride).

• Megaphone (to communicate with people in the maze or around the activity area who are acting up or are lost). You can also have your phone number on your maze diagram so customers who get into trouble (health issue or get lost) can call you on their cell phone. • Light (bamboo) poles with white fag attached. Give one to each group. If they get lost or have another problem, they hold up the white fag on a pole and signal for help. Or, on your map, put your phone number so customers can use their cell phones to call you.

• Picnic tables (important if you are selling food items).

• Refrigerated glass door cooler for cold drinks ($1,400 - $4,000 - calculator will budget $2,000). • Cut-outs – you can buy them or make your own ($350 each, home made).

• Wristbands – when people pay admission, they get a wristband (some use a very visible neckband), so the staff know who can gain admission to the maze or play area. It is important to have several colours so people can’t reuse them the next weekend.

• Portable washrooms (should likely start with two and work up as business grows). Quotes varied from $75 each to $150 each/month, so shop around.

• Hand washing station ($400 to purchase).

Advertising vs Publicity

Advertising is what you say about yourself through a paid fyer, newspaper ad, radio spot, etc. Publicity is what other people say about you.

Examples of publicity include:

• a press release that results in an article in the paper

• holding a festival and having the local radio station comment on it • hosting a media day at your farm that results in a magazine article about the experience

• loaning your tractor and wagon to the Santa Claus parade and having people see it and say nice things about you

Publicity carries more credibility with it because it is what others say about you. But it can also be harder to get than simply buying advertising. It’s easy to place an ad in the paper; it’s harder to get the paper to write an article on you for free. But if you work at it over time you can get very good at it. Some farms hire a PR (public relations) person to work for them. This person writes the press releases, lines up sponsors for the maze, and organizes press days, etc. to get some of that “free” publicity.

The best publicity comes via word of mouth. But that takes time to build. People have to come to the farm and enjoy themselves before they can go home and spread the word to their friends, neighbours and family. But over time this will be your best form of publicity. Bottom line is that the more you can do to ensure that people coming to your farm are having a good time, the less you will eventually have to spend on advertising.