Alaska Housing Enchants Fairgoers with Loan Wizard

Alaska Housing hasn’t had a presence at the Alaska State Fair for 20 years.

That changed in August with the presence of the Loan Wizard. It’s an easy-to-use digital tool, developed by Alaska Housing, that assists borrowers and lenders to find what may be the right loan for a given situation.

To promote the Loan Wizard, Alaska Housing transformed its exhibition spot near the fair’s entrance into a “wizard den.” It featured a “Wheel of Fortune” game for kids with prizes including wizard hats that were later seen all around the fairgrounds. Parents benefitted from a hands-on presentation of the Loan Wizard at iPad stations or on their own mobile devices. 

“The spot we had gave us a lot of exposure. We were busy the entire time with the weekends being a bit crazy,” said Jan Miyagishima, Alaska Housing’s mortgage director, who doesn’t rule out a return to the 2020 fair. “It was fun and energizing.”

Alaska Housing wasn’t the only one to return to the Alaska State Fair; 2019 attendance is estimated at more than 300,000 people with an increase of nearly 3% year-over-year.