from Venues Today
March 24, 2010 • VOL. IX, Number 10 • ISSN 1547-4143

Not only did the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo attendance break last year’s all-time high of 1,890,332 but, for the first time, the figure also topped 2 million.  The attendance figures put the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in contention for the No. 1 fair in North America.

“We had a blow-away show,” said Vice President and COO Leroy Shafer. “That 2 million mark was hanging out there. We’ve been within a couple hundred thousand or less of getting there. Once we knew we were going to nail that one, we were probably more excited about that than breaking the record.”

The final attendance was 2,144,077, up 13.4 percent from last year’s record.

Shafer offered a list of reasons that contributed to the success of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo this year, starting off with an entertainment lineup that resulted in eight 70,000-plus concert sellouts.

Another factor influencing attendance, Shafer said, was a creative marketing push that included more social media as well as the launch of an in-house, year-round radio station that anyone can listen to via the Internet.

The lion’s share of the marketing budget…was spent on radio, both traditional radio advertisements as well as the launch of Rodeo Houston Radio, which went live via Internet on Feb. 23.

“Rodeo Houston Radio is on the air 365 days a year, featuring music from the 350 entertainers that have appeared at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo since Gene Autry hit the stage in 1942,” Shafer said. “It’s the most eclectic music mix. There are a lot of people listening to that.”  Anyone can listen by going to the show’s Web site at www.rodeohouston.com and clicking on Rodeo Houston Radio.

[Custom Channels produces Rodeo Houston Radio]

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