RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR THE HEART O' TEXAS FAIR & RODEO

WACO, TEXAS - In their 55th year, the 2007 Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo proved they were still the "hot spot" to be. The fair and rodeo took place October 4-13, 2007 at the Heart O' Texas Fair & Complex with a record-breaking 201,605 attendees.

This year The Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo partnered with INNOVATiON, The Marketing Team, to create a unifying theme for the various attractions featured at the fair and rodeo. The annual Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo is one of the main centers of entertainment in Central Texas. INNOVATiON provided creative assistance and graphic design to help showcase this year's events.

"The Fair & Rodeo has the H.O.T. acronym going for them. We felt the theme, ‘the hot spot to be' played off of their title and encompassed all aspects of the fair and rodeo, from the live music to the carnival," said Randy Robertson, President and CEO of INNOVATiON.

With creative radio, TV and print ads, INNOVATiON helped the Fair & Rodeo break new attendance records. The ‘Sneak-A-Peek Night' on Thursday, October 4 set a new record for attendance. The Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo had a record-breaking crowd come out to see local performer Kimberly Kelly and Tracy Lawrence on Friday, October 12 and also had a sold out PRCA Rodeo on Saturday, October 13. Overall, carnival attendance was up by 4 percent this year.

"It was great being a part of such a significant event for the Central Texas area. The economic impact of the rodeo and all the other events is over $39 million!" Robertson said.

The Heart O' Texas Fair and Rodeo's goal is to provide scholarship to area students by providing nine days of agricultural experiences. The new South 40 Saloon was a big success and sold out on Saturday, October 13. The South 40 Committee donated $45,000 to the Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo Scholarship Fund this year. A new addition to the rodeo included Pink-Out Night on Thursday, October 11 to raise awareness for breast cancer research.

INNOVATiON, The Marketing Team, is a full-service agency that opened for business in November 2000 by Randy Robertson. Headquartered in Waco, the agency serves clients at the local, regional, and national levels.