The Houston Rodeo
The cultural moment no one is talking about.
Happy March Madness! Obviously boo Duke. RIP Heels and Horns. 😭 I am sending on a Monday to see how this performs vs a Sunday. Also, I’ll be speaking at UNC’s capstone advertising class today, very excited to meet all of the students.
🤠 The Houston Rodeo
Everyone was in Texas but it wasn’t for SXSW, it was for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HSLR).
The Houston Rodeo has been going on for years but has become one of the most compelling cultural moments of late due to its rich diversity of cultures, bringing together cowboys, farmers, rappers, and high society.
This is the biggest whitespace opportunity I’ve seen in a while and the next cultural moment you should really be considering.
By the numbers: The HLSR happens early March every year, right around Texas Independence Day (3/2) and lasts for 3 weeks.
It draws in massive crowds and broke records with 2.7M attendees this year.
The purse is the highest its ever been, paying out $2.5M for each of the rodeo events (tie-down roping, bareback riding, team roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing, breakaway roping, and bull riding).
The event generates total economic activity worth $597 million in the Greater Houston area
What happens at the rodeo?!
I chatted with my friend Caroline who has volunteered for the past seven years at the rodeo and she gave me the rundown:
“There’s something for everyone! A full rodeo and concerts in the NRG stadium, wine garden with live music, carnival, clubs and bars, shopping, livestock, tents with food, and The Ranch (steakhouse on property).
It is the largest rodeo in the world and is so much fun! At peak times there are 166 thousand people on the property. It is very social and don’t even get me started on the fun fashion! Yeehaw!”
BBQ Cookoff kicks it off: The Thursday-Saturday before the rodeo they build a mini city with streets and tents in a parking lot. Tents have corporate sponsors and big cook teams. If you get invited to a tent you get in with free food, drinks and live music. Every tent is cooking up BBQ trying to win the contest!
Go Texan Day/Go Tejano day: For families with kids, Go Texan Day happens the first Friday of the rodeo at school. Kids dress up in their best cowboy gear and learn Texas history, dances, and traditions.
Wine Garden: It is a whole area with stages with live music and low and high top tables to get a bottle of wine and hangout with friends. The Wine Events committee has events where the wine is ranked and awarded (these events happen months before the rodeo).
Swine Auction: There are a ton of buyers and the money from the sales goes towards scholarships for kids. This takes places on last Friday of rodeo. Kids are also showing and getting awards for their livestock throughout the 3 weeks.
Carnival: It feels like the Texas State Fair in Dallas, with ferris wheels, games, and fried food.
The rodeo: If anyone follows the rodeo circuit, the Houston rodeo is the last stop before the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas, but draws in the biggest crowds (~2M people vs ~170k).
Do brands ever show up at the rodeo?
Caroline shares that “big brands sponsor the rodeo-Ford, Phillips 66, Amegy, and there are so many other brands that also show up. There is a whole shopping area with everything from popcorn to boots and hats, and everything in between.
My favs Christina Greene, Kendra Scott just came out with a Yellow Rose (rodeo line) that everyone is talking about. Lucchese makes a custom boot limited edition every year and they really nailed it this year. Some brands do offsite events leading up to the rodeo like Kemo Sabe and Miron Crosby + others. The area with shopping also has livestock and you can walk around and look at the animals.”
What does the Rodeo mean to you?
“Everyone in Houston bands together to pull it off the HLSR and it is the happiest time of year in Houston. It is also about serving and giving back with 35,000 volunteers, 109 committees, and $22M raised. It is a social time to get together with friends and family. It is such a fun time in Houston with many traditions and memories!
There are so many committees that are crucial to pulling off the rodeo. I am on Gatekeepers and then that breaks down to stadium or perimeter, each with tons of teams. We are working inside the stadium, scanning tickets to get into the stadium, or working on other floors and areas in the stadium. We volunteer about 40 hours over the 3 weeks. There is a whole structure to moving up in leadership with the rodeo. There is a board and directors and it is a big deal to be high up in the rodeo! It is kind of an honor to be part of the rodeo and these committees!”
I get the sense that being on the volunteer committee is kind of like being a part of high society or the movers and shakers of the town. Similar vibes to what being a part of the Junior League connotes. It is very cool how dedicated this group is and I love that it’s coed and all about helping out their city.
Reasons why the Houston Rodeo is your next cultural moment:
The New York Times just published an article four days ago (annoyed that I didn’t beat them to the punch) titled, “The Houston Rodeo is the Super Bowl of Country Culture”. While I don’t disagree with this statement, I actually think it’s much more than that.
Houston is a HUGE melting pot. Because Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America, it brings together such an interesting cross section of cultures and people.
This makes for a great opportunity for any brand with hispanic/black/white/families as their audience. It is really exciting for marketers!!!
Just look at the concert line up—it says it all. Reba, Bun B, Journey and Post Malone all performed this year.
Post Malone himself is a perfect representation of this. Texas boy turned rapper who just came out with a country album. Apparently he had a really touching speech this year. In past years, Beyonce and Cardi B have headlined to give you a sense of scale. I feel like T Swift is going to make an appearance someday here. You heard it here first if she does!
The rodeo is Bun B’s oyster. Bun B debuted a new western streetwear collab w Purple Brand and Crown Royale at the rodeo this year. It is also around his birthday so he calls his concert a birthday bonanza where he brings a ton of other acts on stage with him (like Ludacris). This year his bonanza was on March 7th for Black Heritage Day. He also launched “Trill Town”, which was an entire space dedicated to food from his restaurant Trill Burgers, with a DJ, and dirty sodas on the menu.
Beyonce’s SirDavis Whiskey brand sponsored the Rodeo this year with the “Texas Buckiin” cocktail. I didn’t realize she had her own whiskey brand but I love to see it
Fiesta Mart posted about things to do for Go Tejano Day.
How can brands get involved:
Do an activation: On site is where the action is but offsite would allow for more control over the logistics (but potentially less foot traffic). For example, Louis Vuitton presented their Spring/Summer collection during the Rodeo window at their Houston flagship store offsite.
Partner with the volunteer org: The volunteer group is deeply committed. I wonder if any brands have actually done something specific just for this highly influential group.
Throw a party: The main club is called the Hideout and is super popular, and open late when most things have shutdown. If you’re a spirits or food brand this could be a great option for you.
Give access to your VIPs: Getting badges that gets you into all the exclusive tents and experiences are hard to come by. This could be a way to great way to make your most VIP customers feel special.
Throw a fashion show: Whether you’re a boot brand, jewelry brand, cowboy hat brand, leather goods brand, or anything else cowboy related, it is a fashion scene and I think it’d be SO fun if someone actually launched a real fashion show AT the rodeo.
Send influencers: There have been a lot of influencer trips gone wrong and in a way this tactic is kind of outdated, but there are a TON of influencers who are already going on their own dime. If you can find a way to authentically sponsor an influencer trip that has a legitimate purpose, then I think this could be pretty smart. Here’s an example from Kendra Scott.
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The TLDR? The Houston Rodeo is becoming an epicenter for culture, fashion, food, and music. I love that it’s in a different city besides NY, LA, and SF. I love that so many different cultures are represented and take pride in this moment. As people are seeking more IRL experiences, this is an amazing opportunity for your brand to stand out that a lot of non-cowboy brands haven’t discovered yet.
Dinner Party Fodder
Tasty tidbits to talk about 😋
📝 Article of the week - GenZ is the most rejected generation. What a great read written by
and also very relatable for anyone job searching.📪 What’s in the mom group chat this week - Emily Oster (the go-to resource for moms everywhere) poses the question, “should we pay people to have babies?”.
📱 Follow of the week: I am loving The Masters on TikTok. ⛳️
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser🛍️ Store launch of the week: I can’t go anywhere without hearing about Printemps.
✅ Confirmation of the week: Influencer Carly just posted about how much she loves Mahjong.
❓ Question of the week:
🖼️ Museum of the week: Art in Bloom is my FAVORITE exhibit that happens every year at the North Caroline Museum of Art. Garden clubs get assigned a painting or sculpture and recreate it with flowers. I cannot begin to explain how OBSESSED I AM WITH THIS. I think this was my 7th year going!
Have a 🐝 buzzy 🐝 week!
Michelle
thanks for the link!