Preston-Osborne is a Lexington-based firm, and Red7e is based in Louisville. The two agencies are not new partners. They have had a relationship working with another equine industry client for more than two years: KEEP, the Kentucky Equine Education Project."This was a difficult decision because of the many, competitive proposals and presentations we received from agencies across the Commonwealth. However, we are excited about working with these two agencies to achieve success for the games," said Jack Kelly, CEO for the World Games 2010 Foundation, the entity tasked with planning and organizing the games. "They each have different strengths that, when working together, makes them great partners for us.""We anticipate significant early public relations and interactive marketing activities for the next two years, and then our more focused advertising will begin as the games approach," said Rolf Linder, the new SVP and chief marketing officer. "Over the past many weeks, I have been working with our marketing committee to find a partner with large event experience, who'll bring energy to the games, and who understands our need to manage costs, and we found it."The games are the world championships of the eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale and are held every four years. They have never before been held outside of Europe; nor have all eight disciplines been held together at a single site, both firsts that will be achieved at the Kentucky Horse Park."There has never been an event like this in Kentucky and we are thrilled to be selected for this project and trusted to help make it the best event ever," said Phil Osborne, CEO of Preston-Osborne."The games present us with a great opportunity to show Kentucky to the world, and that is exciting from a creative standpoint," said Dan Barbercheck, president of Red7e. "Working in concert with Preston-Osborne, we hope to set a new precedent of event promotion and communications."
The 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games are currently underway in Aächen, Germany, and run through Sept. 3. Approximately 800 athletes and 875 horses are expected to compete. The 2010 games are expected to attract more than 1,000 athletes from 40 countries, 500,000 spectators, and have an economic impact of more than $150 million.