In a recent column concerning the Branson Convention Center web site, the Ole Seagull wrote, ‘“Oh hush my beating heart,’ is it even possible that HCW is the registered owner of the Branson Convention Center web site that the city is spending thousands of dollars in taxpayer money promoting?” The question, when asked, was rhetorical and the answer then, and as of 6:16 a.m. Feb. 29, was a resounding “Yes.”
In his very next column entitled, “Gut feeling – Relax, Hilton is doing a great job with the convention center!” he wrote, “For the record, in the Ole Seagull’s gut and heart, he feels and believes that Hilton is doing an excellent job in operating and marketing the Branson Convention Center. Does he have hard data on bookings etc. to back that up? No, that’s why it’s a gut feeling.”
Subsequent reports by Hilton to the Branson Board of Aldermen, as well as a recent independent review of the convention center operations by an asset management firm hired by the city have removed the “gut feeling” from the equation. They have conclusively established that the convention center is exceeding expectations and is being run and managed efficiently and professionally.
Does that mean that no one should be concerned about the convention centers web site? Absolutely not, although the total operation is going well that doesn’t mean that there’s not a glitch here and there. One of those glitches that presents a current apparent conflict of interest situation and could cause problems in the future, if not corrected immediately, is the fact that the convention centers web site www.bransonconvention.com is owned by, and registered to, HCW Development Company (HCW); LLC. 3027 West Highway 76, in Branson.
The question some might ask is why isn’t the internet address of Branson’s Convention Center www.Bransonconventioncenter.com? The obvious and simple answer is, “Because someone else got the name first.” Still others might ask, “Why is the city spending tens of thousands of dollars promoting a web site it doesn’t own? One that has a clear bias toward the promotion of HCW’s Branson Landing as compared to all the other businesses in Branson?” To both, an Ole Seagull would have to answer, “Got me stumped.”
Simply put, in today’s marketing environment, a major segment of most marketing plans is the establishment of an internet web site. Although traffic to the city’s convention center site is not as important as it might be were the site being used to market another product, the fact remains that as of right now, each dollar spent to advertise www.bransonconvention.com is being spent to advertise a site the city doesn’t own.
Even worse, is the fact that HCW’s Branson Landing is being promoted on the site in a manner that is disproportionate to the manner in which Branson’s many other businesses and attractions are promoted. For example, when one selects “Attractions” from the submenu under the main menu topic of “Experience Branson” they see two pictures, one of Branson Landing’s fire and light show and the other of its trolley. Could anything possibly say “Branson Attraction” more than a picture of the Branson Landing Trolley? Why is there a separate submenu item for HCW’s “Branson Landing” and none for Historic Downtown Branson, or other shopping areas or districts within Branson?
To an Ole Seagull, because of the relationship the city of Branson has had with HCW in the development of Branson Landing, this creates the appearance of an apparent conflict of interest. Even while acknowledging HCW’s generosity in hosting the site; is it inappropriate to recommend that it is time for the city to obtain and advertise its own convention center web site and take immediate steps to eliminate the obvious bias towards Branson Landing currently on the site? For what it matters, an Ole Seagull doesn’t think so.
