By GARY J. GROMAN
a.k.a. The Ole Seagull
The Branson area is getting ready to expand the “Ozark Mountain” brand in an effort to get a bigger slice of business for its spring season. The idea for expanding the Ozark Mountain brand into the spring as “Ozark Mountain Spring” with a new event, “Branson’s First Annual Great American Pie Show,” was presented to the general public at the Annual Meeting of the Branson Lakes Area Tourism Community Enhancement District (TECD) on Sep. 30.
The concept was presented by the Titanic’s Mary Kellogg on behalf of the Branson Tri Lakes CVB/TECD Marketing Committee (Committee).Kellogg stated that the area has done a great job of marketing and branding Ozark Mountain Christmas. She said, “It is a brand you own in town” and indicated the same brand would be used to develop “Ozark Mountain Spring” featuring a new event, “Branson’s First Annual Great American Pie Show.”
She explained that the concept of branding means that different things can be put into it each year. Kellogg said, “One of the great things this community has to offer is so many events that have already been established and that we can add to.” As she displayed what she called the “marketing tent pole” she continued, “Most communities would love to have this.”
Branson’s marketing tent pole is a list of the major events that are already established and scheduled during the spring season in Branson and, from an events perspective, set the marketing parameters of when spring starts and ends, basically March through Memorial Day. Ozark Mountain Spring will take those spring events and add selected events which will provide opportunities for getting national coverage as well as marketing to help promote Ozark Mountain Spring.
Kellogg said that after considering different events and other factors, the committee decided the first such event to be added to Ozark Mountain Spring will be “Branson’s First Annual Great American Pie Show” to be held at the Branson Convention Center on Friday April 24 and Saturday, April 25, 2009.
In describing the goals for the event she said, “We are setting our sights pretty high” and that they would like to have 10,000 people attend Branson’s first Great American Pie Show. The pie show would have other, as yet undetermined, events associated with it such as cooking schools, a 5k race, etc. and was an event that would be designed to grow each year as it promoted and marketed itself, Ozark Mountain Spring and all the events associated with it.
Kellogg stressed that it was extremely important to bring a particular type of person into the market to help promote the event. The person she suggested as the type of person needed was Al Roker, nationally known weatherman with NBC. She said what he would bring to the event is an opportunity for a large amount of publicity from the local level to the national level in all media forms.
TECD Board member Bill Skains said he thought the idea was a great opportunity, that there were a lot of businesses like his that would appreciate a boost in the spring and thanked Kellogg for providing the spark necessary to make it happen. TECD Board Chairman Ed Akers pointed out that they had heard the presentation at the board’s last meeting. He went on to say, “The board agreed to set aside up to $150,000 for this effort as a marketing tool to let folks know about the Branson area and this tent pole concept of all the things that go on in Branson in the Spring, but specifically to highlight the national publicity we could get through an Al Roker person being the spokesman for that event.”
Furnished Courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent https://bransoncourier.com/view_article.php?news_ID=41
