Springfield MO Marketing

A local blogger in Springfield, one who has made a name for himself for his coverage of the City Council among other areas, also has a fine sense of humor. In 2008, he announced on April 1st he was running for Mayor. The local drink and party rag immediately picked up the story, only to rue their timeliness in falling for the joke and the delivery method, racing to be first rather than correct.

This year, Jason posted a story that announced a series of concerts being sponsored by the Park District. The Convention and Visitors Board immediately posted the information on their website, not waiting for formal notice from the Park Board. Apparently some other ‘media outlets’ who should know better also posted the information, leading to this response on Jason’s website:

It looks like this year’s April Fool’s joke on Life of Jason has been targeted toward the Park Board. This fictitious lineup of entertainers was not released by the Park Board. We ask that the administrator of this site please remove the misleading information immediately. A formal release from Parks Public Information Administrator Bob Nelson will be released shortly to all local media. Unfortunately, the fictitious information has already mislead several citizens and local media outlets. For more information, contact the Park Board directly at (417) 864-1049 or visit our official Web site at http://www.parkboard.org.
- Bob Nelson, Springfield-Greene County Park Board

It’s an interesting choice of words – target. I heard through a reliable source that Mr Nelson was unhappy having to handle the calls that came in given his already busy day as a public citizen. Yet when he and the City are trying to get the word out about their latest pet project, Jason’s website is one of the first ones they go to. Is that ‘having your cake and eating it too?’ Maybe they and the CVB should remove “Life of Jason” from their publicity distribution lists. Oh, and for those who missed the posting, it was a well written one until the final few listings, which as Jason himself notes:

I really thought after last year’s April Fool’s Joke that my readers would stop and look at the calendar and think there would be no way our Park Board could afford to bring in Robert Plant and Allison Krauss for a free concert.

One other fine pairing that had the locals drooling, rather then checking their sources, was Big Smith in combination with The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. The Devil’s don’t get together often, the last time was a well-documented affair at the Gillioz. So for those of you who need a fix, here’s a reliable source.

Wildwood Springs Lodge Presents the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. November 5th,6th and 7th, 2009 at The Midwest’s Premier Acoustic Venue located in Steelville MO. Sign up here for their Monthly Newsletter