Six months of work pays off

By Brandon Cone
BDN Staff Writer
bcone@bransondailynews.com

The announcement earlier this week that the television soap opera “As the World Turns” will be filming on location in Branson has caused excitement among both Tri-Lakes Area visitors and business owners alike.

“This has really become a big deal for Branson,” said Ann Reinke, account executive with Concept Marketing, Inc. of Branson, the company responsible for bringing the drama to Branson. “We’re already getting a lot of attention.”

Local officials confirmed that several inquiries had been made by visitors wanting to plan their vacations around June 6-8 — when crews from CBS will be here to film the show — as well as businesses wanting to be part of the drama’s filming.

Reinke said bringing attention to the Branson area was her intent when she started contacting television networks about six months ago.

“We saw getting one of these daytime shows filmed here was a perfect way to get Branson in front of our target audiences,” Reinke said.

Reinke said she began by contacting CBS, NBC and ABC, conveying some of the mutual benefits that could come from having one of their shows filmed here.

“I told them they have the same demographics we’re trying to attract, we have more than 7 million visitors a year and showed them statistics from the chamber of commerce regarding our loyalists,” Reinke said. “Then I told them that if filming a show here could get a small percentage of our loyal visitors watching their show, then their ratings would go up.”

She said after keeping in contact with the networks for several months, she finally received a call from CBS representatives, saying they had an idea for a story for “As the World Turns” that would work in Branson.

That story according to a press release from Concept Marketing would see the show’s stars Gwen and Will Munson, played by Jennifer Landon and Jesse Lee Soffer, and their friend, Maddie Coleman played by Alexandra Chando, travel to the “Live Music Show Capital of the World” to further Gwen’s musical career, but Gwen’s rival Jade Taylor, played by Elena Goode, also makes the trip to Branson.

Reinke said the next step in the process will be when the drama’s Executive Producer Chris Goutman and Head Writer Jean Passanante — along with other officials from “As the World Turns” — will visit the Tri-Lakes Area to decide what areas would be possible locations for the filming.

Reinke also gave credit to Concept Marketing Owner John Wallen for being responsible for the daytime drama’s decision to come to the area.

“We are delighted about the opportunity to present Branson to this audience in an exciting new way,” Wallen said. “We are confident that the people of Branson will welcome “As the World Turns” with open arms.”