Blog: From SBJ with Love

We’ve been teasing it all summer, and the day finally is here.

Today, we launch a newly rebranded SBJ.net, the culmination of months of work by our staff.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the ads in our paper featuring prominent businesspeople in the community posed in James Bond attire.

Reminiscent of our Clue campaign that heralded our first major redesign, we wanted to make a big - and mysterious - splash with the new site.

Missouri State University’s Allen Kunkel as Jaws from Bond films “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker” was my personal favorite, but we really had an all-star cast volunteer their time and personalities. Curtis Jared as Bond, Tom Strong as a Russian villain and Michael Moss Early as Miss Moneypenny are some great examples. Designed by Springfield Business Journal’s lead designer, Heather Mosley, we had a lot of fun with the ads, and we hope you enjoyed speculating about their meaning.

With the new site, you’ll notice bigger, bolder art, a homepage worth visiting and an all-around easier experience.

We’ll likely feel some growing pains with this transition, but we have taken steps to make the process as seamless as possible for our readers.

If this is not the case, don’t hesitate to contact me directly at gpickle@sbj.net.

In the meantime, enjoy a look back at our ads that helped pave the way for today.