Branson looks to boost digital exposure in Chiefs partnership

The Kansas City Chiefs, playing for their third consecutive Super Bowl championship on Feb. 9, have entered year three of a five-year partnership agreement with Branson that has local officials pleased with its results to date.

The $6.6 million deal inked in summer 2023 by officials with the city of Branson, Branson/Lakes Area Tourism Community Enhancement District and the Chiefs resulted in Branson becoming the official vacation destination of the team.

Super Bowl LIX will feature the Chiefs taking on the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time in three years.

In the deal, both the city and the tourism district are investing $1.3 million annually. The tourism district collects tax revenue used to market Branson and the lakes area.

As the destination marketing agency for Branson, the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau is tasked with executing the details of the agreement, said Heather Hermen, the chamber’s chief marketing and communications officer.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of opportunity with the (Chiefs) and this sponsorship. We are looking at it more of what we can do to drive visitation and attention to the destination through the partnership,” Hermen said.

Local officials previously told Springfield Business Journal a portion of tax revenues designated for marketing is providing the local funds for the deal.

The tourism district assesses a 1% sales tax in Stone and Taney counties. The city’s tourism tax, which applies a 4% rate for admissions and lodging and a 0.5% rate on food and beverage sales, was started in 1997 and last renewed by voters in 2021.

While Branson had three straight years of record-breaking tourism tax revenue ending in 2023, the 2024 total dipped 2.5% to about $17.8 million, according to city data. The district sales tax revenue took in roughly $11 million in 2024.

“From my experience with nearly two decades in the destination marketing industry, any election year is always going to have an impact. We think that that definitely was at play here and it wasn’t a surprise to us,” Hermen said of the decrease.

Although a final tabulation is still in progress, Hermen said 2024 visitation numbers in Branson are trending at or near 2023’s total of 10.29 million.

Promotional presence
Chamber representatives were present at six tailgate sessions to promote the partnership during the 2024-25 Chiefs home schedule at Arrowhead Stadium, Hermen said.

That included a roughly 20-by-30-foot booth space and a decked-out Volkswagen bus used as an opportunity for people to get commemorative photos promoting Branson and the Chiefs.

“We had a lot of visitors who came through and said that they used that as their Christmas card,” she said.

At the booth, officials distributed roughly 5,000 fanny packs promoting the partnership, along with 6,000 Branson stickers and 500 vacation guides, Hermen said.

“Those stadium-approved fanny packs were a hit, so we’re already placing our order for this next season,” she said.

The deal also allows Branson access to experiential and digital activation assets of the Chiefs, such as the team’s logos and kickoff rallies, which can be used in marketing efforts, including television and digital media, according to past reporting.

Hermen said the opportunity to expand Branson’s digital exposure is in the works. The partnership allows for marketing efforts in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska.

“We’ve asked for an increase in the markets that we can target because we are restricted to certain states and certain cities, but we’ve asked for an expansion of more states across the country to be able to use our logos in partnership,” she said, adding Oklahoma and Texas are among targets. “They have said yes to it.”

The chamber also wants to expand partnership promotion to other areas where it is marketing and has direct travel connections.

“That would include other states like Colorado because of the direct flight from Denver to Springfield and Arizona because of the direct flight from Mesa to Springfield,” she said. “We’ve asked for some of those specific city targets to be included and we’re still waiting on some feedback on those.”

In announcing the partnership in 2023, Chiefs President Mark Donovan said Branson is the first vacation partner for the sports franchise. Chiefs officials didn’t return messages seeking comment for this story by press time.

Digital assets from the city also are shown during Chiefs preseason game broadcasts, on social media and on stadium signage, according to past reporting.

Hermen said the chamber’s digital campaign reached an average of 650,000 monthly users through targeted posts with the Chiefs for six consecutive months, ending in October.

A specific social media component with travel industry app Tripscout resulted in 4.2 million impressions from May through September and a 5% increase in chamber followers on its Instagram and TikTok accounts.

A targeted opt-in email promoting the partnership also was sent to 557,000 subscribers with a 30% open rate, she said.

Additionally, Hermen said the city continues to dedicate $250,000 of its annual $2.75 million marketing budget it has in its contract with the Branson chamber for promotion of the Chiefs partnership.

Some of that money will go toward a 15-second TV commercial promoting Branson set to air on Super Bowl Sunday. Hermen said the ad agreement is with Irving, Texas-based Nexstar Media Group Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), and the commercial will be aired only in Missouri, due to cost considerations. The top price for a nationally televised 30-second Super Bowl ad this year is expected to reach $8 million, according to media reports.

Branson bound
Although rain canceled plans in 2023 for an in-market season kickoff rally in Branson, the event, which is per the agreement, went off last year as planned just prior to Labor Day weekend.

The Chiefs cheerleading squad, team mascot KC Wolf and former players were among those on hand for the celebration. Hermen said the cheerleaders also participated in activities such as a visit to Silver Dollar City.

“Just some fun regular Branson activities, and they got to do a little bit of team building and just kind of camaraderie before the season kicked off,” she said. “And we’re getting ready to invite them back – the entire cheer team, all 42 of them, in May of this year. That will be an actual full weekend retreat where they work on new routines for the next season.”

Despite the 2024 tourism tax revenue being lower to a year prior, the nearly $18 million total has chamber officials bullish on visitation prospects for this year.

“With knowing that Silver Dollar City had a record-breaking year and some of the things that they’re bringing to the table in terms of new events at their location, we feel that that will only increase what happens in Branson,” she said.

In October, construction began on a seven-story resort hotel that is part of a planned $500 million investment for Silver Dollar City over the next decade, according to past reporting.

Also included in the expansion plan are additions to the theme park and development of 1,200 acres attached to the park’s west side.