What Is The Branson Critic Award?
When the Branson Critic Awards was created in 2004, it was simply a fun idea of giving a ‘rah rah’ from the fans towards their favorite show. It certainly does not represent all the fans nor does it represent the 7,000,000 people that come to Branson each year. This would be impossible for any awards program.
It is what it is; just a fun way for groups of fans to celebrate the accomplishments of their favorite performers and shows. And it is provided like any contest where someone must win. However, there are no real losers in this process. And Branson is the biggest winner because the awards shed light to the digital world that Branson has great entertainers and entertainment.
Like anything in life, getting everyone to agree on what that process is to be is simply impossible. Any awards program in the world that can satisfy a tenth of its audience would be a miracle. Who in Branson would have agreed with the Oscar winners of last year? How about the People’s Choice awards? How about the MTV awards?
SO each of these awards represents a segment of the population, and satisfies it. Branson Critic has evolved to just that, it caters to a group of fans that love to express their vote in a way that must be seen via the computer.
In the process, a tremendous amount of free publicity is given to a show or performer for free when a great review is published. Most of Kurt Moore’s reviews have been seen over 50,000 times on our site. Since he has over 60 reviews, that’s over a million views, all to the benefit of Branson, yet Kurt Moore never got a dime and little thanks for all he did for Branson. He stayed the course because he loved Branson and the shows.
Some of the new Show-Me-Branson-Sisters reviews have been viewed 25,000 times just last month. They don’t receive remuneration either, yet they are enamored by groups of people who love to go to the shows and have a good time.
Branson Critic just past 10,000,000 hits this year, and the site is still in its infancy. It’s obvious that many fans of Branson were looking for an Internet home of like minds and a place they could express their admiration for the performers. Branson Critic does just that.
What do reviews do? This is free publicity to the shows from the mouth of fans, which carries great credibility in the eyes of the readers. Some people in Germany have emailed me saying that because of our site, they are coming to Branson. Then once here, they get to brag about their stay to the world in the form of a review. The fact that that review counts as points in the Awards is just a bonus. Some write several reviews for different shows knowing that their points are going in different directions. They don’t care, they hope many win the prize, and that’s what has happened.
Each year our award program expands to allow more and more shows and entertainers to receive an award. This year we have 11 that the fans truly narrowed in on.
Because of the fan awards, many people who would not normally check the Internet as regards Branson, do so to see who is winning. The reason they can do this is that Branson Critic reveals every vote in real time and does not hide its process from the public. By doing this there are no politics involved. People vote, you see it, and results give way to winning categories.
Our calendar year goes from October 1st to September 30th. So any review written in this calendar period counts as a vote to determine fan nominees. This may leave out some who come late in the year, but October, is simply the best time to hold awards for this site. Like I said, it’s not for everyone.
What’s the difference between the fan’s awards and the Editor’s Choice?
The fan awards are written in stone. At any time of the day you can see who is winning and when the door shuts its over. We have absolutely no control over who votes, wins, and in 2007 you can vote as many times as you want. You must write a 400-word review for 4 points and if you send one (1) digital picture it counts as an extra point. Some do not like this process; again, it’s not for everyone. I know by using this process that it makes it difficult for a person to create a landslide, simply by the fact it takes a lot of time to write a good review. By the way, if a review is poor, it will be sent to their club to be reworked. The editors no longer have the time to correct poorly written reviews.
Editors Choice: Now this is more subjective. This is the process: I may go see the show, my editors go see the show, and then based on their comments through the year, and what the fans say through-out the season, I then make the final choice. It is impossible for me to see every show (even though I have seen 114 shows in 4 years) every year. So why should I have the right to make this choice? Simple, it’s my site and I am the biggest fan of Branson. You have your award and I have mine. Will everyone agree with my decision? Not a chance! In fact, you can’t get 6 people to agree on a restaurant at 5:30 at night when everyone is starving, for crying out loud!
My decision is based on the momentum of this site, which includes all opinions expressed on this site. To me, one of my all-time favorite shows this year was “Road to Rock”, yet it lacked support from its fans. Because they could not get their fans behind them - no award will be given. Believe me when I say this, I truly wished their fans would have stepped up, but that is life. I still love that show and would recommend it to anyone.
As the owner of Branson Critic, I can truly say I love all the shows. Each one has its own theme, texture as you will, and produces good feelings, and fun. They all contribute to a good family atmosphere and yet, not deliver a condescending attitude of putting on airs.
We hope that Branson Critic is viewed as ‘the fan’s site’, a fun place to be and a promotional model for Branson’s Future.
Doug Holland