Construction Marketing Ideas

Can we unravel the Change Order Boat mystery?
This picture is certainly making the rounds with viral email. I checked with Architect Ryan McClain, the source from which I obtained the photo, who reported in an email to me on Sept. 19, the day after my initial posting on this matter

"Thanks for you email, and the MNP plug on your site. Unfortunately, I got the image in a rather long chain email at work, and don't know its origin. I will, however, look into it and get back to you if I learn anything."

Seems many people are trying to track this thing down -- so far today, for example, I can track nine visits to this blog who arrived here using relevant Google keyword searches to find my original Sept. 18 posting.

The way this thing is spreading suggests a viral marketing 'success' -- success is in quotes, of course, because I don't see any business value in whomever originated the photo identifying himself. But it clearly has struck a nerve (of truth!?) within the industry.

I paid the $9.95 to boatinfoworld.com and tracked a registration for a boat named "Change Order" to Paul D. Frazier of Memphis, TN. A google search for Paul D. Frazier takes us to this Louisiana LLC corporation registration:

36457889K 05/23/2007 PAUL FRAZIER CONSTRUCTION, L.L.C. 154 W. CENTRAL AVENUE GRAND ISLE, LA 70358
Agent: PAUL D. FRAZIER 154 W. CENTRAL AVENUE GRAND ISLE, LA 70358
Member/Manager PAUL D. FRAZIER, Manager 154 W. CENTRAL AVENUE GRAND ISLE, LA 70358

Note: We cannot establish from this that the boat in the picture is actually the one registered; nor can we establish that the boat's registration to the Paul D. Frazier of Memphis, TN is in any way related to the Paul Frazier Construction in Louisiana.

If you have an idea where this came from, please feel free to email or comment. And I'll continue to keep my eyes open as well.

Note: See this posting from March 24, 2009, where the original photographer reports he took the image while in Vermillion, Ohio in late July 2007.