Do Towns Want Spring Breakers? YES! MB>MC

Duffka is definitely in a different spring break mindset then the "young adults" pictured above.  Spring Break to me is relaxing and may include a trip to Disney to see the attractions.  Duffka has often wondered if places like Daytona Beach and Panama City like the annual party in their towns.  

According to the Wall Street Journal, the oil spill has hurt tourism so apparently spring breakers are better than empty beaches.  All over the Gulf Coast, vacation communities hurt by the oil spill see spring break as critical to reviving their economies and kickstarting tourism before the important summer season . Panama City Beach tourism officials have held promotional events at coffee shops near the campuses of the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and Ohio State University, offering attendees Panama City Beach-embossed T-shirts, coolers and koozies (those insulated sleeves that keep your soda or beer cold) and raffling off prizes including Southwest Airlines gift cards.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that Spring break is the third biggest tourism month for Panama City Beach, after June and July. The city typically brings in $101 million during March. In recent years, about 300,000 students have descended on its beaches, clubs and bars during spring break.  

Is this gift enough to get college students to go to Panama City?

 Spring Break has always been an interesting event to Duffka.  Viacom, owner of MTV, receives $200,000 from a lucky town each year to host their Spring Break bonanza hosted by societal antagonist Jerry Springer.  

This year Duffka will consider easy Spring Break choices like Chicago, Glenview, and home to celebrate the "readying of the fields."  Which, after all, is why we have a spring break anyways.  Do you see the word "diet" in the picture below?

Pictures courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

 

Super Bowl or Super Ads?

As a Bears fan Duffka had a tough time deciding who to cheer for.  Typically, I support the team that knocked my team out of the playoffs.  This time I became a Steelers fan.  Both teams have a solid defense, great special teams, and a solid quarterback.  The Bears are very similar--except for Cutler getting hit the most of any NFL quarterback.  

On to the economics of the Super Bowl.  This year, the National Retail Federation, NRF, estimates that $10.1 billion will be spent on the Super Bowl, that’s up from $8.87 billion in 2010, and almost double the $5.8 billion people spent last year on Halloween.  The game was watched by over 130 million people in over 200 countries.  An ad cost $3 million for 30 seconds plus the cost to create the ad.  It would make sense that really only international products from oligopolisitc industries that engage in international trade would pay for the ad time(Coke, Pepsi, VW, Kia, Snickers, Doritos, etc).  If you calculate the cost per minute and divide by the number of viewers it seems even more efficient to advertise during the Super Bowl.  By the way, Dallas thinks that the Super Bowl added $400,000,000 to the local economy.  

Some other interesting information regarding the Super Bowl:

HOW MUCH MONEY MOVES AROUND FOR THE BIG GAME?
$5.6 billion: Amount consumers will spend on Super Bowl related items.
$400 million: Amount of money added to the local economy because of the game.
35%: Ticket holders writing-off the game as a business expense.
$12,500: Price Tiffany charges to produce the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
$2.8 million: Cost for a 30-second advertisment slot during the game.
20.5: Number of minutes worth of ads it would take to pay for a new
Sun Stadium at that rate.
45: Number of minutes worth advertisements during last year's game.
41%: Percent of Super Bowl viewers surveyed who will re-watch this year's ads online.
2.9 million: Number of HD TVs bought for the Super Bowl in 2009.

AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE SUPER BOWL PARTIES? 41: Days in advance, on average, Super Bowl plans are made.
20 million: Number of Americans attending a Super Bowl party.
17: Average number of people attending each party.
5%: Percent of people who watch the big game alone.
40%: Percent of Super Bowl viewers who are not football fans.
25%: Percent of women who watch the game and enjoy it.
10 million: Number of man-hours spent preparing food for the Super
Bowl party.
10 million: Number of man-hours spent making the movie
Avatar.

Duffka asks readers to comment on the economics of the Super Bowl.  Did you watch the commercials?  Which commercials did you like and why?  What about the game?  Why is it more popular than any other single sporting event?

Super Bowl 2011 Ads