Spectators Don't Succumb to Economy

East Lansing was a sea of green last Saturday. Ann Arbor was a sea of red (oops, I meant blue) last Saturday. Last Saturday kicked off the start of the college football season.

For the first time since 1990, Spartan Stadium sold out. 75,000 screaming fans and students. The "Big House" held more than 110,000 screaming fans and students eager to finally see their team win a game.

While I was sitting in the stands, I asked myself, "Are we in Michigan or Kansas?" After all, nearly 200,000 fans paying upwards of $200 a ticket plus in an economy that is the worst in the country.

DTE Music Theater is still the #1 outdoor concert venue in the USA. Kid Rock sold out both his shows at Comerica Park. Fact is, forget the economy, spectators love their tickets.

So I was thinking about this and how we can take advantage of this phenomenon. One idea was to offer a discount for any ticket brought into the salon. The salon can then create a "ticket wall" to show off all the tickets collected.

Another idea came up after reading the article in the WSJ about home barbering. As silly as this might sound, what about salons offering the public "spectator" tickets to watch another stylist in action? Or what about charging a fee and teaching the public how to cut hair at home? It reminds me of restaurants handing out recipes to cook the same stuff at home. The more exposure, the more business.

Yet another idea was to create an in-salon special for game day widows. The staff can wear collegiate shirts and add a few posters and pom-poms, and you're ready to go.

While in the stands, the Michigan State bookstore advertised their logo goods and the one fact that stood out from the ad was that they carried more than 900 different Spartan items. Can you imagine?

Football is big. It's time to huddle and score.

Happy Wednesday!