Marketing For Dummies

Last night as I was watching the NBA draft on Tivo*, I heard Julie say: "Where the hell do they think I live?" I looked over at her as she was reading her e-mail and said: "Who?" She then went on to tell me the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau (an extension of Cleveland+) had sent her an e-mail to enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to Cleveland. The Grand Prize included: Two-night accommodations at the Crowne Plaza City Centre Hotel, four tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Tickets, four Ingenuity Festival One-Day Tickets, four Dew Sports Action Tour 4-Day Tickets, dinner at the House of Blues, and two roundtrip airline tickets on Continental Airlines.

While that package is great, I really think the braintrust behind Cleveland+ should at least start outside of Cleveland proper. Maybe try the suburbs next time. Those of us who live within the city limits, really don't need a flight.

*Watching the NBA draft on Tivo was one of the best sports draft experiences I have ever had. For an event that takes over four hours, I was able to watch the whole thing in less than an hour. I caught every pick and was able to stop for some key analysis and draft fashion, but other than that, I got to avoid all the useless information they dig up to fill up four hours of television.