CLEVELAND, OH – For years, Cleveland residents have suffered being a much-maligned city. Let’s take Municipal Stadium, which was home to the Indians and Browns teams and called the “mistake on the lake.” In 1969, the then very polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire. Once a hub of the industrial revolution, businesses were departing. It took a few decades, but the city started coming back. “The Flats,” an area that was home to many of these businesses had a renaissance, and soon many restaurants and bars opened there. A brand-new basketball arena was built and led by one of the best players of all time, LeBron James, the Cavaliers brought a championship banner to town. The old stadium was torn down and replaced with separate new baseball and football stadiums. I’ve been to the old and new and have to tell, they rock. Speaking of rock, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame calls Cleveland home – been there, too. “The Land,” as it’s now called by many, has certainly changed. However, despite a new stadium for the Browns, the team recently was suffering through a 19-game losing streak over a period of 635 days. Ouch! In a town that still cringes when someone mentions “The Drive” (if you don’t know, don’t ask them), football success has been largely relegated to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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To rally fans to bond together for a win, a group of metro Cleveland tanning salons touted a “Tan The Land” campaign, offering free spray-tans at select salons with a Browns win. It didn’t take long for rookie quarterback, Baker Mayfield, to make it happen for the Browns with a 21-17 win over the NY Jets, their first “W” since Christmas Eve, 2016.
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At the forefront of this promo were longtime salon chains, TNT Tanning and Palm Beach Tan. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting many operators in Cleveland and teaching certified industry training classes there. I’ve known TNT Tanning owner, Tony Humbert, for over 20 years and checked in with him to get the skinny on this promo. “Joe, it was incredible!” exclaimed Humbert. “It was a fantastic event that brought in at least a couple hundred new customers. Maybe we should do it for all Browns wins this year!” Well, Tony, have at it my friend and enjoy the team’s future success.
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Footnote: A popular beer brand (rhymes with “lud bight”) also ran a Browns promo. A cooler full of cans of the suds were chained at bars throughout the city, to be released only in the event of a win. Win they did, the chains dropped and tops were popped. Cheers to The Land!
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