I think all of these are positive moves:
One of those recommendations is severing the relationship with MTV-U.
- I don't have anything against MTV and I hope they still have a presence here, but MTV doesn't make/break Spring Break. From what I saw with what MTV promised out of the deal (see attached PDF from 2007) Panama City Beach failed to get a return on their invetsment. MTV fell short on every single portion of the agreement (they promoted Cancun and Miami WAY more than PCB each year, the PCB presence on mtvu.com SUCKED, promotion of partners and hotel partners was virtually non-existent and about half of the concerts SUCKEd cos they were 3 hours late.. or the performer only sang two songs and left... or several other lame issues)
The TDC's also recommending the city avoid all types of college age directed advertisement, sticking mostly to family geared advertisement.
- Good move. The businesses that benefit from Spring Break can always co-op and get affordable advertising (we still have some great SB2010 advertising and sponsorships available on Tripsmarter... hint, hint
)
Another of the approved TDC recommendations is to pay for extra law enforcement presence at the peak points of the season, including increased ATV and K-9 Units.
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They also plan to make any businesses catering to the spring breakers take a workshop on avoiding potential problems.
- Great idea! Hopefully they help businesses become proactive on Spring Break problems, rather than reactive. Helping Spring Breakers avoid problems rather than having them end up in jail is a win-win.
I think these moves will make Spring Break better for everyone.
The only downside to all of this is we lose MTV's pull for national artists. But, I think Club La Vela and Spinnaker (and possibly other clubs) can still pull in desirable bands and performers... even some national-level artists.