This Post Sort of Peters out towards the End, But, Hey, You Can't Write a Masterpiece Every Day

Ah, the buildup to the Euros (European football championships) has begun! Only today I received a flyer in the mail that offers 1 pizza + 1 litre of coke + 1 Germany flag + 1 Euros planner for only 8.90. Actually, I'm not sure whether "Euros planner" is the correct term here; I mean those little booklets that have all the fixtures in it and where you can fill in the results.

I got my first* Euros planner one or two weeks ago. I looked down towards the counter at my local DVD rental and my brain went, "Aaaaah! Euros planner!" (Think Homer Simpson spotting a donut.) Naturally, I took one home.

It turns out that this particular planner is littered with advertising for new DVD releases and contains half-price vouchers which are only valid during the Euros. That struck me as pretty clever: Every time you fill in the results - i.e., every day, being the aspergery football fan that you are - you are reminded that there is an alternative form of entertainment. If you have a business that's also likely to be hurt by the Euros, you might want to consider offering something similar.

Which made me think. When the Euros or the World Cup are coming up, you always read about estimates concerning the economic impact of those tournaments. (Bottom line: Not too dramatic.) I've never read one of the formal reports, but based on the press coverage I've seen, it seems to me that these estimates never take into account that the tournament may have a negative impact on some businesses. That can't be right, can it?

*If this wording gives you the impression that I'm starting a collection, you might be not entirely mistaken.