Have you ever wanted to smash something? I mean, really, really smash something to bits with a sledgehammer or bat and feel the tension and anger flow out of your body. If you’ve felt that, you’re not alone, and in places in Dallas, Toronto, Houston, Niagara Falls, and Australia there are companies that specialize in letting you smash items to smithereens.
One company, Anger Room in Dallas, started in the owner’s garage where friends smashed objects for $5 while music played. Word quickly spread about the new stress-relief option and the owner got so many calls that a four-month wait list developed. Eventually, a location was rented in downtown Dallas and the business took off.
For $25, customers get five minutes to smash furniture, computers, printers, alarm clocks, glasses, and other breakables. Custom set-ups are also available for $500. One notable example – a fake retail store including clothing, racks, and all.
Customers are outfitted with safety gear and get to choose their weapon of destruction. Once a sound track is selected, let the hammers fly!
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the various promotional tactics that can be used for launching a new business.
- Have students come up with tactics and list all the tactics on the white board (ex: billboards, print, direct mail, etc.).
- Show the Anger Room Web site: http://www.angerroom.com/
- Another company is The Rage Room: http://www.battlesports.ca/rage-room/
- Divide students into groups to work on this exercise.
- For Anger Room, have each team select three different tactics. For each tactic, explain why it was selected and how it will be used.
- Debrief by putting together the entire suggested lists on the white board. As a final step, have the entire class vote on the top three tactics to use.
Source: New York Times
