Wednesday, February 24, 2010

We're helping Lotto Max again...

If you are walking the streets of Moncton or Halifax you might see some smartly dressed guys and gals from the ALC Street Team. They are out promoting the $50,000,000 Lotto Max Jackpot for this Friday and that Lotto Max is now in Maxmillions mode --- with 9 additional prizes of $1,000,000 available to be won.

To help get the work out, we did up this faux $50 million promo piece.

FRONT:



BACK:


Make sure you get your ticket for the draw.

Tip: Crumple the paper up and you can almost believe it is real. (We don't recommend you try to buy gum with it as most places will have difficulties making change)

Monday, February 15, 2010

Square - accept credit card payments on your Smart Phone



This is very cool. Use your Smart phone to accept credit card payments. According to the website there are no contracts, monthly fees, or hidden costs. They claim you can effortlessly manage all the money you take with an easy and intuitive interface. I like the sounds of that. You can't sign up just yet (but we will when you can) - but you can find out more at Squareup.com

Thursday, February 11, 2010

What's in a (stadium) name?

We have all come to accept that all sport fields, arenas and complexes are going to sell naming rights. When it comes to professional sports, which companies have associated themselves with the best teams?

This article from the Wall Street Journal looks at this question.

The answer?

Among all companies that have put their names on a stadium where at least one NFL, NBA, major-league baseball or NHL team has played, the best track record belongs to Gillette. In 2002, the company, now part of Procter & Gamble, paid an undisclosed sum over 15 years to sponsor the stadium built for football's New England Patriots. Since the deal began, the Patriots have won two Super Bowls and a staggering 75% of their games. The second-best mark goes to H.J. Heinz and its sponsorship of the Pittsburgh Steelers' home, Heinz Field. The Steelers have posted a .656 winning percentage since that stadium opened in 2001.

Top Five



Bottom Five


Read the full article here.

Mmmmmmm Cow!




Here's a yummy logo we recently did for a new gourmet burger shop in Riverview called the Tasty Cow. They are located within Diesel Pizza, 630 Pinewood Road in Riverview. Check them out, their burgers are de-lish!

UPDATE:

Here's an article about the Tasty Cow that appeared in the paper today written by Eric Lewis:


The Cowzilla, a giant burger with buns, two patties, three slices of bacon, onion, tomato and lettuce is now available at the Tasty Cow on Pinewood Avenue in Riverview. Jeff Hughes invites everyone to try this and many other gourmet burgers.


Riverview restaurant boasts peanut butter, mac & cheese burgers and much more


"Remember, only you can prevent boring burgers."

That line is included in the description for Smokey the Cow, one of 17 gourmet hamburgers offered at The Tasty Cow, an offshoot of Riverview's Diesel Pizza, located on Pinewood Road.


The burger features barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon and onion rings piled high on a six-ounce (170-gram) slab of beef.

Sounds like a lot? It's certainly not the most interesting burger on the menu.

That title might go to the PB and Cow, which offers peanut butter, mozzarella and bacon. Or better yet, the KD Cow, which comes dripping with Kraft Dinner, bacon and mozzarella cheese.

The Tasty Cow opened this week at 630 Pinewood Rd., the same location as Diesel Pizza. Owner of both Jeff Hughes says he's been noticing gourmet hamburger joints opening up across North America and he wanted to be the first to do so in Metro Moncton. Like Diesel Pizza, The Tasty Cow offers old-fashioned flavours right up to the most outrageous toppings one can think of.

Many of the burgers were inspired by pizzas available at Diesel, which offers a peanut butter pizza and a mac and cheese pizza.

"The burgers are handmade here, we make them," Hughes explains. "The buns we use are calabrese buns that we get at a local bakery. We have toppings like fresh pineapple. There's one burger that has caramelized pears, bacon and goat cheese on it. So some of them are pretty over-the-top."

Hughes says even with just a plain burger, one can taste the difference at The Tasty Cow. The beef, a combination of medium ground beef and certified Angus beef, is seasoned with special spices to make for a mouth-watering meal.

And no, The Tasty Cow isn't limited to just cow. The burger joint offers veggie burgers as well and one can make any of the specialty burgers into a veggie burger at no extra cost.

All burger orders come with fries, sweet potato fries, caesar salad or onion rings (for an extra buck).

The average burger and fry price is about $10, Hughes says.

The Tasty Cow may be in its infancy, but its big brother Diesel Pizza opened almost two years ago, and Hughes says business is going well.

"We still get a lot of people coming in asking for specific (pizzas) that they've heard of," he says. "The best sellers on the menu are the ones that are more uncommon or more outrageous. People are really looking for those kind of things that they can't get anywhere else."

He's hoping The Tasty Cow is as successful as its sibling, and in the long term, he would like to open a second location of the co-branded restaurant in Moncton or Dieppe.

* Diesel Pizza and The Tasty Cow, located at 630 Pinewood Rd. in Riverview, are open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday, 12-10 p.m. and Sunday from 12-8 p.m. For more information or to place orders, call 852-3835. The businesses can also be found at dieselpizza.ca or thetastycow.com

Read the article http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/transcript/article/952322.

Friday, February 5, 2010

5 Steps To Overcoming Your Fears


Found this wonderful article on CareerHub about overcoming common fears.

Some great advice, here's the article:

Are you…..

Scared of making a vital call?

Worried about sending an email to that contact?

Fearful about making a big decision?

…..do you consequently feel paralysed and powerless?

Ok, try following these steps:


1) Write down EXACTLY what you’re scared of

Is it losing your job? Is it the prospect of never finding a ‘proper job’ , is it financial?

2. Write down the worst thing that could happen if you did the thing you’re trying to avoid doing?

Play out the worst case scenario

3) Take an educated guess at the chances of that fear actually becoming a reality

Very often, we fear the worst when in fact there is very little chance of the worst becoming a reality. So we allocate excessive time and energy thinking about it – which, of course, is completely irrational.

4) Write down the TWO biggest things you can do to minimize impact of the worst case scenario

Part of handling fear is taking some control in a given situation. So list two specific actions you could take so as to have more control and handle whatever consequences come up.

5) Quickly take the first step (e.g. send a text, make a call, send an email)

By quick – I mean in the next 24 hours.

When you take yourself through these 5 steps, you often realise how irrational your fear is. You realise that you’re spending 50% of your time fearing an outcome which may only have a 5 or 10% chance of actually occuring. And if that worst case scenario did play out, you’ve got some key actions to minimize the impact of it.

These steps immediately give you the courage to do the things you fear the most and so help you break out of that self imposed prison called F-E-A-R (…..False Evidence Appearing Real)


To read the original article or more great advice, visit CareerHub.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

McDonald's Commercial Remake

I know they remake movies all the time... but remake a commercial? Well looks like the good folks at McDonald's are remaking the famous Larry Bird - Jordan "nothing but net" spot. This time featuring Dwight Howard and LeBron James.

Here's the teaser for the new version:


Looks like we'll have to tune in to CBS before the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIV to see the rest.

The original from 1993: A classic.