Editing Photo Images for MyMenuLab - Made EASY with Picnik

Have you ever struggled to get your food photos to look just right on your MyMenuLab creations? Check out this website: www.picnik.com, a web based photo editing service that is user friendly and FREE. Here are a few of it's features....First of all, did we tell you, it's free?!? All you have to do is create an account, upload photos to your library and start editing. The site allows you to adjust exposure and contrast, retouch images, crop photos and best of all, resize for your menus. (MyMenuLab suggests that photos are 300 dpi and sized to 2700 x 1800 pixels for horizontal images and 1800 x 2700 for vertical images, or a 1:1.5 ratio.) We know that not everyone has Photoshop or a graphic design degree. That's why we provided you with our Image Gallery...but we also know you may want to personalize your menus even more with photos of your food on your tables. Remember to emphasize the stars of your menu with popboxes and photos and you'll be on the road to a more profitable menu!
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Go Green - Earth Day 2010

Promoting your restaurant as an environmentally conscious business is even more hip than ever, and the Green trend is easy to follow with some of these easy-to-build KISS products on MyMenuLab...posters, table tents, buzz cards and more. These designs are pre-set so you can just add your text and order! Earth Day is coming up quick - April 22nd - what better time to get on board?
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Easter Promotions

Spring is just about here (hooray!) and that means Easter is right around the corner. So, get your bonnets on and make some super easy and fun Easter posters for your Brunch or Buffet! Planning a special menu instead? How about a slugger or table tent? Sean Altenberg, Sysco Baraboo and Elva Gyorke, Sysco Detroit were both thinking ahead this year with these posters. There's still plenty of time to add that extra touch and promote your Easter festivities. HOP to it! (sorry, couldn't help myself)
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Beloit VFW, Beloit WI

Two isn't always better than one, but in this case it is. This buzz card and poster set created by Shawn Boldt from Sysco Baraboo for the Beloit VFW, is simple but powerful and attention grabbing. I bet the VFW will be busy for lunch... Nicely done, Shawn!
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St. Patty's Day

Now is the time to do some quick marketing projects for your St. Patrick's Day bash. Check out our E-Z Marketing section under Holidays & Events....pre-built designs for you to tweak with your text OR modify the images and designs for your own personalized look! Affordable, simple, quick solutions for your business.
(Besides, you really don't want leftover green beer, do you?)
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Top Ten Biggest Food Trends for 2010

I came across this on the Comcast.net news page....taken from The Daily Beast Blog.

The 2010 Top Ten Biggest Food Trends are:

1) Organic Chocolate
2) Coconut (water, ice cream, yogurt)
3) Gluten-free Food
4) Exotic Citrus
5) Nostalgic Comfort Food (Oreos, peppermints, meatloaf, mini burgersetc.)
6) Anything Pickled (ginger, green beans)
7) Smoked Fish
8) Bacon Sweets - chocolate or carmel covered bacon - Homer Simpson would love this one. I'm intrigued as well....
9) Tricked Out Popcorn
10) Spicy Snacks

Check out the full story at this link: http://www.comcast.net/slideshow/news-foodtrends/1/

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Egg Plantation, Newhall

We thought the Egg Plantation in Newhall, CA deserved some recognition for a number of reasons...

First off, they are looking ahead on the holiday calendar. Valentine's Day is a just a month away so good planning on their part in creating this poster.

Secondly, way to take advantage of one of our favorite lines of products, the E-Z Marketing line. These products are designed to get your marketing pieces on the table in record time. They are easy to make and look great too. You can even upload your logo for a more personal touch.

Lastly, the Egg Plantation is diving into the MyMenuLab world fast! They've only been signed up for less than a week, and already doing great things...Congrats!
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Social Media

If you've read up on Restaurant Marketing Trends that are due to continue into the new year, you have probably heard of the term "Social Media". What's the hype about? Business writers from the Miami Herald Niala Boodhoo and Bridget Carey say "For most businesses, if you're not on social media, you're losing out on lots of potential growth. 2009 was the year that sites like Facebook and Twitter became mainstream -- and the growth of people depending on social networks increasingly for information." (posted 1/4/2009)
Sounds like a good idea to me...why not use these social networking sites to help spread the news about upcoming events, post coupons or sell specials? It's a good side-kick for the kind of neighborhood marketing that MyMenuLab is a part of. Your tried and true, loyal customers are like a mini marketing team, and you can bet that some of them are hooked on these Internet networking sites. Plus, they'll be dazzled when they arrive to see your snappy looking specials advertised on a table tent or poster and then tweet about them to their friends.
By the way, here's the definition of Tweet as posted by Wikipedia:
"Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers."
( I really did have to look that up)

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MML University

Having trouble getting started on MyMenuLab? This is your chance!

MML University is held 6 times a week. It's the perfect opportunity to speak live to an expert while watching them create and process products....all from your own computer screen! This isn't just for beginners either...more advanced users have the opportunity to learn and share more tips and tricks as well. Spend 30 minutes with us or stay for the whole hour!
Log in by going to www.mymenulab.com and follow the links.

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New Year's Eve: Advertise Your Party!

It's not too late to create a super simple, but effective advertising campaign for your Christmas or New Year's Eve Party! 10 minutes of your time and you can have a great poster or table tent to let your customers know about upcoming events and parties...it's marketing that pays for itself!
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Thanksgiving Drink Recipes

Top off your green bean casserole with a real treat, certain to induce napping on the big day. (AND, If you are asleep you won't have to have any of Aunt Martha's mincemeat pie!) These drink recipes are great for a crowd and sure to please.


Hot Cider Punch
1 gallon apple juice
1 gallon apple cider
8 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves
1 cup sugar
juice of one lemon
Bring to a boil and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Let cool a little and add 4 cups dark rum. Serve in mugs with cinnamon sticks for stirring.
(If you like a hot buttered rum, add a pat of butter on top.)

Homemade Irish Cream
2 cups whiskey
1 pint half & half
1 can Eagle brand milk
1 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
Put items in blender (in batches if needed) and blend until well mixed. Chill well and serve over ice or with coffee. Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.
Hint: add a touch of peppermint extract or schnapps, or your favorite coffee syrup for a Holiday touch!

Enjoy...and Happy Thanksgiving!




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Halverson's, Stoughton, WI

The planning has begun...at least for Halverson's in Stoughton, WI. Thanks to Sean Altenberg, Sysco Baraboo, they have three great new marketing pieces to advertise their "Homespun Thanksgiving". This is the perfect example of marketing made easy!



Kudos to Sean and Halverson's!
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