Last night, arguably the most popular game in all of sports was played and watched by millions. Of course, we’re talking about the Super Bowl. And the 47th version of the National Football League’s huge championship game saw the Baltimore Ravens win a close one against the San Francisco 49ers. It wasn’t a close one for the entire game though. The final score of 34-31 was closer than most expected in the game’s first half.

Leading by as much as 22 points in the first half, the Ravens nearly faltered after a strange game delay that took place early in the third quarter. With half of the lights in New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome shutting down, the game was put on hold by just over half an hour. The bizarre near-blackout took place shortly after pop megastar, Beyoncé dazzled the audience with her half time performance.

“It’s like she literally blew the roof off of the place,” commented one of our Synergy staff members who watched the game at a Super Bowl party last night, “When the lights went out, I just had a feeling that things were about to change.” And change they did. Following the 34 minute delay, the San Francisco 49ers seemed to get their second wind and a big momentum shift took place.

At one point late in the game, the Ravens lead by only two points. Nevertheless, they held on to win the franchise’s second-ever championship. As always though, the football game is never the lone story to come out of Super Bowl Sunday. As with every year, this year’s television broadcasts of the game played host to numerous elaborate commercials advertising everything from electronics to automobiles.

“I loved the one with Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd,” mentioned another Synergy team member, “I think those are two of the funniest guys in Hollywood and their chemistry is great.” The commercial in question, advertised a new Samsung Galaxy product and also featured a cameo from NBA superstar, LeBron James. “It was really cool because it was a commercial about making the commercial. It was very inventive.”

Naturally, the staff here at Synergy Marketing, takes quite the interest in the marketing strategies that are employed by companies of all kinds. Super Bowl Sunday can arguably be considered the biggest advertising day of the year, as companies spend millions not only to create their commercials but to get them aired during the big game. As a result, many of them do not come without controversy.

One such controversial ad was for Volkswagen. It featured a Caucasian office worker with a Jamaican accent spreading cheer among his colleagues. Leaked to the public online days before the Super Bowl, many found the ad racist. Many others, however, consider the ad one that is simply filled with lighthearted humour. “I am of Jamaican descent,” informed a friend of Synergy’s, “and I wasn’t offended by the ad. There are far worse stereotypes for Jamaicans than being happy people.”

Either way, not all companies can afford to create ads as large as the ones made by Samsung and Volkswagen. But that doesn’t mean that advertising your business should be overlooked. If the Super Bowl has taught us anything, it’s that investing in advertising your business is of key importance to its success. Call up one of our friendly sales reps at 1-877-748-9884 to discuss how we can help you promote your company. We promise, it won’t cost you anything near what it would to make a Super Bowl commercial!

If you’re a Toronto-area sports fan, this past weekend was certainly one you would have enjoyed. Firstly, NHL Hockey made it’s long awaited return. And on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs started off their 2013 campaign with a win over their arch rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. The 2-1 victory will hopefully be their first of many. At least, this is the sentiment being felt around the Synergy Marketing offices.

“It feels great to start of the year with a win,” said one of our Synergy reps, “We’ve been waiting so long for hockey to start, we needed this bright spot. And who knows? Maybe with the season being as short as it is (48 games instead of the usual 82), the Leafs have a chance of making the playoffs. Crazier things have happened!

The Toronto Star‘s Damien Cox warns, however, that Toronto hockey fans shouldn’t get too excited too soon. “Seriously, other than suggesting that the Brooklyn-bound Islanders will almost certainly stink again, don’t read much if anything into the first day and night of NHL hockey,” he wrote this past Saturday.

Well, for now, Leafs fans can revel in the fact that the team is – so far – undefeated. But there is another reason that Toronto sports fans are smiling this morning. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers came to town yesterday to take on the hometown Raptors. On paper, the game looked like a surefire loss for the Raps. But games are played on the court. Not on paper.

The 108-103 Raptors victory had some Synergy staff members who went to the game buzzing last night. “It was a great game,” one team member reported, “Especially because I have so many friends who are Lakers fans, it was great watching their team lose. The Raptors actually lead the whole game, it was awesome. I can’t understand people who cheer against their home team!”

The Toronto Star‘s Doug Smith would likely agree. Yesterday, he reported that Toronto Raptors starting point guard Jose Calderon, “shredded Bryant (while) the Los Angeles Lakers defence, turned Landry Fields into a scoring machine and propelled the Raptors to one of their more significant victories of the season.”

Those are not words read by Toronto sports fans very often. Never, in fact. “I was shocked,” exclaimed our rep, “Fields never scores like that. And it was awesome seeing Calderon outplay Bryant. It was like watching a movie or something. You couldn’t have written up a better game for us.”

It just goes to show you that when teams truly work hard and function as a cohesive unit, they can pull off just about anything they put their minds to. So with that said, “Go Leafs Go!” and “Let’s Go Raptors!”. “If only our teams could make us feel this good every weekend,” our rep concluded, “Can’t wait for the Blue Jays to get in on this action too!”

The words that hockey fans all over North America have been waiting to hear for months can now be genuinely spoken: the lockout is over! For some hockey fans, this is news that brings about jubilation and relief. For others, the bitter taste of half a season wasted is still clearly present in their mouths.

“It’s ridiculous,” mentioned a friend of the Synergy team over the weekend, “We (the fans) had to sit and bear months of rich people arguing with other rich people. I really think that fans should boycott the first games that are played this season. It’s important to send a message that we don’t appreciate having the season ruined this way.”

As far as a boycott goes, it is far from likely that one will take place. Not one of any significance, that is. This is especially true in Toronto – the home of Synergy Marketing – where Maple Leafs fans have been anxiously awaiting the first game of the season to be played at the Air Canada Centre. It will take place one week from today when the Buffalo Sabres come to town for the home opener.

Appropriately, the Leafs will play their arch rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, in the official season opener which takes place this coming Saturday. With the lockout having finally come to an end over this past weekend, the NHL has released a 48-game schedule to be played, that will conclude with the Stanley Cup playoffs in June.

If there is one good thing that the lockout has promised hockey fans, it’s that the shortened season will provide a lot of hockey in a short span of time. Taking a look at the schedule of the Maple Leafs, it’s clear that they will be playing more frequently than they would be if they were playing in a regular 82-game season.

“There’s a game practically every other day,” explained one of our excited Synergy reps, “It’s pretty cool to be honest with you. I guess they really have to cram in a lot of games in a short amount of time. It may be hard on the players but that’s the price they’ll have to pay for taking so long to get the season started. And you never know what surprises may happen due to the shorter schedule!”

Another noticeable twist in this year’s NHL schedule is that teams will only be playing against their conference opponents. Similar to the Major League Baseball schedule where teams from the American and National Leagues rarely play each other during the regular season, the 2013 NHL season will keep the Eastern and Western Conference teams away from each other.

“Works for me!” exclaimed another Synergy team member, “I find games against conference or division opponents more meaningful anyway. If you want to get to the playoffs, you truly have to be better than the other teams in your division and conference. This new schedule will make sure of that. Let’s drop the puck already!”

It looks like the Toronto Blue Jays are giving Canadian baseball fans their Christmas presents early. Hot on the heels of the Toronto Argonauts winning the 100th Grey Cup on their home field at Rogers Centre, it appears as if the city’s baseball team is poised to follow suit and do the same by winning the World Series in 2013!

Okay, maybe we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves by making such a bold prediction (more of an optimistic hope actually), but lately, the Jays have certainly been making their biggest off-season moves in a very long time. Just weeks after securing pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buerle in a blockbuster trade with Miami, Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has done it again.

As reported by The Toronto Star ‘s sports columnist Richard Griffin yesterday, the Blue Jays have acquired none other than this past season’s National League Cy Young Award winner, R.A. Dickey. Not unlike the trade made just before it, the deal bringing Dickey to Toronto involves several players – seven to be exact.

Griffin reveals that Dickey is headed to the Jays along with his personal catcher, Josh Thole. And just in case you’re wondering how and why a pitcher would have a “personal catcher”, you’re not alone. Seems strange, right? But Dickey is a special type of pitcher – a rare breed in professional baseball. His signature pitch is the knuckleball, which is not only hard to pitch, but hard to catch.

Getting last year’s breakout pitching star didn’t come easy. The Jays were forced to part with two huge prospects in Travis D’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. Toronto also parted ways with John Buck, a former-Jay who came back to the Blue Jays in the same trade that landed Johnson and Buerle from the Marlins.

“This is fantastic news,” said one of our Synergy sales reps this morning, “If nothing else, it communicates that the Jays are ready to win now. We’ve been suffering for too long. It’s been 20 years, to be exact, since the Jays last won the World Series. We’re in a tough division that only gets tougher. No more waiting for next year. This is our year!”

As excited as our colleague is, he’ll have to wait until April for the Major League Baseball season to get going. The Jays lineup will certainly have a new look to it, but that’s no guarantee that a championship will be won right away. Their chances, however, do look much improved.

“I’m excited,” our rep continued, “I was just a kid the last time the Jays won it all. I have a whole new appreciation for sports as an adult. Maybe it’s because I’ll have the opportunity to party a lot harder the next time we win a championship. One thing is for sure, we’re in for a very good season. Thank you Blue Jays!”

Christmas is just eight days away! And for many Canadians, the return of NHL hockey is way up on their wish lists. With no end to the current lockout in sight, however, it would appear as if the season is doomed. Naturally, this angers many a hockey fan throughout Canada. But is the same feeling prevalent throughout the United States?

In yesterday’s edition of The Toronto Star, business reporter Morgan Campbell suggested that moving more teams into Canada may help the league. He writes that the NHL’s 12 money-losing teams are based in the United States. When Winnipeg welcomed back NHL hockey last year, they boosted the former Atlanta Thrashers from $135 million to $200 million in value.

Campbell does note, however, that although it has been proven that Canada supports their hockey teams, there are not enough NHL-sized markets in the nation to support the number of teams that are losing money. The lockout, he points out “revolves around propping up money-bleeding franchises in U.S. markets.”

So what to do? According to Campbell, experts don’t believe that the NHL’s bottom line will improve simply by moving more teams into Canada. Says economist Glenn Hodgson of the Conference Board of Canada: “You could take the three weakest teams in the league and drop them in Canada, but you still have a third of the league that’s not breaking even.”

Nevertheless, the weak U.S. markets for NHL teams are among the league’s most pressing issues. “It’s so annoying,” lamented one of our Synergy staff members, “We’re dying for hockey up here and so many people south of the border couldn’t seem to care less. Meanwhile, it seems like it’s those markets that are holding up the season from even happening.”

Drew Dorweiler of Dartmouth Partners would agree. “Some of these teams are just not viable in Sun Belt markets,” he said, “There are other areas waiting that are demographically much more appealing to hockey. The franchise could be significantly more valuable and more profitable in these other markets.” But what other markets in Canada could support NHL hockey?

Campbell writes that Quebec City has long been trying to secure the return of an NHL team. The proof lies in the construction of a new $400 million arena that is being built. There has even been talk of Toronto becoming home to a second team, although it would be very unlikely in the Maple Leafs-crazed city. So what is next for the NHL?

“Hopefully an end to this lockout,” exclaimed our rep, “No matter how you look at it, everyone loses when no hockey is played. The league isn’t making any money and the lack of games sure isn’t going to boost any interest in those U.S. markets that are already struggling. This is something they have to figure out really soon. It’s not fair to the fans.”

It’s a day to rejoice in the city of Toronto. The Argonauts are Grey Cup Champions! For the 16th time in Canadian Football League history, the storied franchised has captured the illustrious title. Winning the Grey Cup on their home field is also a feat that has rarely been done, but this was the third time in history the Argos were able to pull that off. That last time took place in 1952.

Making last night’s game even more special was the fact that it was the 100th Grey Cup played in history. And in Toronto – a city that many Canadians feel doesn’t even appreciate the CFL – Grey Cup fever was hot all week long. With numerous festivities commemorating the event, thousands of fans from across the Greater Toronto Area packed the downtown streets to join in the fun.

After last night’s game, the party was naturally at its highest level of excitement. Blue-clad fans high-fived and cheered well into the night celebrating the first Grey Cup win for the Argos since 2004. The final score of 35-22 actually makes it seem like the game was closer than it was. A touchdown for the visiting Calgary Stampeders in the game’s dying seconds wasn’t enough to topple the team destined for victory.

“It was an awesome game,” proclaimed one of Synergy’s biggest football fans, “You just knew that the Argos had the game in the bag from the opening kickoff. With the game being played at home and all of those hometown fans in the stands, you just knew that fate was going to be on our side. I hope this is a trend that we can continue next year and the years after.”

The sold out crowd of 53,208 fans are likely to agree. Well maybe not all of them. Of course, there were many Stampeders fans who went home disappointed last night. Argos quarterback Ricky Ray and Chad Kacket had a little something to do with that. Ray threw for two touchdowns while Kackert ran for 195 yards during the 100th Grey Cup, which was broadcast throughout Canada on TSN.

“It feels great,” said Ray, “This is what you play for — to be able to be on a team that gets on a run and wins a championship. It just makes you feel so good. It makes you feel like all the hard work and the obstacles that you’ve overcome just pay off. Everybody on this team, you ask them, somewhere they had to overcome something to get to this point.”

This year’s Grey Cup win was Ray’s third, but his first with Toronto. Acquired in a big trade with the Edmonton Eskimos last December, Ray also finished the game going 18-for-30 for 231 yards. Kackert, by the way, was named the game’s MVP also picking up eight receptions. Head coach Scott Milanovich had nothing but praise for his star player after the game.

“He did a great job,” said Milanovich, “It’s tough making decisions like that but obviously everyone can see why we did. He has done a great job all year and did another great job again. We’re not on that stage with the Grey Cup without him.” An excited Toronto sports fan base can only hope that in 2013, the Argos win it all over again. And that the Blue Jays are next in line to do the same!

As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, there is a lot of excitement going on in Toronto’s sports world these days. And to be completely fair, it’s not all about the Toronto Blue Jays. Yesterday, one of our reps noted that the Jays are Toronto’s only team to have won a championship in “recent memory”. Meanwhile, the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League are preparing to win this coming Sunday’s 100th Grey Cup.

The last time the Argos won the Cup was in 2004, so it’s fair to say that that would be recent memory – especially since the last time the Jays won a World Series was in 1993. There are many young people walking around Toronto with no recollection of that! Meanwhile, the Argos’ chances of winning this year have only become sweeter by the fact that the game will be played at Rogers Centre in Toronto – their home field.

“It’s going to be awesome,” mentioned one of our Toronto-based clients who has season tickets to see the Argos, “I just had this feeling that they would make it (to the Grey Cup final) this year. And it’s fantastic that they get to play at home. Hopefully, the city of Toronto will enjoy a big celebration this coming weekend.”

Hopefully, history will be on the side of the Argos who take on the Calgary Stampeders for the championship this Sunday. Last year, the B.C. Lions captured the Grey Cup at their home field, B.C. Place in Vancouver. They also pulled off this same feat in 1994, which happens to be the last time before last year that any team was able to win a Grey Cup on their home field.

“The field that the Grey Cup is played on is determined well in advance, long before the season begins,” informed one of our sales reps, “So it’s pretty cool when the winning team actually represents the city where the game is being played. Next year’s game is in Regina. But hopefully, that won’t matter and the Argos will win back-to-back championships.”

Perhaps speaking too soon, our rep shows a passion for his team that is shared throughout the Synergy Marketing offices. Well, by almost everyone, that is. “It’s hard for me to get excited about a championship being won by a team from an eight-team league,” said a co-worker, pointing out the relatively small size of the CFL, “Winning the Grey Cup is nothing like winning the Stanley Cup.”

Our poor rep may have to wait another year before any Stanley Cup is awarded. The National Hockey League remains locked out leaving fans with no ability to watch their favourite hockey stars in action. As far as Toronto and Calgary are concerned, the Grey Cup will have to do. But don’t think the Grey Cup isn’t a big deal.

According to Wikipedia, the game “is Canada’s largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 4 million.” Being headquartered in Toronto, the Synergy staff is reasonably is biased towards its hometown team. With the Argos having won the most Grey Cups in history with 15, there is hope that this Sunday will be our “sweet 16th”!

By now, many people in the Toronto sports world – scratch that, the entire sports world – are well aware of the blockbuster trade made last week between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Miami Marlins. The Blue Jays secured shortstop Jose Reyes, left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle and right-handed pitcher Josh Johnson in the deal. And today, MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig finally approved the deal!

All all-stars in their own right, the threesome was traded to Toronto, sending pitcher Henderson Alvarez and shortstops Yunel Escobar and Adeiny Hechavarria down to Miami. It’s the first real piece of exciting news to hit Toronto in the world of sports for what feels like a very long time. It’s appears as if the Jays are making a serious move to becoming a contender for the first time in twenty years.

“I’m really excited about this deal,” exclaimed one of our team members, “We keep saying that Toronto deserves to make the playoffs – in all sports. But the Jays are the only team that has managed to do that in recent memory. Now it seems like they’re primed to do it again. Forget about waiting for next year, this year is our year!”

Our rep just may be right. Sports pundits are already proclaiming that the Jays may end up snatching a Wild Card spot – at worst – in the 2013 Major League Baseball season. With a new rule having just been implemented this past season, there will be Wild Card games between each league’s best second place teams to determine who makes the playoffs.

“The new rule gives us more of a chance to get in,” explained our rep, “It also makes for a much more exciting playoff run. The bottom line is that the Jays are serious about contending now. Just look at the (division rival) Baltimore Orioles, they were perennial last place losers. But they made the playoffs this year thanks to the Wild Card. The Jays are next in line.”

By the way, the six players mentioned were not the only ones to be traded, just the most significant. All in all, a total of twelve players were exchanged in last week’s trade. But that didn’t stop the Jays from wheeling and dealing. Days later, outfielder Melky Cabrera signed a two year deal with Toronto, stacking the line up just a little bit further.

As Toronto Star sports reporter, Brendan Kennedy reported last week, the former San Francisco Giant was hitting .346 last August. As great as that batting average was, it was tainted when Cabrera tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. His punishment was a 50 game suspension. So it’s hard to say just how good a move the Jays have made with this signing.

“Hey, with there still being no hockey, this is the best news Toronto sports fans could get, “reminded our rep, “That and the fact that the Toronto Argos are going to the Grey Cup, of course! But, to be honest, another World Series win would be so much bigger. I may be setting my sights high. But what’s the point of cheering your team to win if you don’t want them to go all the way, right?”

Toronto hip-hop duo, Perfeck Strangers has been quite busy lately. In addition to touring to promote their debut album, Series Premiere, the group released its fourth music video late last week. Making its world premiere at a video release party in Toronto’s Velvet Underground club this past Friday, the new “Work To Do” short film has been creating quite a buzz on the internet over the weekend.

But why is this significant to Synergy Marketing? Because we just so happen to be the star of the video! Shot this past September, the “Work To Do” short film utilizes various spaces within the Synergy Marketing offices as its backdrop.

“The location was great,” said the video’s director, Andre Rehal, “The office looks exactly like how you would imagine it should look; a professional environment where people get work done. There was no need to dress or change anything and that gave us plenty of time to shoot.” And that’s not all! Synergy Vice President of Marketing, John Meloche plays a starring role in the film as the office’s obnoxious boss.

The video is based on the 1999 comedy film, Office Space. In the original movie, Gary Cole plays the role of Bill Lumbergh – the hated boss of the fictional Initech software company. In “Work To Do”, John portrays his own version of Bill Lumbergh in hilarious fashion. He not only dresses and looks the part of Lumbergh, but he also pulls off an identical parody of the character.

“You could swear that John has been acting for years,” proclaimed Perfeck Strangers group member, Dan-e-o, “His depiction of Lumbergh was amazing. Everyone on set was blown away by how funny John was. And the way it translates on screen couldn’t be any better. I’m especially a big fan of the birthday scene. Compare John’s performance to the actual movie, it’s perfect!”

To the Synergy Marketing family, John’s on-screen talents don’t come as much surprise. Our VP is actually a man of many talents. In fact, he just released a Christmas album – his second in two years, by the way. Entitled Uncle John’s Holiday Hits 2012, the new compilation of tunes is bound to make your holiday season that much happier. Go ahead, click the link and download it for free!

“Work To Do” is also likely to make you crack a smile. Arguably, the funniest video on YouTube to make its debut this past weekend, the new music video is downright hilarious. Depicting the two members of Perfeck Strangers as stressed-out office employees who have to endure the perils of working under a hard-nosed boss, the video has its fair share of funny moments.

“People crack up at the final scenes. I’ve been wanting to smash a computer for years,” admitted Dan-e-o, “Of course, we had to bring an old computer to set as all of Synergy’s real computers are top-notch equipment. But anyone who knows me knows that I’ve had my issues with technology. So remaking the printer scene from Office Space was actually more about me settling a vendetta with computers I’ve owned in the past!”

Feel free to click “like” on the “Work To Do” video below and share the link with your friends. Synergy Marketing is proud to have been part of this project – although we hope no one gets the impression that it’s a horrible thing to work here! To prove it, give one of our friendly reps a call at 1-877-748-9884 and allow him or her to help you with a cost-effective way to promote your business. You’ll end up getting more customers…and more work to do!

In Tuesday’s blog, we discussed a number of ideas that entrepreneurs can implement to help their companies to become champions. Taking after this year’s San Francisco Giants is one way to achieve that. Be resilient and believe in yourself. These are two important tips to take from the examples of 2012′s World Series Champions.

But as Diane Conklin points out on SelfGrowth.com, business owners have a few other tasks to complete before their companies can reach championship-status. They include providing clear solutions and solving client problems, as well as being creative and innovative. Today, we’d like to take a look at a few more ideas on how to work on being a winner.

Reward your clients occasionally – surprise them! It goes without saying that Synergy Marketing is a big believer in this tip. Our promotional products have done wonders for business owners all over Canada because they are seen as rewards for doing business with the company giving out the gifts.

They encourage brand loyalty and often garner referrals. Customers love getting things for free. Who doesn’t? But our promo gifts are more than just freebies. They are ways of saying “thank you”. They are, in fact, rewards. And as Conklin writes, “Extending good will and rewards to your clients will make a great impression. They will probably never go anywhere else when you show you care.”

Develop a personal touch. This tip, of course, also falls in line with the practice of handing out promo gifts. They provide a personal touch that traditional advertising does not. When you make genuine connections with your customers, you will develop relationships that are a lot stronger than the average customer-company connection.

Making these connections can be achieved in other ways as well. Conklin writes that the simple sending of a “thank you” card – especially if it is handwritten – can go a long way. Not unlike this blog, the offering of helpful and practical tips to improve their businesses or lives will also set you apart from your competition.

Reward your customers by holding a special event. We all love parties, right? Here’s another way to make your customers feel special and highlight your business as a true champion. Organize a VIP event to show customer appreciation. You can set up an open house and offer refreshments as well as opportunities to network.

The key, you may have noticed, is to show how grateful you are to your customers. Each of today’s tips highlight your ability to reach out to your clients in such a way that it shows you care. This is how to be a champion in your industry. Be willing to do more than your competition. Your customers will reward you for it.