Omaha has a lot to offer, so every year The Reader asks locals to vote for their favorite places in the annual Readers’ Choice Best Of the Big O! poll. It’s one of three polls offered by local media and there are some important distinctions and differences between them, though all of them offer your business benefits.
Only one poll has the ultimate summer entertainment giveaway – a season pass to Harrah’s Stir Concert Cove. That would be your culture and watchdog journalism source — The Reader.
We were one of the first to conduct an annual poll in the Omaha area. We’ve done it since 1996, missing only two years during ownership transitions. Locals know when a business displays the Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O! insignia, it’s truly a favorite in the Metro.
Readers’ Choice Best Of the Big O! is not a list thrown together based on how much marketing a business buys. It’s a list of area businesses that are the best at what they do, based on the votes of The Reader’s readers – one of Omaha’s most active demographics — often entering a highly acquisitive stage of life (young professionals) or their peak earning times (empty-nesters).
That means they are very active consumers and know the businesses they like and trust. Our readers generally go out a lot – from concerts to restaurants to sporting events to everything else. They are often influencers, helping their social networks with entertainment and purchasing decisions.
This is a group that isn’t afraid to share its opinions.
Best of is a process we take seriously. There are several important areas of distinction – key dates, voting management, get-out-the-vote guidelines and ballot presentation.
Key Dates
- Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O! (The Reader): Nominations run January 1 – February 28, Final Voting March 3 – April 30, Winners announced in August issue.
- Omaha’s Choice (Omaha World-Herald): Voting run March 12 – April 9. Winners announced in June 4 issue.
- Best of Omaha (Omaha Magazine): Voting starts in July. Winners announced in January/February edition.
Voting Management
Double opt-in email registration and IP blocking help insure each voter only votes once, Something we started, but all of the Best of promotions now employ.
But we’re still the only one to use an independent accounting firm to tally the votes. Hancock & Dana, one of Omaha’s oldest locally owned accounting firms, believes in giving back to the community. While we have no other business relationship with Hancock & Dana, we applaud their community involvement and support for growing local business, including the Entrepreneur’s Organization.
‘Get Out The Vote’ Guidelines
Part of the Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O process is to get consumers excited about naming their favorite businesses and sharing them with friends and family. A quick scan of most review sites will show the imbalance inherent in Omaha’s humble, work-ethic driven culture — successes are never reviewed at the same rates as failures.
New businesses that hustle reviews can appear better than well-established businesses with decades of thousands of satisfied customers. We hope to help our community shed this a bit to embrace share the good stories and actively recommend the businesses they know and love.
In this regard, all of the Best of polls are important. However, Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O! is the ONLY ONE to ban voting incentives. We will take steps to prevent “vote buying” in attempt to boost results. This is the line we draw on campaigning. Businesses that offer incentives for nominations and votes risk disqualification.
This falls in line with all of the major review sites – from Google and Facebook to Yelp and TripAdvisor – which ban incentives in their terms of service. It also makes us consistent with the spirit of federal law on rating businesses, which requires disclosing incentives.
The only incentive we allow is the grand prize we offer voters – the season pass to Harrah’s Stir Concert Cove.
Ballot Presentation
This came up when the new kid on the block of Best Of’s and the oldest media in town launched their version last year. While we share the same voting platforms and their capabilities, we DO NOT offer paid ad positions on the ballot.
We don’t allow companies to place display ads or buy positions on our Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O! ballot, which can earn them a competitive advantage.
Power-voting
On the flip side, a feature currently offered by the oldest “Best of” is something we expect to come to Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O! and the other Best of, maybe this year. That feature, a customized link companies can distribute that, when clicked, automatically places that company’s name as a vote in their respective categories.
This will make it much easier for employees and consumers to place votes for that company in the correct category.
Prized Recognition
Many local winners use their Best Of designation as a mark of distinction and to propel them to further success. Businesses that range from Ameristar (it’s a brass plaque by their entrance) to Wells Fargo Bank, from Eyman Plumbing Heating & Air to Methodist Hospital, Zio’s Pizza to Takoda Roofing, all used their Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O! to promote themselves.
Out of dozens, if not hundreds, of businesses in almost every category, it’s not easy to be Readers’ Choice Best Of the Big O!, which makes winning even more of a distinguished accomplishment. Only businesses that are so well-loved they spur customers to vote for them make it to the winners list. With 800+ consumers completing ballots representing over 20,000 individual Best of nominations, it is a true representation of what Omaha locals love.
Public Nominations
The public nominates businesses via the website http://www.thebestofthebigo.com/. This started at the beginning of the year and ENDS TODAY. The top nominees and editors’ picks from OLIBA-certified businesses will set the final ballot, released on March 2.
Final Voting
Voters can still write in businesses after nominations end, and our team will update the final ballot weekly when any write-in reaches the minimum number of nominations earned by other businesses in that category.
Final voting runs through April 30. Those votes are turned over to Hancock & Dana for tabulating the winners. Our grand prize winner will be announced on our Facebook page the first week in May.
Recognition
The Reader provides recognized businesses with a plastic banner, a certificate and a UV-resistant door sticker.. Businesses can use their Readers’ Choice Best of the Big O! designation in their ads and correspondence. It tells customers your business is truly a local favorite.
Final voting begins March 2. To access the ballot, simply go to TheBestOfTheBigO.com and click on the welcome tab for complete details and voting instructions.
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Need help with Best of? Let’s have a chat 402-715-0444.
