By Aaron Burns
Advertising Sales Manager- Cityview
Johnston, IA
For more than 30 years, CITYVIEW’s Best of Des Moines awards have been a fun, meaningful way to highlight the businesses, people, and places that make this city what it is. When we added a live event 18 years ago, everything changed. The awards were already a big deal, but bringing everyone together to celebrate in person? That took things to a new level.
It’s not just about winning (though that certainly matters). It’s about the experience. Business owners bring their teams to celebrate, post live from the event, and proudly display their certificates afterward.
The success comes from keeping the process simple and fair. There’s no nomination fee or “pay-to-play.” We choose the categories, and open a single-vote survey to the public. Voters write in their nominations for who they think is “the best.” When voting ends, we tally up the top three in each category, notify the finalists, and announce the winner at the event and in the print issue. This is distributed at the event, so it's the first chance to see the full results in print.
The event is free for nominees. Our revenue comes from sponsorships and thank-you ads from businesses. If you’re a publisher or organizer thinking about launching something like this, don’t overthink it. Start with around 100 categories, keep it transparent, and let your community lead the way. Run your poll for a decent amount of time (we go three months) and give yourself time to calculate the results and contact the nominees.
Start selling ad packages before the event. Let businesses know they’ve been nominated and that results will appear alongside their ads. Thank-you ads are especially effective. We even run a follow-up issue for more personalized recognition with winners and runners-up.
Create a clean, recognizable emblem or logo. Once your emblem starts appearing on windows, websites, and advertising, you’ll want to make sure it’s protected or copyrighted. That emblem can become one of the most valuable parts of the whole program. We’ve even seen the Best of Des Moines emblem on everything from billboards to semi-trucks. It carries weight because the community decides.
You don’t have to launch with a live event, but it’s worth adding once the buzz builds. It’s been a game changer for us, especially when it comes to sponsorships. Beyond Best of Des Moines, we’ve expanded to other areas too—like our new Best of Guthrie County event this September.
This isn’t just a contest. It’s a celebration. And if you’re not doing something like this yet, it’s time to start.
Advertising Sales Manager- Cityview
Johnston, IA
For more than 30 years, CITYVIEW’s Best of Des Moines awards have been a fun, meaningful way to highlight the businesses, people, and places that make this city what it is. When we added a live event 18 years ago, everything changed. The awards were already a big deal, but bringing everyone together to celebrate in person? That took things to a new level.
It’s not just about winning (though that certainly matters). It’s about the experience. Business owners bring their teams to celebrate, post live from the event, and proudly display their certificates afterward.
The success comes from keeping the process simple and fair. There’s no nomination fee or “pay-to-play.” We choose the categories, and open a single-vote survey to the public. Voters write in their nominations for who they think is “the best.” When voting ends, we tally up the top three in each category, notify the finalists, and announce the winner at the event and in the print issue. This is distributed at the event, so it's the first chance to see the full results in print.
The event is free for nominees. Our revenue comes from sponsorships and thank-you ads from businesses. If you’re a publisher or organizer thinking about launching something like this, don’t overthink it. Start with around 100 categories, keep it transparent, and let your community lead the way. Run your poll for a decent amount of time (we go three months) and give yourself time to calculate the results and contact the nominees.
Start selling ad packages before the event. Let businesses know they’ve been nominated and that results will appear alongside their ads. Thank-you ads are especially effective. We even run a follow-up issue for more personalized recognition with winners and runners-up.
Create a clean, recognizable emblem or logo. Once your emblem starts appearing on windows, websites, and advertising, you’ll want to make sure it’s protected or copyrighted. That emblem can become one of the most valuable parts of the whole program. We’ve even seen the Best of Des Moines emblem on everything from billboards to semi-trucks. It carries weight because the community decides.
You don’t have to launch with a live event, but it’s worth adding once the buzz builds. It’s been a game changer for us, especially when it comes to sponsorships. Beyond Best of Des Moines, we’ve expanded to other areas too—like our new Best of Guthrie County event this September.
This isn’t just a contest. It’s a celebration. And if you’re not doing something like this yet, it’s time to start.