Parenting
It doesn’t matter your demographic, you’ve got plenty of families in your community. Parenting or Family Favorites ballots can offer a variety of categories such as Best Family Restaurants, Best Family Attractions, Best Schools, or Best Doctors.
Colorado Parent magazine ran this ballot all about family favorites in their community such as ‘Family Fun,’ Camps & Lessons,’ Food & Drink.’ This ballot collects great info for the magazine and the winner’s directory provides a great resource for parents and families all year around.
Music
No matter the season, a music ballot can be successful in your market. Try a Battle of the Bands featuring a variety of local artists. Have a big summer concert series in your area? Create a Best of Summer Concerts ballot. A Best of Rock ballot can feature bands and musicians from all decades.
A music ballot works beyond just radio. The Charleston City Paper’s “Music Awards” seeks out the best of their local music scene including categories for DJ of the Year, Jazz Musician of the Year, and even Up-and-Coming Act of the Year. Over 17,000 votes were cast and the paper held a huge concert event featuring many of the winning artists.
Education
Education-themed ballots can appeal to a wide audience from school-age children and teens to parents and relatives. For your ballot, consider categories like Most School Spirit, Best Teacher, All-Time Favorite Quarterback, or even Best Preschool Program.
WRAL-TV’s high school sports ballot delivered 200% opt-in growth and 15% revenue growth in just 3 years. Read the full story here.
Movies & TV
Everyone’s passionate about their favorite shows and movies, and these themes can work year-round. Categories like Best New TV Show, Best Movie of the Year, Top Actors and Actresses, and even Best Pet Actor can target a wide audience range.
To capitalize on election fever, KNDD-FM created their “Alternative Election” ballot. The ballot had users vote for their favorite presidents from movies and shows including The West Wing, House of Cards, Independence Day, and even Napoleon Dynamite.
Neighborhoods
A Best Neighborhood ballot can be a great way to target your entire demographic. Categories could include everything from best bike paths and dog parks to best neighborhood watch group and babysitters.
KBLX-FM put together the “Bayborhood Awards,” a series of neighborhood-themed ballots about the Bay Area. The ballots included categories like Best Place to See Holiday Decorations, Best Family-Friendly Entertainment, Best Cupcake Company, and Best Teacher.
Shopping
If you’re looking for an opportunity to connect with new potential advertisers, a shopping ballot can be ideal for generating these new partnerships. Categories could be more general such as Best Clothing Store and Best Grocery Store or you can dive deeper and offer categories like Best Place to Buy Athletic Gear and Best Meat Market.
Radio station Saga Des Moines wanted to show the power of ballots for recruitment to one of their advertisers, a local mall. The ballot asked users vote on their favorite store, and the station enticed them with the chance to win a $250 gift card. The ballot was so successful, the mall secured an additional $7,000 in future sponsorships.
Employers
Ballots about top local workplaces can target a wide audience. Plus, these awards are often touted as big honors for the businesses that win. Categories can range from job types and industries to favorite spots for work lunches and happy hours.
The Rockford Register Star’s “Employers That Rock” ballot tapped into a niche audience and gathered more than 6,000 votes. The ballot had a variety of categories including Most Innovative Workplace, Best Company Party, Best Benefits Program, and Best Employee Recognition Program.
Sports
Your community is bound to be filled with sports fans supporting local high school teams, minor league teams, or even a local professional team. A sports ballot could include all sorts of categories like Best of a Specific Decade, Best Players of the Year, or Best Sports Businesses.
The Ames Tribune created the “Best of Iowa State Basketball” ballot capitalizing on the big ISU fan base in their community. The ballot contained dozens of categories including Fan Favorite, Best ISU Win, Best Coach to Play For, and Best NCAA Win. Sponsored by a local sports bar, the paper generated over $10,000 in revenue.
Dining
Food and drink ballots always draw in huge numbers no matter when they’re run. Your ballot can consist of a huge variety of categories from Best Coffee Shop and Best Chinese Restaurant to Best Bartender and Best Sunday Brunch.
WHAM-TV partnered with local food bank, Foodlink NY, for a new, engaging way to promote their Festival of Food fundraiser. Not only would two random voters win tickets to the event, but every participant received a thank-you email to purchase tickets. The sponsor added over 550 addresses to their email database and 576 people asked to receive an email reminder about the event. Check out the full case study.
Not only are ballots an excellent way to engage your entire audience, but you can leverage all that data you collect for targeting your future campaigns. Plus, this is a great way to start new revenue streams with advertisers you may not already be working with making these a huge win for every department in your company.
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Liz is the Senior Director of Customer Success and has an extensive background in media. She is a huge advocate of the power of promotions for every department within an organization, including sales, marketing, audience development, and editorial.