Best Ballots of 2017

Rochester’s Food Truck Face Off – WHAM-TV

*2017 Second Street Award – Best Ballot Winner

Local food bank, Foodlink NY, reached out looking for a new, engaging way to promote their Festival of Food fundraiser. Since the event features many food trucks, this food truck ballot was the perfect tie-in. Not only would two random voters win tickets to the event, but every participant received a bounceback 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.

Tito’s Top Bartender – WRIF-FM

Tito’s Vodka was looking for a unique way to increase awareness of their brand, so WRIF pitched a creative ballot and incorporated multiple on-site events. For the ballot, local bars would submit their favorite bartender with their best drink recipe using Tito’s Vodka. An on-site event was held at each of the participating bars. With all the exposure gained from the ballot and accompanying on-site events, Tito’s Vodka was thrilled with results.

40 Under 40 – Waxahachie Daily Light

This 40 Under 40 ballot was a great way to highlight some of the community’s most talented individuals. Readers could submit their nominations for the campaign, and a team from the Waxahachie Daily Light chose the winners. Winners were honored at an event and displayed in a special print edition as well as online. Sponsorships throughout the campaign brought in nearly $40,000 for the paper.

Historic Columbus Grant Contest – Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

For this unique ballot, the paper partnered with Historic Columbus, a local historical society. The society was wanting to reward a large grant to one of the city’s historical buildings, but they wanted the community to help pick the winner. On the ballot, the three nominees each told their story and what they would do with the grant money. The community loved the chance to help decide the winner with more than 5,000 people casting over 10,000 votes.

What’s Your Favorite Store at the Valley West Mall – Saga Des Moines

The radio station 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. But the key to the contest was in the survey questions – the station was able to identify 30 people who were interested in seasonal employment at the mall. The ballot was so successful, the mall secured an additional $7,000 in future sponsorships.

Father’s Day SweepSTEAKS – CHUR-FM

This ballot with a clever name landed the radio station $1,000 revenue from a brand new advertiser. Sponsored by a local butcher, the father’s day ballot had listeners vote on their dad’s favorite cut of meat and offered a $300 gift card to a random voter. The station used survey questions to drive awareness about the sponsor and an email opt-in to add over 100 addresses to the butcher’s database. Check out the full case study.

Jeff & Jenn Show’s Perfect Wedding Pitch – WSTR-FM

Sponsored by Lake Lanier Weddings, this ballot had the prize of a $20,000 wedding package to one lucky couple. The initial nomination drove in over 1,300 entries. Finalists were invited to an event at Lake Lanier where the radio station recorded their “pitch” for why they should win. Not only was this a great sponsorship opportunity, but the station was able to use this as a fun, exciting story to talk about on-air throughout the whole nomination and voting process. The station was able to secure $12,000 in revenue, and the wedding venue had nearly 50 people sign up for tours of the premises.

Guess the Dress – WLEX-TV

It’s no surprise the Kentucky Derby is a huge event in the state of Kentucky. Sponsored by the local Dillards department store, WLEX pitched a ballot concept which would merge the store’s products and the station’s airing of the Derby. The station’s personalities each posed in various outfits from Dillard’s – each personality getting their own ballot category. Viewers were then asked to vote for the dress that TV host should wear on-air during the Kentucky Derby. More than 12,000 votes were cast, and WLEX was able to secure $24,000 in revenue.