by Bob Heinen
Our annual readers’ poll begins Monday, Jan. 5. Our annual readers’ poll is more than 30 years old. For the past 12 years we have created themes to add fun and intrigue.
The 2015 Best of Marin theme will be storybook, covering the gamut from enchantment to grim. Everyone has a classic story or fairytale that he or she can reminisce about, and this year’s Best of Marin will breathe new life into some of the darkest and brightest literary classics. With movies like Shrek and TV shows like Grimm and Once Upon a Time revamping and popularizing the iconic storybook tale, the theme is timely and relatable.
Do you remember these?
- Pinocchio
- Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf
- Three Blind Mice
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Cinderella
- Sleeping Beauty
- Merlin
- Humpty Dumpty
- Jack and Jill
- Peter Pan
- The Headless Horseman
Think of all the fun dress-up ideas for our photo shoot in late February: royalty outfits for fair maidens and armor for gallant knights, one-eyed pirates, face painting for animal outfits, and maybe Peter Pan will fly down from Mt. Tam and show up.
The Best of Marin is no longer a once-a-year event. The Pacific Sun is planning to bring you the Best of Marin every day, which is why we’re going digital!
Join our Kickstarter campaign for a Best of Marin mobile app to help raise the funds needed to bring the Pacific Sun into a format that is user-friendly. We simply can’t do this without the support from our community—help us make it a success!
Much like throwing a great party, it will be important to tell your friends! And then, they need to tell their friends and so on. And before you know it (the police are at your door) you have a crowd … all for a common goal. We are asking you to donate whatever amount is comfortable for you. To join in and support our Kickstarter campaign visit www.kickstarter.com and search for “Best of Marin.”
Speaking of parties, we want to throw another Best of Marin Red Carpet party in April. The party will celebrate all the Best of Marin winners that we publish in our two issues: March 27 and April 3. We welcome sponsors for this event to make it even better than last year.
There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to the Best of Marin. The voting homepage will be filled with graphics inspired by our theme for 2015. Readers will have new photos, addresses, maps and information available for every business with the touch of his or her finger. We will introduce an easier ballot to complete online. And if our Kickstarter campaign is successful, we will have a new mobile app that will make it even easier to vote and to access information year-round.
With our new look and feel, we will also maintain our reader credibility with our annual readers’ poll. We still preach that there is no ballot-stuffing and no discount offers in exchange for a vote. We expect all participating businesses to honor this. Save your thank you deals for the end of February and March, when the Pacific Sun will have opportunities to share your specials with readers.
Our voting runs from Monday, Jan. 5 through Sunday, Feb. 15. Local businesses can begin to advertise on Jan. 2. Contact our representatives and ask about our new offers and packages. With our new initiatives for 2015 we will be able to help you reach your customers online as well as in print.
Let’s make 2015 the best of the Best of Marin.
Tell Bob if this is the best thing since sliced bread at
bh*****@pa********.com
.
