SVG gets its very own People’s Choice Awards

Possibly the first of its kind in St Vincent and the Grenadines, a people’s choice awards campaign has been launched that will see members of the public voting in 115 categories for products and services they consider to be the best available locally.

Hosted by Interactive Media Ltd and Rebel Media, the ‘Best of SVG’ campaign was unveiled to the public yesterday, January 30, at the office of Searchlight at Lower Kingstown Park.

Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Media Limited Clare Keizer emphasized that the Vincentian public will be deciding who wins in each category – not a panel.

“We don’t specify any criteria by which you should make your decision. That is your decision; who is your best is your decision. You know what you like, who you like; and it’s up to you to fill in that category,” explained Keizer.

“It doesn’t have to be a restaurant…. in a fancy building or anything like that. It can be a person who operates from a small establishment.”

Rebel Media representative Karen Ferdinand pointed out that as a nation of people who have a lot of opinions, we should put them to good use – highlighting who we think is the best.

“We should celebrate those successes; we should say who we think is great and that’s not just people; that’s places… all across St Vincent and the Grenadines,” she enthused.

“There’s a lot to celebrate. We’ve got some really good things out there!”

Ballot papers will be printed in both the MidWeek and Weekend editions of Searchlight Newspaper, starting from Friday, February 3 up until Friday, March 3. The categories are grouped under the following sections: health and beauty, food and dining, home and finance, vehicles, professionals, leisure and entertainment, places and tours and media.

Some of the categories include: Best Beauty Shop, Best Outdoor Dining, Best Furniture Maker, Best Mechanic, Best Bartender, Best Fashion Designer, Best Marine Tours and Best Radio Personality, among many others.

Drop boxes (for completed ballots) will be placed at various locations across SVG and persons who fill in at least 25 of the 115 categories will be automatically entered into a draw to win EC$1,000.

The tallying of the votes, as well as holding of the draw, will be done under the strict supervision of accounting firm BDO.

Persons wanting to enter the $1,000 cash draw must do so using their real names, as proof of identification (government issued) will be needed in order to claim the prize. The need for identification would also help to ensure that individuals only vote once.

Keizer, Interactive Media Limited CEO, further asserted that winning one of the ‘Best of SVG’ categories would give the individual or establishment “bragging rights”.

“They can use this accolade going forward; they can say ‘look, I won this thing in 2017, I won it in 2018, I won it in 2019,’ to demonstrate how good they are at what they do,” she said.

“This sort of campaign is also very good for people who are new to the community because we have all of this online… People who are new to the community sometimes want to know who is the best florist, where can I get somebody to do a really nice floral arrangement… They would choose who St Vincent and the Grenadines says is the best.”

At the end of the campaign, winners will be announced and presented with awards at a ceremony, which will take place at the end of March, which is National Heroes’ Month.

Also present at the launch was Tony Regisford, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, who described ‘Best of SVG’ as an important step in “encouraging excellence”.

“We certainly hail and appreciate the effort Interactive Media is making to recognize excellence. Recognition is a very important part of incentivizing people to continue to produce, and to produce at their best… If you don’t know how people feel about your product, you are basically doing business in the dark,” explained Regisford.

“People will now be encouraged to step up on their game; it’s quite prestigious to win one of these awards.”

He added: “If we’re doing our own stuff and we’re doing it at a top level, top standard, then we are aiding and abetting good economic activity.”

Regisford also appealed to individuals and establishments to register their businesses with the Chamber of Commerce.

“It would be a good idea to get your business registered, so that we can know who you are, and reach out and give the sort of assistance that will help you to grow… That way, you can be studied, you can be measured, you can be helped. We can get data, we can know what your challenges are. If you are invisible then we can’t help you.”

Accounting firm BDO (which will be auditing the campaign and is a sponsor) was represented by senior partner Floyd Patterson, who expressed his eagerness to participate in the campaign – declaring “only do good for St Vincent and to improve the quality of goods and services that are provided.”

Patterson explained that his company’s role would be to ensure the quality of the information gathered “with respect to the selection of the winners”.

“What we would be doing is ensuring the integrity of the information that is provided, that it’s above board.”

‘Best of SVG’ will be promoted through radio and television adverts, social media, print and through the endorsements of brand ambassadors, such as pannist Rodney Small, and Soca artistes Hance John and Shaunelle McKenzie.

Sponsors include BDO, Xtreme Radio (gold sponsor) and Searchlight Newspaper. (JSV)