Best of the 405 Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When do nominations for Best of the 405 start?
A: Nominations open Jan. 8th at 12 p.m. and close at the end of the day Jan. 17.
Q: How does the nominations round work?
A: 405 Magazine’s staff compiles a list of categories for the ballot each year. Once the ballot is made public, anyone is allowed to nominate their favorite local businesses, people, places and services once per category via write-in.
Q: When does the voting round start?
A: Voting opens Jan. 29th and closes at the end of the day February 18.
Q: How does the voting round for Best of the 405 work?
A: After a two-week nomination round, the top five nominees with the most nominations will advance to the voting round. Each person is only allowed to vote once per category. When the voting round begins, if more than five nominations are listed in a category, it is because there was a tie.
Q: Why is my nomination not showing up on the ballot?
A: We have a small team of staff members managing the entire Best of the 405 ballot. Our team manually accepts each nomination for vetting purposes. Reasons our team manually accepts nominations include: category accuracy, spelling errors, merging nominations submitted with different characters, location in regard to Oklahoma City and the 405 area, etc. Because of this, it may take up to 24 hours to see your nomination appear on the ballot. This does NOT affect the number of nominations anyone receives.
Q: It has been more than 24 hours since I submitted a nomination and it still hasn’t shown up on the ballot. Why would this be the case?
A: If it has been more than several days since you submitted a nomination and it still does not appear on the ballot, this could be for a number of reasons. Reasons include: our team has not gotten to it yet, the nomination did not fit the category, the nomination is not locally owned and/or operated, the nomination was not submitted with the proper criteria (i.e. a hair stylist nominated without an associated salon or business), the nomination could not be verified through a Google or social media search, etc. If you believe your nomination was submitted correctly and you still don’t see it, please contact julie.partin@405magazine.com.
Q: Why is there not a category that fits my business? How can I suggest a new category?
A: 405 Magazine‘s staff sits down each year to reassess the categories. We take into consideration how categories performed the previous year, if a category would allow for five or more possible entrants, etc. Although it is too late to add categories to this year’s ballot, we encourage anyone to send their category ideas for us to consider in the future. You can send any category recommendations to julie.partin@405magazine.com.
Q: Someone nominated me or my business but the nomination contains an error. How can I get this fixed?
A: If you notice an error in a nomination, please email julie.partin@405magazine.com to resolve the issue.
Q: Can I be nominated if I’m not in Oklahoma City?
We accept nominations anywhere in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
Q: How will I know if I advanced into the voting round?
A: You will be contacted via email by 405 Magazine upon advancement into the voting round. There will be a new set of promotional graphics for download to help you market yourself or your business.
Q: Does 405 Magazine nominate and/or vote for their own favorites?
A: No. The ballot is solely populated by the public’s nominations and votes. However, in past issues, we have published “editor’s picks,” which appear separately alongside the reader’s choice winners and are selected by our editorial team.
Q: Do I have to pay to be represented on the ballot and/or win?
A: No! The Best of the 405 readers’ choice poll results are based 100% on the public’s nominations and votes. Advertisers may use Best of the 405 graphics to try to boost their exposure, but being an advertiser in 405 Magazine does not guarantee anything for the contest.
Q: How will I know if I won my category?
A: Approximately one week after the voting round closes, all winners will be notified via an email sent out by 405 Magazine.
Q: When will the winners be announced?
A: Winners will be announced to the public upon the release of the May 2024 issue. Subscribe to 405 Magazine to receive the Best of the 405 issue when it releases.
