providing a guide to the best local food, entertainment and lifestyle
options in 25 major U.S. metropolitan markets. Charlotte has been
selected as one of the featured cities. With a commitment to
providing the highest quality and most relevant information at the
local level, City's Best editors and writers in Charlotte have visited
and selected the best food, entertainment and lifestyle venues,
creating a high-quality local directory of listings. Now, AOL will
engage Charlotteans to vote for - and ultimately determine - the "best
of the best" that Charlotte has to offer.
Beginning today, Charlotteans are invited to join the quest for its
"City's Best" by visiting www.citysbest.com or downloading City's Best
applications for iPhone and Android to vote for their favorite
businesses within a variety of food, entertainment and lifestyle
categories. Joining Charlotte, the other metro-markets selected for
AOL's 2010 City's Best launch include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore,
Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las
Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix,
San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Twin Cities
and Washington, DC.
LET THE VOTING BEGIN FOR YOUR CITY'S BEST.!:
Voting Period (October 13 - November 30): City's Best voting kicks-
off today, October 13, and will run through November 30. Individuals
will "vote" for their favorite spots from a list of top 10 businesses
in specific categories. A winner will be determined for each of the
categories in Charlotte and announced on December 14. Categories were
selected based on local popularity and general public interest to
ensure participation from the greatest number of people. Categories
include:
. After Work
. Burgers
. Cheap Eats
. Chinese Restaurant
. Dessert
. Dive Bar
. Family Friendly Restaurant
. Hotel
. Live Music
. Movie Theater
. Pizza
. Places to Get Dumped
. Romantic Restaurant
. Salon
. Seafood
. Sports Bar
. Women's Clothing/Boutique
"City's Best is a unique opportunity for Charlotte residents to engage
in their community and be a part of recognizing outstanding local
businesses for the exceptional services they provide," said Natalie
McNeal, AOL Southeast Regional Editor. "City's Best is where
neighbors and experts find and share what is best in their city. And
who else would be better suited to decide Charlotte's best food,
entertainment and lifestyle venues than Charlotteans and local experts
who experience the quality of these businesses every day."
Resources & Tools for the Businesses Selected in Each Category
Throughout the voting program, the businesses selected in each
category will be featured on www.citysbest.com. AOL has developed a
number of resources and tools for the businesses to use to promote
their business, generate voting and garner visibility. Tools include
a downloadable City's Best logo, tips and ideas to help businesses
encourage their fans and customers to vote online or via their mobile
phone. Additionally, the ubiquitous City's Best window stickers are
back. Throughout its history, City's Best has distributed over 50,000
window stickers to local businesses across the country. The 2010
stickers include QR codes which will allow people to use their smart
phones to scan the sticker and then easily vote for the business in
real time.
Local businesses* in Charlotte were chosen based on overall
reputation. City's Best editors and writers selected the businesses
based on editorial insight and local opinion of Charlotteans. The
selection process is fueled by City's Best proposition of bringing
experts and neighbors together to find and share the best in Charlotte.
"Simply put, City's Best is the easiest way to find and engage with
what's best in our cities," said Jon Brod, President of AOL Ventures,
Local and Mapping. "Launching City's Best is an important step in AOL
Local's goal of providing the highest quality, most relevant and most
accessible local information, from hyper-local to major-metro
markets. We are tapping into professional editors and writers, in
addition to community members through their participation in the
voting process to find and share the best in Charlotte."
*A list of local businesses nominated within each category is
available upon request.
About AOL
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a leading global Web services company with an
extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide
audience. AOL's business spans online content, products and services
that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL
is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable
online advertising services on both AOL's owned and operated
properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of
the largest Internet subscription access services in the United
States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL's
consumer offerings.
