VOICE
YOUR CHOICE
IST
Announces 2007 Industry Choice Awards
Island
Sun Times is proud to announce that voting
for our fourth annual Industry Choice Awards kicks off this month!
As a tanning salon professional, you have favorite lotions, equipment
and accessory products that you feel are superior, and feel that there
are certain individuals who best represent the spirit of our industry.
We want to honor excellence in the tanning business by allowing you
to vote for those products and people you consider to be the best
of the
best. Whether you’ve owned your business for a day, a year or a decade – if
you earn your living by operating a tanning salon, IST believes your
voice should be heard! Voting for the fourth annual ICA begins on
July 9th.
The
Spark
Three years ago, IST’s Industry Choice Awards started as an adventurous
idea – we wanted to sponsor an event that would be like the “Oscars” for
the indoor tanning industry. Some thought we were crazy – after all,
nothing like this had ever been done before – but we continue
to be the tanning publication willing to take chances, and we provided
a much-needed way to honor the achievements of our industry. Recent
history
has proved that like everything else IST does, we were ahead of
our time. The Industry Choice Awards is the first-ever and most
prestigious
award
this industry has to offer.
Voting in the inaugural ICA was done by a small but loyal group of industry-savvy salon owners. IST was pleased to have its first award ceremony go over as well as it did! More salon pros embraced the idea the following year, and we hauled in a much larger number of ballots, representing a huge cross-section of the industry, helping to cement the ICA as a permanent fixture in the tanning biz. Now, we’re gearing up for our fourth annual competition, which remains the first, only and most sought-after award to those deemed worthy by YOU – the salon owners.
Fast & Easy!
Like last year’s ICA, all voting will be done online. “Since
the first ICA, we’ve continued to receive more votes via e-mail than
by mail-in ballot, by at least 3 to 1,” explained Vince Lorraine,
Island Sun Times Publisher. “Since that seems to be the most popular
way our readers chose to vote, we’ve made it easy by taking all ballots
electronically. It’s an instant process.” Salon pros still
wishing to mail in their ballots can simply print the ballot from
our website,
fill it out and mail it.
It’s also important to note that Canadian salon pros also have the
opportunity to “voice their choice.” “We know that many
salon operators in Canada love to read our magazine online, and we don’t
see any reason why they can’t also cast votes for their favorite
products and people in this industry,” Lorraine added. “We want
the ICA to be representative of the entire North American indoor tanning
industry, and we can’t do that without input from our neighbors in
the ‘Great Tan North.’”
It’s
an Honor
The industry manufacturers and individuals who receive your
votes are proud to be nominated for this prestigious award.
But you
don’t
have to take our word for it.“
It
was an honor for Swedish Beauty Unforgiven® to be chosen Favorite
Tingle Product,” said Sue Phemster, Australian Gold Brand Manager – Indoor
Tanning Lotions. “Because Island Sun Times is the industry’s
leading trade publication, it’s a special privilege to be chosen
for this award. They do a great job of keeping the contest fair and
encouraging salon owners to vote, so that when you win an Industry
Choice Award, it
really means something.”
The folks at Supre are also honored to be 2006 Industry
Choice Awards winners. “We would again like to thank all those who helped our Hempz
Moisturizer win the award for Favorite After-Tan Moisturizer,” said
Scott Olsen, Supre National Sales Manager. This certainly has helped
Hempz become one of the most recognized brands in the tanning industry.
Without
all the hard work from salon personnel, salon owners, distributors,
and of course, Island Sun Times, this award would not be possible.”
Marketing Tool
The Industry Choice Awards are far more than just a “popularity contest” – the
awards provide a tremendous marketing tool for the winners. Several of
last year’s recipients proudly promoted their honor in their product
advertisements, and not just the ones they published in IST, either!
Connecticut-based Future Industries, Inc., winner of the “Best Customer Service” award in 2007, proudly displays its Industry Choice Award-winning status on the cover of its catalog, as well as its advertisements, website and even in the signature tags of staff e-mails. “Customer service is a huge factor for many salon owners, and we at Future Industries have always prided ourselves on the high level of customer service we deliver,” said Karen Meade-Bentlage, Future President. “Winning the award means a lot to the entire team. What makes this award so special is that it came from thousands of salon owners across the country – that tells us that our hard work is paying off. Because of this, we have seen an increase in the number of calls from our ads and many customers have told us that they called because of it!”
The Industry Choice Awards can serve as a marketing tool for salons, too. If any of the products you feature in your salon win this year’s ICA (thanks in part to your voting, of course!), then you should let your tanners know this. IST encourages you to advertise the fact that your lotions, sunlamps and/or tanning units are “The Tanning Industry’s Favorite.” You’re more than welcome to utilize the official Industry Choice Awards logo, too. Surely this could help promote your salon to potential customers, not to mention help you sell those award-winning products.
How
Does It Work?
It’s easy to participate in the Industry Choice Awards: if you’re
a salon professional, you can vote for your favorite lotions, equipment
and accessory products, as well as the individuals who best represent
the spirit of our industry.
When casting your votes, keep in mind that this is a write-in ballot – we
name the categories and the rest is up to you. Since the ballot asks for
specific products – your favorite lotions, lamps, tanning units,
etc. – be sure to provide both the name of the company and the product
you wish to vote for. For example, if Acme Lotions’ Mega Dark is
your favorite lotion in the bronzer category, be sure to enter “Acme
Lotions Mega Dark” as your choice. It’s very simple, but
very important to the tabulation process.
The Industry Choice Awards is considered an esteemed competition – there’s much honor and pride on the line – so we make sure it’s all fair and square. Instead of e-mailing your ballots to us, they go directly to Fromholz, Paauwe & Baker, P.C. of Flint, MI, an independent accounting firm specializing in election tabulation. “Since the Industry Choice Award winners are chosen entirely by write-in ballots, we calculate the top five vote recipients in each category, and these top recipients represent the contest nominees,” explained Roger D. Linn, a principal with FPB. What this means is that no one from IST knows whom the award winners are until the results are delivered by us.”
And
the Winner Is …
Winners of the 2006 Industry Choice Awards will be announced in
the October issue of IST, coinciding with the Indoor Tanning
Association World Expo
2007 in Nashville. The awards statues – already an industry icon – will
be presented to the winners at the Expo. This always draws a crowd and
creates lots of buzz on the showroom floor. “I love handing the statuettes
to the winners – so many of them are longtime friends of mine – and
what better time to do it than at our industry’s premiere event?” Vince
Lorraine said.
IST is very proud to have created the tanning trade’s only achievement award, but it’s you salon pros who truly make it happen. We give you the opportunity to “voice your choice” and encourage you to make the most of it. You can begin casting your ballots on July 9, and the voting closes at midnight on August 12, 2007.
Don’t miss your chance to recognize excellence in your industry!
