NOMINATION STAGE
How do I nominate and/or vote?
You’ll need to head to www.timeout.com/lovechicago in order to nominate or vote.
Do I need to create an account to nominate?
If you are a regular Time Out user, you can use your normal login on timeout.com to nominate. If you do not have an account, you’ll need to create one, which is free.
I pressed the wrong button, can you reset my nomination?
You can nominate as many venues as you like. You'll know a nomination has been counted when it turns to red. You can unclick it at any point and it will remove your nomination.
Can I nominate via email or phone?
No. All nominations must come via the timeout.com/lovechicago website from a logged-in user.
I’m a local venue, can I nominate myself/can my customers nominate me?
Absolutely. Nominations are open until midday 12pm on September 30 2016. Remember that one nomination doesn’t guarantee you get through to the voting stage, so encourage your customers to nominate you too.
What is the nomination stage?
An online form will be hosted on timeout.com/chicago from midnight 12am on September 1 to 12pm midday on September 30, with which people can nominate their favorite venue or business in their Chicago neighborhood. We will check the nominations, and restrict the shortlist at the next stage to a maximum of 10 venues per category, though it can be fewer. Not every venue that’s nominated is guaranteed to make it through to the next stage – we reserve the right of discretion, if we think a nomination is inappropriate, or insincere.
Can I nominate in multiple areas or categories?
Yes, you can make as many nominations as you like.
My venue isn’t listed. Can we add it?
So long as your venue fits one of the categories and also sits inside one of the areas designated, then yes, we can add you. Go to the nomination page for the category and the area you think you should be listed in and scroll to the bottom. From there, you can send us your details and we’ll be in touch when your venue goes live.
My neighborhood isn’t listed. Can we add it?
Unfortunately neighborhoods are set for this year and cannot be changed. If you’d like to see a particular area added next year, let us know on social media using #lovechicagoawards.
I think my venue is in the wrong neighborhood.
As above, the areas are set for this year and can’t be changed. This can happen due to the system geographical coordinate tagging on Time Out. If you feel you’re in the wrong neighborhood entirely, contact us via the information at the bottom of this page.
Some of the details about our venue are wrong.
If you’re concerned that the name or location of your venue is incorrect, please head to www.timeout.com/claimchicago and claim your page for free in order to propose amends.
I think my venue/a venue I know is in the wrong category.
Unfortunately, the category is set and cannot be changed. If you’re a hybrid category—for example an art gallery and and cafe, most of the time you’ll be listed in your more dominant category.
Can you send me some posters/a promotional pack?
We’ve already sent out our promotional packs and are unable to re-send. However, if you’d like to download the assets and print yourself, you can do so at www.timeout.com/business.
I need a logo or an image to use on social media.
You can find this on our assets page, please go to www.timeout.com/business.
How are the areas defined?
We’ve tried to cover most of the city’s neighborhoods, but to make the process as smooth as possible for people, we’ve limited it somewhat. So, smaller areas may be linked with larger, neighboring ones, and we’ve stuck to places with a Chicago zip code.
What are the categories?
They are: bars; restaurants; shops, cafés and coffee shops; and local culture (think independent cinemas, galleries, theaters and so on). This program has been developed largely around independent businesses, rather than chains. Chains will be considered but if you have more than 10 sites under the same name you may not be eligible.
How can we promote our venue to help win an award?
To boost your chances of winning a Love Award, it’s a good idea to tell your customers, friends and family about it for as long as they’ll listen. This is because both stages rely on quantity of nominations or votes. Here are our top tips:
1. Use the free assets provided at www.timeout.com/business
Use them anywhere you can—shop windows, on tables, at the cash register, on your website—anywhere you think it’ll grab attention.
2. Tell all your customers
Your customers love you and will want to support you and your local area. So tell them! Use the posters in the asset list and be sure to ask them in person if they’ve nominated or voted yet.
3. Use social media
We recommend changing your cover photo on your Facebook page and have created an asset for that. You can also use our Instagram-sized asset to encourage nominations and votes—make sure you include the url www.timeout.com/lovechicago wherever you post. You can also tag posts with #lovechicagoawards but remember, you need the nominations and votes via the timeout.com/lovechicago page not just mentions on social media.
4. Be original and get creative
Get creative with your promotional tactics. Make sure you use all the assets available to you and if you have wacky ideas that you think will help—go for it (as long as it’s legal).
Can I get featured on Time Out/get someone to come and review?
Although the Love Awards are run and hosted by Time Out, we are unable to accommodate requests to send a Time Out reviewer down to your venue. All of our editorial reviews are done anonymously and similarly, you cannot buy into our editorial content including articles. If you’d like to find out ways that you can promote your venue better on Time Out, contact advertising.us@timeout.com.
I’d like to add some photos/content to my listing on Time Out.
If you’d like to add a photo to your listing on Time Out, you’ll need to claim your page (you can do this at www.timeout.com/claimchicago). You can have one photo on your page for free, which should ideally be reasonable quality and in landscape.
