Optimum Contests by NERUS Strategies is built on a rigorous commitment to data integrity and credibility. The team recognizes that the trustworthiness of each contest depends on the legitimacy of its participants. That’s why every contestant undergoes a thorough verification process to confirm they are actively operating within the category in which they compete.
This disciplined approach ensures fairness, transparency, and a level playing field—cornerstones of a credible contest environment. By safeguarding the integrity of the competition, NERUS not only strengthens voter trust but also drives deeper audience engagement and increased participation from qualified businesses.
The result is a high-confidence ecosystem that elevates brand reputation, maximizes engagement, and ultimately contributes to stronger financial performance for all stakeholders involved.
Optimum Contests by NERUS Strategies leverages advanced ballot design and strategic category structuring to significantly enhance contestant visibility and performance. Far more than a voting mechanism, NERUS ballots function as a powerful crowdsourcing engine, aggregating highly engaged audiences around specific interest areas. Sponsorship opportunities, such as “Best Hamburger,” allow brands to align directly with passionate, intent-driven voters.
NERUS's proprietary ballots give contestants an edge over their competition, allowing them to stand out. By not limiting the number of contestants in any category, a greater desire for promotion is created, encouraging more businesses to engage actively. Additionally, because categories load randomly, there is no inherent advantage for any contestant, whether it’s Archie’s Burgers or Victory Burgers. This randomization ensures a level playing field for all participants.
For local media partners, including newspapers, radio, and television, NERUS represents a transformative revenue and engagement solution. The Optimum platform delivers a suite of high-impact products, from ballot sponsorships to print and digital features, all executed with precision and consistency. Every deliverable is modern, creative, and strategically crafted to drive measurable results, empowering sales teams, elevating local businesses, and maximizing audience engagement.
Creative services are mission-critical to a “best of” success, and these services are provided by the talented NERUS creative team from their design center located at the corporate offices in Salem, Oregon.
Each fully managed Optimum Contest by NERUS concludes with the release of a beautifully designed, full-color glossy magazine. In this magazine, the top winners in each subcategory are highlighted with a paragraph and a photo that showcase what the business does. Silver and Bronze winners are listed with their location, phone number, and website address. An HTML version of the winners is also featured on the destination website. These positions are earned based on the contest results and cannot be purchased.
However, there are opportunities for businesses to purchase advertising space in the magazine. These options range from simple, small appearances to key positions such as facing pages, full pages, and guaranteed adjacency. Winning is not a criterion for qualifying for advertising space, allowing any business to enhance its visibility. The magazines are distributed through the winners' locations and are often inserted into high-circulation Sunday newspaper editions or mailed to households that meet specific criteria.
In addition, digital campaigns are also purchased, which include digital display ads, takeovers, YouTube pre-rolls, and targeted digital networks, ensuring broad exposure for the featured businesses.
Amazing, really. To bring all of this together in one powerful solution. Not only does the NERUS team deliver a best-in-class program, they also create all the promotional support you need, including rate cards, marketing websites, print and broadcast assets, and more. They will even deploy a sales team in the field to help sell the program for you.
This is contemporary business development at its best. Fully integrated, scalable, and built for results.
Maybe it is time to put the power of Optimum by NERUS Strategies to work for your business. Schedule a discovery call with Bill Cummings or Neil Potter today. It might just be the most profitable meeting you have ever had.
Just Need Ballots?
If you are looking to manage everythig outside of the ballots, then you will interested in our ballot only program.
Learn more: Optimum Ballots