When I bought CITYVIEW in 2004, I was sitting at our attorney’s office going through the closing documents when I noticed that the “Best Of Des Moines” service mark was included as an asset. To be honest, I didn’t think a whole lot about it. Today, I recognize the importance of owning that mark and preventing others from using it to their advantage.
We have grown the poll substantially in the past 17 years. CITYVIEW’s Best Of Des Moines poll is now clearly the most influential one of its kind with nearly 14,000 votes cast in 375 categories. The winners proudly display their certificates in their businesses across central Iowa, and rightfully so.
Through the years, others have tried to cash in on our success. I have vehemently protected the “Best Of Des Moines” mark and have prevented others from using it. Some found out the hard way that we own the name. Others wiggled around it and created something similar with a different name. And today, the big corporations — including Gannett and even data-mining darling Next Door — have created their own versions. They just can’t call them Best Of Des Moines. And we can’t either, or at least we won’t.
We decided a few years ago to launch community versions of readers’ choice polls with our Iowa Living magazines by county or by a smaller region. They are not as large or complex or all-encompassing as CITYVIEW’s Best Of Des Moines poll, and they weren’t designed to be. But they do give the local mom and pop shops in each community a chance to be recognized, too. We promote the polls in our Living magazines, which are delivered to all residents and read in eight out of 10 households in the communities we serve.
We currently administer five of these polls: Eastern Polk County, Dallas County, Madison County, Northwest Polk County, and Warren County. The Eastern Polk County and Dallas County polls are currently open, so check them out and be sure to vote for your favorites. See details here.
So, basically, we stole the idea from ourselves, if that’s possible. As entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss says, “One can steal ideas, but no one can steal execution or passion.”
Have a magnificent Monday, and, as always, thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
