Best of Milwaukee 2026 Marketing Kit

Your guide to launching your 2026 Best of Milwaukee campaign!

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Every year you hear “check out this place, it’s amazing” and “I just had the best food at…” and now it’s your chance to decide who is the best in our 2026 Best of Milwaukee campaign! We're thrilled to be celebrating over 35 years of Best of Milwaukee as the city celebrates 180 years. 

With our two-stage voting system that has drawn a record number of voters over the past couple years, we want to make sure you have all the tools you need to give your business (or your favorite locals!) the edge.

Best of Milwaukee

In the first stage, we give readers complete power with an open-ended ballot form that includes over 350 categories from Best Popcorn to Best Local Radio Personality and Best Bar on a Budget. In the final stage, just the top nominees make it in, and voting shifts to a multiple-choice form. The finalist with the most votes in each category is named the Best of Milwaukee!

This is a completely reader-driven vote. Our editors have no say in the winners.

Feel free to use anything you want from this page to help get you over the top! The ballot's awards are divided up into 14 groups. Check which group you're in and start promoting! Nominations begin Sept. 3, 2026.

What We're Doing

Shepherd Express promotes Best of Milwaukee to residents and frequent visitors through as many channels as humanly possible, including:

  • Print Advertisements in Shepherd Express
  • Online and Mobile Advertising across the Shepherd website and our social media
  • Email Marketing to Shepherd Express network

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What You Can Do: 10 Ideas to Market Your Best of Milwaukee Campaign

  1. Share the Best of Milwaukee 2026 ballot link on your Facebook, Instagram, X or TikTok platform during the voting period. After all, you'll need to get some love from your customers in order to make it into the finals round. Use the hashtag #BOM2026 or #BestofMilwaukee2026. You can link directly to any subcategory, just click the subcategory in the navigation to discover the full link.
  2. Download our Best of Milwaukee promotional graphics for social media to share with links to vote. X/Facebook (Horizontal): Nominations Round , Pre-Voting Round, Voting Round. Instagram (Vertical): Nominations Round and Voting Round.
  3. Tell your employees to vote for you and direct them to Best of Milwaukee 2026.
  4. Share the 2026 Best of Milwaukee ballot QR code with your customers. Feel free to add it to a custom flyer for your business! OR print and display the official Best of Milwaukee voting flyer for your customers to scan.
  5. Purchase an online ballot ad. There's still space in many categories. Contact your Media Consultant today to talk about available opportunities.
  6. Snap and post a behind the scenes pic of some of your employees voting on their phone with a link to the ballot.
  7. Snap and post a pic of the exterior of your business with a link to the ballot.
  8. Best of Milwaukee advertisers, display provided marketing materials for Best of Milwaukee in prominent places.
  9. Promote your participation in Best of Milwaukee on your website.
  10. Prompt employees to talk with customers about voting in Best of Milwaukee.

How It Works

  • The Nomination Round takes place from Sept. 3 - Sept. 24, 2026. You will be prompted to register with your email address and name, and you'll be emailed a code to confirm your address.
  • After that - nominate one entry per category. You don't have it to do it all at once, and you can come back later to nominate more entries, or change a previous one. You don't have to nominate in every category.
  • The Finalist Voting Round runs from Oct. 8-29. Again, you'll need to confirm your email address and name in order to vote.
  • Finalists will be the top nominees in each category. You can vote for one entry per category, and like the Nomination Round, you don't have to do it all at once, and you can change your vote(s) up until the end of the round.

Full Ballot

Direct Link to Your Section

Please note, these links will go live on Sept. 3, 2026 for nominations.