BC Living: People’s Choice 2013

Every year, BC Living, a publication that focuses on West Coast life, polls its readers to find out what is considered ‘best in class’ in our region.

BC Living separates respondents into four regions: Vancouver & Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Interior BC & Northern BC.

The poll quizzes people on many aspects of West Coast living: favourite coffee shop (in my opinion 49^thParallel wins hands down and I’m delighted to see the broader Vancouver population agrees), the best patio (The Boathouse Restaurant), best desserts (Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie) etc. The list goes on.

The most interesting is the ‘Best Local Media Personality’ category. The results from Vancouver & Lower Mainland region – all of which are TV personalities – are listed below:

• Winner: Tamara Taggart, CTV
• 1^st Runner Up: Sophie Lui, Global BC
• 2^nd Runner Up: Squire Barnes, Global BC

It’s great to see two female TV personalities make this list, highlighting the gender shift over the years in the news room.

I also took a peek at the results from the other three regions polled. Outside of the lower mainland, radio personalities were a much bigger hit. The ‘Best Local Media Personality’ according to the readers from Vancouver Island are listed below:

• Winner: Hudson Mack, CTV Vancouver Island
• 1^st Runner Up: Ed Bain, The Q!
• 2^nd Runner Up: Bruce Williams, CTV Vancouver Island

The ‘Best Local Media Personality’ according to the readers from the Interior:

• Winner: Brian Martin, Sun FM
• 1^st Runner Up: Mark Jeffries, EZ Rock
• 2^nd Runner Up: Toby Tannas, CHBC News

The ‘Best Local Media Personality’ according to readers from Northern BC:

• Winner: Betsy Trumpener, CBC
• 1^st Runner Up: Mike Benny, 101.3 The River
• 2^nd Runner Up: Dale Taylor, 97.5 The Rush

This kind of poll is extremely valuable. As a PR, it’s important to know what personalities resonate in different regions. We often organize events and invite local personalities to host; knowing who resonates with which audience ensures we identify the best person for the job. Thank you BC Living for conducting and collating this insightful data!