Thatâs the mantra of thebestof The Isle of Man Labelled as a local champion, Matt Oliphant Smith Director of thebestof the Isle of Man is committed to making life better for everyone in the community supporting great local businesses and charities alike. Dedicated to the launch of the Local & Loved campaign 2014 Matt said; âWe are lucky enough to have some amazing independent businesses in the Isle of Man and itâs about time we raised their profile! The Local & Loved Business Awards 2014 isnât another opportunity for industry heads to pat themselves on the back. These awards are voted for by you, the consumer as we believe your opinion counts mostâ âThis is an opportunity for everybody to show their appreciation for all the hard work that local businesses, and the people behind them, do to maintain local pride and help grow the local economy. Although The Local & Loved Business Awards is a national campaign, it aims are to raise the profile and awareness of great local businesses and prove that community spirit and engagement can make a real positive impact on [area nameâs] economy. If enough people vote for our great businesses we may even gain national recognition, putting the island firmly on the map.â Launched on 1st February and running until midnight on Valentineâs Day, locals can vote for any businesses they love by visiting www.thebestof.co.uk/vote. The results will be displayed every day on the âlove-o-meterâ (www.thebestof.co.uk/love-o-meter) until 13th February, with the winners being announced on 17th. Voters will also be put into a daily prize draw where they can win £100 to spend with a local thebestof business. During the next two weeks Matt will be raising the profile of great local businesses through Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thebestofTheIsleofMan as well as around town through branded campaign material. âThereâs nothing like quirky photos and videos to really show the human side of a business. We were inundated with some amazing pictures last year. Iâm looking forward to sharing this year with everyoneâ