November 1, 2007

25 Water-Cooler Fables

Popular Tool With Newcomers & Residents Revamped and Updated

How can a community with a deep sense of pride and a strong image nationwide be undermined?  Right at the water cooler, across the backyard fence or at receptions, which are breeding grounds for negative word of mouth artists.  Traditional promotion has some effect, but negative information has twice the power of positive information regardless of veracity.

Long ago, newcomers and residents asked DCVB to create a tool to help inform these conversations.  Now entitled 25 Water-Cooler Fables About Durham and the Realities Behind Them, the tool empowers both people who are positive or unsure to stand up to rampant misinformation that ultimately only gives the entire Triangle a black eye.

While these “fableists” are geographically centered only in nearby communities, thanks to the Internet, the misinformation finds its way to potential newcomers much faster than accurate information.  If repeated only a few times, it easily becomes conventional wisdom to even the most skeptical area news reporters and editors in these communities who then only rarely question the authenticity.

Making things more complicated, there is now evidence, yet to be fully tested, that there can be a danger in refuting misinformation.  If newcomers are by chance untainted, then confronting or explaining misinformation may reinforce it.

But the negative word of mouth about Durham is so rampant, and often reinforced or relayed by news sources, that Durham’s challenge is daunting.   Surveys show that overwhelming numbers of newcomers and visitors have heard the misinformation before ever getting their hands on more genuine information.

Confronting fables is not for the faint of heart.  Some people fear derision if they step in to clarify, which is always a real possibility.  A grass roots group called Image Watch, comprised of many local residents and business owners helps DCVB tackle to most difficult and complex inaccuracies. 

RELATED ARTICLES & INFORMATION:

Source of Negative Word of Mouth Pinpointed [August 2, 2006]
Image is Strong at Home and Nationally, But Weak in Neighboring Communities

Negative Word of Mouth Still Virulent [June 26, 2007]

However, More Than Half Still Expect a Negative Durham Experience Based on Hearsay

Published by the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. Copyright 2007 Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau,
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