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Perception Is Reality: Will Macon’s Negative Self-Image Kill Us?
-- Chris Horne
 Chip Cherry likes to tell the story. In fact, I’ve already heard it a couple times. But I like it too, so when the President of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce starts into it for the benefit of a roomful of media types, I put my pen down and lean back.
Way back when the Chamber was courting Kohl’s, they rolled out the welcome mat, just as they’re supposed to do. But Kohl’s wanted to experience Macon without the “Chamber treatment” so they sent in some of their people undercover to talk to the locals, to find out what they think. Cherry learned this as he stood on stage with the company’s brass at the big unveiling here. That’s also when he learned that their covert operation returned findings that could’ve been seriously detrimental. Kohl’s spies heard a lot of trash talk coming from our own mouths.
Fortunately, that didn’t keep them from locating here, but Cherry realized it could impact future efforts so he and his allies have turned it into a lesson learned.
Fifteen months ago, we reported on the Chamber’s Macon Now! initiative, a five-year program designed to bring, by the end of 2009, 8,400 total jobs for an impact of $242 million in payroll. It utilizes a two-pronged approach to both service existing business and to recruit new industry for the area. Out of the second point came the initiative for an image campaign that would “position Macon as a dynamic and vibrant community in the minds of the citizens of Macon, Bibb County, and Middle Georgia.”
The Chamber partnered with two Mercer marketing professors, Dr. Tammy Crutchfield and Dr. Alice Collins, to resolve the issue accentuated by the Kohl’s story. The effort involved 13 focus groups (133 people total) through which a questionnaire was designed for which 130 phone interviews and 603 in-person intercept interviews were conducted. The findings lend a tangible sense of what Macon thinks of itself.
As the survey data points out, echoing words that Macon supporters have used for years, Macon has a lot of potential. In the survey, that statement ranked highest, garnering a mean rating of 5.52 (on a scale with 7 representing “strongly agree”)—in fact, over 75% of respondents agreed with that statement. Equally encouraging is the news that 71.1% say they are proud to say that Macon is where they call home. Most surprising—given my personal reluctance to speak definitively about the future—is that only 32.2% strongly disagreed with the statement “I plan to live in Macon for the rest of my life” (while a whopping 38% strongly agreed with it). Obviously, things aren’t as bleak as they may have seemed.
According to the focus groups, which determined the survey questions, the list of positive attributes was longer than the negative list, which included items that could be mitigated by some changes and in some cases, the dissemination of certain information. For instance, at the top of the list of negatives: poor local politics. While the present city council and mayor are still young in their terms, most of the negativity seems attributable to the past administration.
Other issues, like “poor public schools” or being “unreceptive to new businesses”, seem like a matter of old labels infringing on the present reality. Consider the recent construction by the Bibb County School System as well as the accolades its schools are gaining. Room to improve? Certainly, but it has improved notably over the last decade. Same goes for the state of new business in Macon. Negative news of job loss and plant closings that make the big headlines, sticking in the public craw, but there is very obvious commercial development taking place.
The most glaring negative response, to me, is that there is “not a lot to do.” Naturally, my gut instinct is to instruct one to look through the pages of this paper, or to look across the column to the positive things to where the same groups listed Macon’s “arts and culture” as a good thing. But, that would be, especially in this situation, too defensive a posture. And it would miss the point.
A lot has already been said about the fact that young people don’t believe there’s much to do in Macon. Though generally agreed upon, this is the first instance where it can be demonstrably stated. While it is worth discussion, there is one answer to the why that seems both intuitive and overlooked. The survey says: people who think there’s more to do in Macon also exhibit stronger positive feelings about Macon.
Or, as Lauren Hamblin says, “The people who are the most enthused about Macon are the people who are really involved in Macon.”
There it is, folks. Puzzle over it if you will. Go ahead and ask why broke folks think there’s more to do in Macon than wealthier folks. Wonder—aloud if you must—why local Caucasians think there’s less to do here than their African-American counterparts. But do not ignore the fact that in every sub-group analysis—including the zip code breakdowns—there is a correlation between the citizens who think there’s plenty to do in Macon and those who say they like Macon a lot.
Yeah, but who is Lauren Hamblin?
Lauren Hamblin relocated to Macon from Alpharetta to become a student at Wesleyan. She decided to stay here, finding work at the Chamber of Commerce where she now serves as the Chamber’s liaison for the image campaign. Though the survey did not measure significant differences in attitudes about Macon between those who grew up here and those who came as adults, personal experience tends to point out that transplants are quicker to notice the good in Macon. In addition to being involved in the community, Lauren also qualifies as one of these aforementioned outsiders.
“I guess I’m a transplant. I just really like it here. People always ask me why I’d rather live here than Atlanta, but Macon has so much more character,” Lauren says. “Coming to work at the Chamber got me into the community more so I really see what it offers. Now, I find myself not having time to do everything I want to do here. There’s a lot more going on than people realize.”
Her last comment further demonstrates the “involvement = enjoyment” quotient, but it also highlights something else: getting involved doesn’t happen automatically. It takes information and effort. This is what they hope to make popular knowledge.
So we go from Macon Now! to Macon, Discover It! The launch is April 4th at the Cox Capitol Theatre at 4pm. This is where we’ll see the five most significant topics come to life with the help of Bright Ideas Group. Each topic will be embodied by a different local’s story as featured in print and on video as well as on the Internet. That’s right, they’re building a website for this campaign to serve as an ad-free “hyper-terminal” where just about anything of local interest can be found among the profiles of seemingly ordinary residents. In advance of the launch, Bright Ideas Group is also taking this gospel to several community organizations, like churches and civic groups. They’ll follow up with a big cash, community-wide scavenger hunt called the Macon Discovery Challenge.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of this project is that the campaign is almost entirely pro-bono. Despite everyone’s attention to the bottom-line, both Bright Ideas Group and their media partners—like, for full-disclosure, The 11th Hour—are donating their time, energy and creative powers.
Why? Call it community love. The organizations involved all truly believe in Macon. It’d be nearly impossible to do some of the things each does if that weren’t the case.
“We think that we have a great hometown, and we just want to remind people why they should be proud to live here,” says another happy transplant to Macon, Bright Ideas Group’s Mechel McKinley-Aiello. Explaining her trek out of the North, she adds, “My husband and I had only been here for two weeks when I said, ‘You know what? We could retire here.’ There are a lot of great benefits to living in Macon.”
If non-natives can see it—and sometimes astoundingly so—will the lifers get it? Judging from the numbers, there’s a really good shot. Of the four categories that measured a significant difference between those raised here and those not, pride in Macon and appreciation of its musical heritage were highest among the homegrown.
Co-author of the survey, Dr. Crutchfield is steeped in Middle Georgia, having received two degrees from Georgia College and previously working professionally at Robins Air Force Base. Now a professor at Mercer University, she says, “It really was an honor to do this, and what was so neat was there are many other people who love Macon too. So many people see the promise in Macon. There’s so much at our fingertips.”
Significantly, of the subgroups that consistently rated Macon lowest, Mercer University may be the demographic getting the most attention. Dr. Crutchfield says that her Marketing Strategy class is taking on a component of this project, doing research to find out what would better connect Mercer students to Macon. What they learn will be used to launch a specialized campaign aimed at Mercer students.
No matter the subgroup or sentiment, the key ingredient lies in what Bright Ideas Group owner Kathy Hoskins says: “I just tell people not to be intimidated by the unfamiliar, not to be afraid to try something new. Just try something new.”
Trying something new will—for many locals—mean trying something that’s been in Macon for a long time. Of course, it’s always better late than never. And judging from the results of the survey and the plans in place for this image campaign, if people just do it, if they explore their own hometown, they’ll probably enjoy it.
When that happens, they’ll automatically like Macon more.
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