Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
24 <br /> Image, Identity and Perception <br /> Hickory has been known as a progressive City since its incorporation in 1870. In its 133 <br /> years, Hickory has been on the cutting edge, proven by being the first in North Carolina <br /> to adopt the Council-Manager form of government in 1913, to being named the Best- <br /> Balanced City in the 1950s, and winning many awards, including All-America City <br /> Awards in 1967 and 1987. In 1999, Reader's Digest named Hickory as being one of the <br /> best 10 places in the United States to raise a family, and other accolades include being a <br /> "Entrepreneurial Hotspot"in the US by Nations Business magazine, and by being named <br /> one of the top cities for "Quality of Life,"by Business North Carolina magazine. <br /> These positive images of Hickory ring true, and from these accolades, the perception and <br /> reality is that Hickory is a great place to raise a family, start a business and provides the <br /> quality of life desired by all people. <br /> Since the end of 2001, Hickory has faced some challenging economic problems and the <br /> national media chose to spotlight the Hickory area and its high unemployment rate. <br /> Hickory made national news because of its closings of textile manufacturing plants, and <br /> job cuts in the furniture industry, as well as lay-offs in the fiber-optics industry. Like the <br /> majority of news stories, the entire story is not told, and Hickory was portrayed as a ghost <br /> town. Despite the economic downturn, Hickory continues to thrive and unemployment <br /> numbers are down and it is hoped that the worst has reared its head and only good things <br /> can happen from now on. <br /> Positive news releases, articles in local and state publications, as well as local coverage <br /> on how Hickory is combating the unemployment problem will not be able to overshadow <br /> the national media's report, but it is hoped that local and state citizens will learn and <br /> believe that Hickory will continue to be a strong, progressive and visionary city. <br /> The goal of the Communications Plan is to continue to enhance the City's image, and <br /> identify ways to communicate with local, state, and national citizens that Hickory <br /> provides not only the best of essential services, but offers quality services to citizens that <br /> far exceed cities our size or larger. <br /> A key thing to remember is that the Communications Plan cannot completely overcome <br /> the identity of the City organization, but a strong Communications Plan can enhance the <br /> City's image. In an age of sound bites and snapshots in written media and on television <br /> and radio, the citizens' perception of a service, event or issue will become their reality. <br /> The Communications Plan will guide the information flow so perception, reality and fact <br /> all melt into one idea. <br /> Target Audiences <br /> In order for a City to enhance its communications efforts, it is thought that everyone <br /> touched by City services should be targeted. Communication efforts of this type are too <br /> 2 <br />