There is something in all of us that responds to and remembers stories above facts and figures or claims and assertions.
We work with destinations helping them to write their own story for their place – something that will bring it alive and make it memorable. So I was very struck by watching the TED talk given by Chimamanda Adichie, award-winning Nigerian born author, probably most well-known for Half of a Yellow Sun. She talks about the appeal and power of stories – but then goes on to consider their more malign influence. She starts with the way that Western children’s stories coloured her view of the world and what she began to write about, in the absence of Nigerian or African stories in her early years. She goes on to speak about the way that ‘stories’ or narratives about a place can so easily lead us to narrow – and sometimes very negative – stereotypes in which we conveniently consign the people and the place to a simplistic label.
This reminded me of Simon Anholt (leading thinker and adviser to governments on managing the reputation of places as well as founder of the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index) talking and writing about how aid and charitable campaigns have damaged Africa by creating a narrative for the continent, and the countries within it, as a “basket-case”.
So all this is a useful reminder to those of us concerned with destination marketing in our striving to find the simple, elegant way to encapsulate the essence of our places. Be aware of the current narratives about them. And be wary of the single story that is just too simple.