Introduction

In 1997, The Garrity Group embarked on its a journey to be a firm that shares its trusted public relation skills and unique New Mexico insights generously with its clients.

In 2011, the firm stepped up its offering pursuing thought leadership through our annual Garrity Perception Survey.

Over the past seven years’ the firm has commissioned Albuquerque-based Research & Polling to conduct the annual survey.

Each year, survey participants are interviewed by telephone (both landlines and cell phones) in the February/March timeframe. The scientific, statewide survey uses the current United States Census as its guide, to ensure there is no “over” or “under representation” of geographic or demographic populations. Each year, the survey features responses of approximately 405 New Mexico residents, consistently providing a 95 percent level of confidence.

As you will see on the printed version of this year’s overview, The cover of the 2018 Garrity Perception Survey features the iconic bridge crossing of the Rio Grande.

Whether you are driving north on Highway 68 watching the gorge reveal itself, rafting on the Rio Grande, fishing the confluence with the Red River or reflecting from the bridge, there is something for everyone here.

The Taos Gorge represents a great divide in New Mexico, appropriate of our seven year look at how “different” residents view issues in our state.  Many of these differences are based in large part on their location, demographics and position in life. These unique perspectives shape how residents view industries, professions and consume media.

We will be exploring all three of those areas as well as how “news of the day” shapes perceptions of New Mexico industries and professions.  We will also take a look at how resident access news and information has changed, or not, over the past seven years.  The results may surprise you.

Overview – Providing Perspective on Perception

My Sophomore year in high school marked a final venture in scouting. One of the things I tried to do during my final years in Troup 685 was celestial navigation. Separate from daylight or clouds, I’ve learned it is quite simple as long as you find the North Star.  Two of the easiest ways to find that beacon is by using aspects of the Big Dipper or Cassiopeia constellations.  Roaming the “hill country” of Texas, I was thankful for a clear night sky and a guide who helped me find those key Stars.

There are some similarities with the Garrity Perception Survey. Each year of the survey provides a snapshot in time showing who residents “trust” and revealing “favored” industries (think of those single stars). Connect those data points over seven years (2011 through 2017) and you can identify a baseline and as well as possible trends (a constellation). Add insight about how current events impact their responses and you have a basis of understanding “perception” (North Star).

The 2018 Garrity Perception Survey will highlight some of the seven-year trends for “favorability” of industries/institutions, “trust” of people/professions and how New Mexico residents get “news and information”. Specifically, we will focus on trends in the energy, education, healthcare, legal and media arenas.  We hope you will enjoy this new form of “celestial navigation” with us!

How We Use the Garrity Perception Survey

Providing insight and a voice for Fortune 500 companies that have a presence in New Mexico, The Garrity Group uses the data to demonstrate how New Mexico is not a “one size fits all” state.

For example, how residents in Northwest New Mexico view the oil and gas industry varies differently than those in the North Central part of the state. We use the information with our “instate” clients as a basis for understanding the best way to approach unique communities throughout the Land of Enchantment.

The Garrity Group (R to L: Lucia, Andie, Gayle, Amanda, Tom)

In the rapidly changing news industry, we use the information to shape our earned media plan. For example, if you want to use digital media to inform those who are favorable towards media, you will want to focus first on social media and then on bloggers.  If you are trying to decide whether print or radio is the best option to reach Farm & Ranch Industry advocates, the research skews toward newspaper. And if you are trying to chart ways to reach millennials, you will want to focus on “niche” digital campaigns.

More information and analysis of this information is available online at www.garrityperceptionsurvey.com.

My dad enjoys reading the newspaper.  It is part of his morning ritual.

Thumbing through the news of the day he heads to the sports page. Soon there after he will grouse about the success or failure of his Notre Dame Irish and whichever Houston sports franchise is playing.

Then, he gets quiet.  Occasionally a chuckle, other times outright laughter.  He reads through the comics like a bookie studies a racing form.  The frames of humorous wisdom helps dad make sense of the world.

Once, a long time ago, after I graduated from TCU. I commented about the Crankshaft cartoons. According to Wikipedia, “Crankshaft is an eponymous comic strip about an elderly, curmudgeonly school bus driver which debuted on June 8, 1987.”

I must have been an early adopter because I’ve been reading the comic strip since 1987.  But, I’ve never purchased a newspaper with Crankshaft on its pages.  My dad, remembering the comic strip comment has made saving the daily muse a part of his morning ritual.

As a result, whenever I head to Houston to visit, I have a stack of comic strips to catch up on when I get back to Albuquerque.

Funny, I let my dad know that he didn’t need to clip those out for me.  Gosh, it has been 20 years now?  He says he doesn’t mind.

And now in my later years, I “get it.” Clipping the comics provides a way for him to connect with me each day, even though I am not in his immediate presence.

Today, I went through another collection of Crankshaft comics.  A stack that was procured during my last trip to Houston.

He wasn’t with me in Albuquerque, but I could sure hear his laugh as I read through the comics.

The slaying of Rio Rancho Police Officer Gregg Benner has generated significant criticism of the courts and justice system. Based on media reports, and admissions by various agencies, the suspect, Andrew Romero, slipped through and took advantage of “the system” to go on his crime spree, which resulted in the death of Officer Benner.

Public outrage toward the entities responsible for Romero’s release is intense. Flaws throughout the system all seemed to manifest in this one case. There were apparent issues with crime scene evidence, a judge was reportedly on leave for a time, the district attorney lacked experience, and the driver for a halfway house never showed up to pick up Romero.

Since 2011, New Mexico residents have been losing trust in judges, police officers, and lawyers, as well as losing favor with the courts and justice system. According to the Garrity Perception Survey, a scientific report conducted by Research & Polling, nearly all of the professions and institutions connected to the justice system have also seen an increase in distrust and unfavorable perceptions.

New Mexico residents’ favorability of the courts and justice system has dropped two points to 34 percent (2011-2015). During that same timeframe, the percentage of residents with an unfavorable perception has increased four points to 33 percent. Police officers, although gaining a lot of the trust lost in previous years, has seen trust slip by a point since 2011 to 54 percent; however, dis-trust among New Mexico residents has increased seven points to 26 percent in 2015. One of the largest increases of distrust among all professions surveyed.

Based on the research, only one of the institutions or professions are favored or trusted by New Mexico residents (meaning they failed to pass the 50 percent mark).

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, “when a company is distrusted, 57 percent of people will believe negative information after hearing it just one or two times. Conversely, when companies are trusted, 51 percent of people believe positive information about the company after hearing it just one or two times.”

It will take increased transparency coupled with an explanation of how “the system” operates for the courts and justice system to stem the tide of unfavorable perceptions and increased dis-trust among New Mexico residents. Often, providing insight about why things are the way they are provides peace of mind and starts to neutralize negativity.

When picking up a race packet for a weekend 10K, I noticed a variety of things. A nice pen/stylus with the name of the event sponsor, a map of the course as well as promotions for a local restaurant and health club. Oh, there was also a brochure for Kasasa.

Kasa what?

Evidently, this is a trend for banks and credit unions. Instead of increasing relevance the old fashioned way by earning the customer’s trust, at least 230 credit unions across the United States (according to the ABQJournal) decided it would be best to confuse their customer by changing their institutions’ names to made up words.

What is a made up word? It is the letter version of “word salad”, gibberish. The kind of word that is not allowed in “Words with Friends.“

This article in The Financial Brand outlines a few of the gibberish heros. Comstar changed their name to an anagram of money, NYMEO. Another was Wynadotte FCU (which is one of the more challenging to spell) that changed to NuPath.

Recently, a credit union I use, changed their name from New Mexico Educators FCU to NUSENDA Credit Union. I first heard about the change through twitter then called my commercial banker to find out what the name change was all about. Was it a merger or acquisition? Are there any new services or member benefits? Does it mean that new branches are going to open near me? Is the artificial sweetener Splenda at play? Or was it a computer hack and all a bad dream?

The answer, “it was just a name change.” Really? A name change brought to us by the same industry that took years to depart from neck ties to open collared shirts because it was concerned the move might be seen as “radical” decides to change their name to a made up word?

It was either a so-called “branding expert” or a focus group gone wild that resulted in names like Kasasa, Nusenda and Nymeo.

Here is some free advice for any CEO considering a name change to either a made up or existing word: first focus on improving customer service and increasing relevance to your community. If things don’t turn around change your name or sell the business.

An article in the Wall Street Journal this morning caught my attention and held it (yes sometimes I am a headline scanner): Europe’s Empty Churches Go on Sale.

The article by Naftali Bendavid provided insight on the flight of worshipers, resulting in the closure of churches around Europe.

Here is one paragraph from the story that jumped out to me: The Church of England closes about 20 churches a year. Roughly 200 Danish churches have been deemed nonviable or underused. The Roman Catholic Church in Germany has shut about 515 churches in the past decade.

The article is worth a read; the paragraph doesn’t do it justice. A copy of the full article is here (subscription required): http://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-empty-churches-go-on-sale-1420245359

The article ends with a quote from an overseer of a vacant church: “But there are not worshipers anymore.”

The article prompted me to see how the favorability of church/organized religion and trust of religious leaders are faring in the eyes of New Mexico residents. Those are two of the institutions and professions tracked annually in the Garrity Perception Survey.

Based on third party surveys of New Mexico residents, with a 95 percent confidence level, the church/organized religion and religious leaders have pause for concern.

In 2011, 69 percent of New Mexico residents had a favorable view of the “Church or Organized Religion.” That is a good thing for those attached to the institution. Since then, it has all been downhill. According to the 2014 survey, only 59 percent of residents are favorable toward the “Church or Organized Religion.” A drop of 10 percent.

Meanwhile trust of “Pastors, Priests or Other Religious Leaders.” Has seen an even larger decline than favorability of the Church.

In 2011, 67 percent of New Mexico residents trusted “Pastors, Priests or Other Religious Leaders.” In 2014, that number is 52 percent. New Mexico residents’ trust of religious leaders has dropped 15 percent over the last four years.

Breaking down the four year numbers by region reveals that residents Southwest (-23%) and North Central (-21%) are losing trust of “Pastors, Priests or Other Religious Leaders” at a faster rate than those in other parts of New Mexico.

What does all of this mean? New Mexico religions institutions need to heed what is happening overseas and find ways to be relevant or face a possible similar fate as their brethren Europe.