February 6, 2007
Contact
: Mike Seney
The State Chamber
405.235.3669


ZOGBY POLL SHOWS BY 3:1 MARGIN, AMERICANS HOLD
FAVORABLE VIEW OF OKLAHOMA
State Moves Beyond Dustbowl Imagery; Opportunity Illuminated for Shaping Public Opinion
OKLAHOMA CITY – Zogby International, a world-renowned polling and market research firm,today announced the results of an interactive online poll of 20,951 Americans who were asked what they think of Oklahoma.

The surprising results were discussed today at a call-in news
conference held at The State Chamber in Oklahoma City.

The poll ran from Dec. 8 through Dec. 12, 2006 with respondents drawn from a random sample
of 100,000 likely voters in the United States. The margin of error is +/- 0.7 percentage points.

Participants in the survey were asked two Oklahoma-related questions.

Question #1 (open-ended):
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Oklahoma?


The top two answers, by a considerable margin, were the Broadway musical “Oklahoma!” (25%) and the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing (24%). Less than 10 percent think of oil or natural gas wells (6%); Oklahoma college football (5%); Native Americans/”Trail of
Tears”/casinos (4%); plains/prairies/flat land/grasslands/wide open spaces (3%).

Only 2 percent said they thought of things like: rednecks, dustbowl, depression, “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, wind, red dirt, dry, hot, desolate, tumbleweeds, cowboys, rodeos, and tornadoes.

Approximately 1 percent of respondents said they thought of the slogan “Oklahoma is OK”.

Richard P. Rush, president and chief executive officer of The State Chamber, Oklahoma’s largest business and industry advocacy group representing more than 2,000 Oklahoma businesses, said
he was pleased by the results of the survey.

“It has been a constant undercurrent in conversations within the business community that our state struggles with getting past the old dustbowl stereotype,” Rush said. “This poll tells us
we’ve come a long way in this regard, and we must no longer underestimate our state’s true worth.”

Question #2: What is your overall view of the state of Oklahoma – very favorable, somewhat
favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable, or are you not familiar enough to form an opinion?


Nearly half of those surveyed (47%) have a favorable view of Oklahoma, while only 17 percent said they have an unfavorable opinion. One in three (31%) are not familiar enough with Oklahoma to go one way or the other.
John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International said,

“The key number here is the one in three voters who said they do not have enough information to make a judgment. This offers state public and private sector officials the opportunity to mold public opinion, especially among younger people who are least likely to have formed any impression and are a particularly mobile demographic.”
“Now that we know our story is not yet being told, we can get on with the business of shaping
the way we’re perceived by the rest of the country,” Rush said.
Established in 1926, The State Chamber’s membership includes Fortune 500 companies, large
manufacturers, and family-owned businesses in rural and metropolitan areas of the state.

For more information, please visit
www.okstatechamber.com.
For more information about Zogby International, visit www.zogby.com.