‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater’

From time to time I hear Scots bemoaning the global stereotype of Scotland as the shortbread-tin home to all that is tartan, whisky-flavoured and resonant of lochs, glens and hairy long-horned cattle.

I completely understand the feeling. But as a brand adviser I strongly urge against any moves to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Sure it’s true that Scotland has a richly textured story to tell which goes way beyond the clichés: but don’t underestimate the power and benefit of positive cliché. Clichés represent an emotional access point: a way in to the “brand” of Scotland. They make it easy and appealing for people to approach the brand, and in my brand book that’s a powerful, and enviable asset.

And it should be remembered too that Scotland’s most powerful clichés are hugely positive ones, from landscape to whisky, from knitwear to fresh air, from prudence to trusted accent. There are dozens of countries of similar size, and larger, that would give a great deal to be burdened with your stereotypes, thank you very much.

And smart Scots in every field will also play with the stereotypes: subverting them, reshaping them and refreshing them. And that’s all vital and completely right for the nation brand.

But creative subversion needs a starting point, so I believe Scotland should never be shy or embarrassed about its images of tartan, or whisky, or even shortbread.

Successful branding, whether for companies, organisations, or places, is about the creation of meaning. Meaning that is authentic, distinctive and emotionally compelling.

Facts are never enough, no matter how impressive. It’s not facts that make people become emotionally wedded to brands. It is story. Stories in words and pictures. In movies, in products, in individual people, even in fabrics and patterns.

It’s easy to knock Dressed To Kilt as an opportunity for a bunch of luvvies to show off their (in some cases questionable) Scottish roots. A chance to wear a kilt as a kind of fancy-dress novelty.

But resist the temptation of cynicism. If a bunch of Yanks wish they were Scottish enough to wear a kilt without embarrassment, isn’t that indicative of the power of the Scottish brand worldwide, and a reason for celebration? Scotland, as I’m sure you don’t need an Anglo-Irishman to tell you, is one of the world’s favourite nations.

This article first appeared in The Scotsman on April 7th 2010.

Date posted: Thursday 8th April 2010Back to news home page >