A ’stunningly dull’ new slogan for Scotland?
Newspaper editors love the unveiling of new slogans, particularly when public money has been spent on them. Such occasions offer an easy way for journalists to fill a few columns with spluttering derision regarding the new slogan. It lends itself to readable, populist copy. Very often such negativity may be justified.
However, sometimes the criticism is misplaced. Earlier this week, for example, the media reported how the Scottish Government replaced the previous slogan ‘Scotland – the best small country in the world’ with a new slogan, simply ‘Welcome to Scotland’. Media reaction to this development was muted and underwhelmed, with headlines such as ‘Scotland reveals stunningly dull new slogan’. But such judgements are a tad harsh. The ‘Welcome to Scotland’ slogan is a perfectly good greeting to have for visitors arriving at Scottish airports, which is where the slogan will be placed. It is certainly less provocative than the previous ‘Best small country in the world’ slogan. Some commentators criticise the new slogan for lack of creativity, but that is missing the point. When most travellers arrive somewhere, what they look for is a simple, genuine greeting, not a figment of an ad agency creative’s fevered mind.
The ‘Welcome to Scotland’ slogan at Scottish airports is a step in the right direction. What remains to be seen, however, is whether the Scottish Government are going to develop a comprehensive nation branding strategy, beyond just a few billboards at certain airports. For the past few years there have been numerous very good nation branding-related initiatives and actions in Scotland, but I don’t see much sign of strategic coordination of the country’s overall nation branding. But then again, you could say that of almost every other country in the world. Lack of coordination between the different actors – across the sectors of inward investment, export promotion, tourism, and diplomacy – is inevitable unless the country’s political leadership inspires and supports it.