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CHAPTER FIVE COMMUNICATIONS - MEDIA IMPACT OF TARTAN WEEK

Introduction

5.1 This section presents the analysis of media items which appeared in weeks prior to, during and post Tartan Week. Where appropriate, comparisons have been made with the 2005 Tartan Week evaluation to assess whether media coverage was greater, whether Scottish Executive activities achieved greater coverage, etc.

5.2 In January 2006, the Scottish Executive hosted a Burn's Supper in New York to which key people within the New York media were invited. The Supper aimed to "warm" the New York media to the forthcoming Tartan Week events and to promote Scotland.

5.3 The communication aims associated with the media coverage were to highlight Scotland as offering a great education system, skilled flexible workforce, tremendous quality of life and diverse culture. Key initiatives launched during Tartan Week were the Friends of Scotland Caucus in Washington DC and the promotion of Scotland's life sciences sector.

5.4 Appendix One and Appendix Two of this report feature examples of Tartan Week press coverage in the domestic and US media during the period covered by the evaluation.

Press Coverage

5.5 Domestic press cuttings for analysis purposes were received from the VisitScotland Press Office, the Scottish Executive's Communications Team and the evaluation reports prepared by the Scottish Book Trust and the Scottish Youth Theatre. All media cuttings from these sources were entered into a database and analysed.

5.6 US media cuttings were supplied by MWW in New York and VisitScotland Press Office. This information was also entered into the database for analysis.

5.7 The data has been split by date to show the proportion of media recorded pre, during and post Tartan Week 2006. Pre Tartan Week includes any item up to the 31st March 2006, during Tartan Week includes items appearing from 1st of April - 11th April (inclusive) and post Tartan week includes any item recorded after the 11th April 2006.

5.8 Tartan Week 2006 coverage in the press ran from the 14th February to the 5th May, a period of 12 weeks.

5.9 The total number of press cuttings in 2006 was 256 (190 in the domestic press and 66 in the US press), an increase of 72 items overall (domestic and US) on 2005. As in 2005, the press items in 2006 were most likely to appear during Tartan Week, while few items appeared after Tartan Week.

Figure 5.1: Total number of press cuttings domestic/ US

5.10 As in 2005, items were most likely to appear in the national press during Tartan Week 2006. In 2006, there was a slight increase in the number of press items appearing in local press compared with 2005. Much of this was attributed to the amount of local press coverage gained by the Scottish Youth Theatre which featured in a range of local newspapers including the Glasgow Evening Times, Linlithgow Gazette and the Dumbarton Reporter amongst others.

Figure 5.2: National and local press 2005/2006

5.11 In the domestic press the press items were most likely to be in news sections, while in the US press items were most likely to appear in event listings.

Figure 5.3: Types of press items ³

5.12 "Dressed to Kilt" and the Scottish Youth Theatre's "Geordie" had the most mentions in the domestic press. This could be attributed to the "celebrity audience" at these events, especially "Dressed to Kilt" where Sir Sean Connery, Brian Cox and Alan Cummings were present. The Scotland 10K Run was the Scottish Executive sponsored event most likely to be mentioned in the US press.

Broadcasts

5.13 Broadcasts in both the US and domestic media were also recorded as part of Scotinform's media analysis. These were entered into the database then analysed.

5.14 Although media coverage was dominated by press, there was still a significant amount of coverage broadcast on television and radio in both the US and domestic media. In total 36 media broadcasts were recorded in Scotland, while 23 appeared in the US. All broadcasts in the domestic media were factual, while in the US 18 broadcasts were factual and five were both factual and beneficial. In both Scotland and the US factual broadcasts were most likely to be reporting on specific Tartan Week events.

Figure 5.4: Number of broadcasts domestic/ US

5.15 A significant increase in broadcasts (both television and radio) was achieved, from 22 in 2005 to 74 broadcasts in 2006. US broadcast reached an estimated audience of 6.5 million people at an estimated publicity value of $296,890. (Please note that this figure relates to media initiated by the Scottish Executive and VisitScotland.)

5.16 US broadcast coverage for Tartan Week included WNBC, CNN Headline News, Fox 5 News at 10, the NBC show Today in New York, CBS2 News and the ABC show Eyewitness News This Morning.

5.17 The Scottish Executive's partnership with WPLJ radio on promotion of the Scotland 10k Run was a two week on-air and online radio promotion including live DJ chatter, listener contests, pre-recorded spots, in-studio interviews and live call-ins. The promotion reached over three million listeners and generated more than 40 minutes of on-air coverage.

Figure 5.5: Broadcasts - 2005/2006

Internet

5.18 Internet inserts were also collected and entered into the database for analysis. The Internet cuttings were not split by US or domestic as the Internet is a global entity.

5.19 A significant increase in Internet items has also been recorded between 2005 and 2006. A total of 84 Internet items were found during the period of this evaluation. In 2006 the internet items were almost all factual, with most of these being listings for events. A number of these items appeared on www.bbc.co.uk and reported on various aspects of Tartan Week including the announcement of Donald Trump's intended golf project in Scotland, the Tartan Day Parade and the announcement by the First Minister of the life sciences venture. Tartan Week was also featured on websites such as http://www.craigslist.com/

www.craigslist.org and yahoo news.

Figure 5.6: Number of internet items 2005/2006

5.20 Most events were mentioned on the Internet during Tartan Week 2006 and as event listings. The Scotland Run and the Tartan Day Parade (the two events which "top and tailed" Tartan Week) were the events most likely to be mentioned on the Internet.

Figure 5.7: Events mentioned on the Internet

Tone of Articles

5.21 The tone of each reference within press cuttings was assessed against the messages outlined in the Media Strategy, to ascertain whether it was beneficial, factual or negative regarding individual events, Tartan Week and/or the Scottish Executive. Many references made were factual (neutral). An example of each type of article is shown below.

5.22 As in 2005 media items were most likely to be factual, setting out the programme and giving details of the various events. This was especially true in the US. These items tended to appear in diary columns/What's On guides in newspapers or the Internet.

Figure 5.8: Number of beneficial/factual/negative items

Domestic US

5.23 Beneficial articles were most likely to appear during Tartan Week or pre-Tartan Week in the domestic media although there were 13 beneficial articles recorded post-Tartan Week. An example of a beneficial article which appeared during Tartan Week was an article in The Scotsman on the 4th April 2006 reporting on the announcement of the collaboration between the US and Scotland in the life sciences sector.

5.24 Negative articles were most likely to appear during Tartan Week. The number of negative articles dropped significantly post-Tartan Week. There were no negative press articles recorded in the US. The negative articles were most likely to be reporting on the cost of Tartan Week. For example, on the 9th April 2006 an article appeared in Scotland on Sunday reporting negatively about the cost of Tartan Week and called for the week long event to be abandoned.

Individuals Mentioned

5.25 The chart below shows the top 12 individuals mentioned in the domestic media throughout the period of this evaluation.

Figure 5.9: Top 12 individuals mentioned ⁴

5.26 The First Minister achieved the most mentions in the domestic media with 101 mentions, while Sir Sean Connery was mentioned 42 times. Very few mentions of any individual were recorded in the US. However, Sir Sean Connery was the most likely to be mentioned in the US press, probably due to his celebrity status and recent reports of ill health.

5.27 Donald Trump received 27 mentions in the domestic media, mainly due to the announcement of his new golf development in Scotland. Alex Salmond and Brian Cox received 22 mentions respectively, primarily due to their appearance at "Dressed to Kilt". VisitScotland personnel mentioned within coverage generated by VisitScotland included Ian Dunlop, Peter Lederer and Philip Riddle.

Tone of Articles Mentioning the First Minister

5.28 The analysis also recorded the tone of articles in which the First Minister was mentioned and whether these were beneficial, negative or factual.

5.29 As with the other media items, the First Minister was most likely to be mentioned during Tartan Week. The number of beneficial items was highest during Tartan Week and decreased only slightly post Tartan Week. The beneficial items were most likely to report on the life sciences venture and the STRIVE initiative. (The STRIVE initiative is aimed at people in New York who are at risk of being out of employers' reach, such as those with criminal records and drug users.)

5.30 The negative articles in which the First Minister was mentioned rose slightly during Tartan Week but dropped significantly after Tartan Week. These media items were most likely to be reporting on the cost of Tartan Week or the length of time the First Minister had spent outside Scotland in the first half of 2006.

Figure 5.10: Mentions of First Minister in beneficial/factual/negative items

Summary

5.31 The evaluation has highlighted an increase in media coverage gained during Tartan Week 2006 compared with the previous year. In 2006, media coverage within the UK was most likely to be covered within news sections, while in the US press items were most likely to appear within events listing, suggesting that the opportunity exists in 2007 to gain greater coverage within news articles in the US than in 2006.

5.32 The costs associated with Tartan Week continued to attract coverage within the domestic press, although positive media coverage included the announcement of a collaboration between the US and Scotland in the life sciences sector, STRIVE and the young actors with the Scottish Youth Theatre who attended Tartan Week.

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