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Conclusions and recommendations
7.1 Across the groups and interviews, awareness of Scotland was extremely low. In the main, understanding was informed by the media (such as Braveheart, the Simpsons and televised golfing events) and Scottish stereotypes (e.g. kilts, bagpipes and drunken brawlers). However, it is important to note that these perceptions changed throughout the sessions.
7.2 Students had not considered Scotland as a place to study because they had very little awareness of the lifestyle and academic opportunities in Scotland. The majority also held negative perceptions of Scotland as a rural un-dynamic environment.
7.3 Academic advisers had not considered Scotland as a place to send US students. Students were believed to prefer London if going to the UK, or other countries in Europe to learn foreign languages. Despite suggesting emphasis on Scotland as a safe, English speaking environment, some academics argued that it was no longer sufficient just to study in an English speaking country to enhance CVs (curriculum vitae). In order to be more competitive academically, students were increasingly considering non-English speaking, unfamiliar cultures to study abroad.
7.4 Business people had not considered working in Scotland, and although they had a positive view of the people and the environment and were open to the idea of visiting Scotland, doing business in Scotland was not on their agendas.
7.5 From the outset, the general public, particularly older people held a positive perception of Scotland as a place of great beauty and friendly people that would be pleasant to visit as part of a trip to Europe. This presents a dilemma in terms of future generic communications and promotion. Potential visitors were most engaged by themes, facts and images that reinforced their views of Scotland as a tranquil, scenic, historic, leisure destination. If they had future contact with Scotland, it was most commonly through visiting for a short time, predominantly on holiday. Materials that would work best with potential visitors would include those which confirmed their existing views and they were often not amenable to ideas that strayed too far from the stereotypes or challenged their views too much.
7.6 The investment students and business people would be making (in time and/or money) and the risks they were taking (in terms of their own future or that of their business) if they studied or did business in Scotland were greater than those taken by visitors. As a result, they wanted communications to tell them what they personally would get out of their engagement with Scotland. Often this meant that students and their advisers, together with business people, were actually looking for their preconceived ideas about Scotland to be challenged. Communications that worked when considering Scotland as a holiday destination worked against the idea of a good place to study or do business. Conversely communication that challenged existing strong images of Scotland would at best be discordant to potential visitors and might be in danger of turning such people away.
7.7 It is clearly going to be challenging to identify generic communications that have broad appeal across all of the target groups. This emphasises the importance of tailoring messages to individual audiences. At the same time individuals' perceptions are developed and stereotypes reinforced through a range of sources, particularly though the media. Given the coverage achieved by Braveheart or the Simpsons, it is also going to be a challenge to counter stereotypes and change perceptions radically and on a wide scale.
Future Communications
7.8 There are a few basic suggestions about communicating with all groups:
- awareness raising is very important, given the knowledge base is generally very low;
- there is a need to keep messages simple and cover basic facts. It is important not to assume knowledge is greater than it is;
- do not sound as if Scotland is trying too hard;
- do not make claims that are unsubstantiated or do not match reality; and
- tell people what is in it for them, especially where they are making a bigger investment or have more at stake from their potential connection with Scotland.
7.9 If it is desirable to develop generic communications that portray Scotland's core values it is important to pick up the positives within the stereotypes and extend such preconceptions. Where possible perceptions should be challenged to re-orientate current views, though in a way that does not alienate visitors.
7.10 The idea of Scotland as a place without limits had the greatest appeal across all groups. It fits with preconceptions of a rural welcoming Scotland, allowed people to connect emotionally with the idea and to personalise the limitless opportunities. Across audiences the facts with the greatest appeal also communicated the opportunities in Scotland. These included the potential to experience exhilarating outdoor activities and the idea that there was no limit in Scotland to what an individual could personally achieve. Images that depicted outdoor activities, the festival spirit and the scenery were of greatest appeal to a wide range of respondents and supported the 'without limits' theme, suggesting the many exciting possibilities available in Scotland.
7.11 The 'ideas, innovation and progress' theme could be used in conjunction with the 'without limits' theme to challenge existing perceptions of Scotland, particularly if seeking to develop a more modern and up-to-date positioning among students and business people. The facts dealing with Scotland's achievements were again more challenging for the audience, but were of interest and highlighted the scope to use such information to extend people's knowledge. Images that juxtaposed modern and historic or scenic and active elements of Scotland would help to dispel some stereotypical ideas.
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