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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
1. This report presents the findings from a study commissioned by Analytical Services in the Scottish Executive to evaluate Tartan Week 2007. The study was conducted by Scotinform Ltd from March to July 2007.
2. It should be noted that since this study was commissioned a new Scottish government has been formed, which means that the findings reflect commitments and strategic objectives conceived under the previous administration. The strategies, objectives and commitments referred to in this report should not, therefore, be treated as current Scottish Government policy.
3. The overall aim of the study was to evaluate the processes and impacts of the events at Tartan Week 2007 which were funded by the Scottish Executive in order to assist in developing policy and practice for Tartan Week 2008. It should be noted that VisitScotland conducted their own evaluation of their activities at Tartan Week and that the evaluations conducted by both the Scottish Executive and VisitScotland should be read to gain an overall sense of the impact of Tartan Week 2007.
Evaluation Approach
4. The evaluation approach included key components linked to each stage of Tartan Week (pre-event, event and post-event) and included the following:
- depth interviews with Scottish Executive officials (pre and post-event)
- depth interviews with event organisers and partner organisations (pre and post-event)
- quantitative and qualitative research with attendees at selected Tartan Week events (event and post-event)
- observation of Tartan Week events funded by the Scottish Executive (event)
- review of the applications and evaluations provided by event organisers (pre and post- event)
- media analysis of press transcripts, television and radio broadcasts and internet media covering Tartan Week activities (post-event)
Background
5. Tartan Day was first established in the United States in 1998 when 6 April was designated as National Tartan Day by the US Senate. The significance of 6 April dates back to the 1320 signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, which was the model for the American Declaration of Independence. Since 1998, the celebrations have evolved from one key day to a week long celebration of Scotland around that date.
6. The Scottish Executive's support of Tartan Week includes funding event organisers to host events in New York which promote Scottish culture, tourism, education and business. The programme of events at Tartan Week 2007 supported the Scottish Executive's International Strategy and the Strategy for Stronger Engagement with the USA.
7. The specific objectives associated with Tartan Week 2007 reflected those of the Executive's engagement with the US and were to:
- raise the profile and understanding of modern Scotland in the USA
- promote Scotland as a great place to live, work and study
- attract increased US tourism to Scotland
8. In 2007 the Scottish Executive adopted a specific theme for Tartan Week - "Modern Scotland in 2007". As Tartan Week 2007 took place in an election year and just prior to the election date, there was no Ministerial programme running alongside the Tartan Week activities as there had been in the preceding three years. However, the Presiding Officer, George Reid attended many of the Scottish Executive funded events at Tartan Week 2007 at which he was a keynote speaker.
Attendees at Tartan Week
9. Event and post-event research undertaken with Tartan Week attendees included
- 500 face to face interviews with visitors to events - the majority were conducted at the Scottish Village (404 interviews) and the Scotland Run (82 interviews)
- A total of 77 participants took part in 30 mini groups/paired interviews conducted at the Scottish Village and Scotland Run
- 1,432 completed questionnaires were returned from an online survey sent by Scotinform Ltd to Tartan Week attendees
- Seventeen depth interviews were conducted with Tartan Week attendees approximately three months after visiting an event
10. Approximately half the respondents (51%) who had visited a Tartan Week event stated that they had learned something new about Scotland from their attendance. There were high levels of visitor satisfaction with the events attended with a significant proportion of respondents (77%) stating that they were likely to return to Tartan Week in 2008. The research indicated that visitors were more likely to want to find out more about Scotland as a result of their visit.
11. Approximately half the respondents interviewed stated that they had seen the marketing tools developed to promote Tartan Week - the light poles around Grand Central Station, the What's On Guide and the Celebrate Scotland logo - suggesting that these were effective in promoting Tartan Week to attendees. However, attendees had anticipated that information relating to Tartan Week events would be accessible more than one month prior to their commencement and the evaluation has concluded that this should be addressed when preparing the What's On Guide and the www.tartanweekny.com website for Tartan Week 2008.
12. The qualitative research at event and post-event stages indicated that only people with an interest in, or who had a connection with, Scotland were aware of the links with tartan suggesting that the Tartan Week brand may not be the most effective means of communicating Scotland to an American audience. In this element of the evaluation several attendees queried why Tartan Week did not have a presence in other North American states, such as Virginia, where there is a greater Scottish presence than in New York. It was also noted that Canada had strong links with Scotland.
Event organisers
13. The Scottish Executive funded 13 event organisers to host events at Tartan Week. The majority of events were well attended with a mix of audiences relevant to the events taking place. Whilst some events were targeted to the general public, others were targeted to specific audiences such as the business and tourism sectors ensuring that events reached a range of attendees and addressed the Scottish Executive's objectives of promoting Scotland as a place to visit, to do business and invest in.
14. For many event organisers there are tangible outcomes from their attendance at Tartan Week 2007 which will lead to long-term relations with organisations and individuals based in the United States. Event organisers have had firm offers and contracts from US organisations leading to significant opportunities for Scottish authors, musicians, organisations and companies.
Media Evaluation
15. The media evaluation findings indicate that a significant number of Americans had the opportunity to see/hear information/advertising relating to Tartan Week thereby raising awareness of Scotland and its culture. MMW, the PR Agency commissioned by the Scottish Executive to promote its events, recorded 100 million media impressions or "opportunities to see". In addition, PR organisations working on behalf of the Scottish Museums Council/Scottish Screen and the Scottish Book Trust achieved significant media/ PR coverage for their events.
16. News coverage of Tartan Week in the US press increased significantly in 2007 compared with 2006. Domestic press coverage was also more positive in 2007 compared with 2006. This may be due to the lack of a Ministerial Programme during Tartan Week 2007 which attracted negative press in 2006.
Processes
17. It is generally accepted by those members of the Scottish Executive Tartan Week team and the event organisers who had been involved in Tartan Week 2006 that the tender process in 2007 was a significant improvement on the previous year. However, further refinement of the application and evaluation stages is required to ensure that all event organisers provide clear evaluations of their events for which they received funding.
18. The lines of communication between event organisers and the Scottish Executive were much improved from 2006 with event organisers reporting that Scottish Executive officials were accessible and supportive.
Development of Tartan Week
19. Consideration should be given to the branding of Tartan Week to ensure that it fully communicates that it is promoting Scotland. In addition, consideration should be given to the location for Tartan Week given that there are North American and Canadian cities which have a greater link with Scotland than New York.
20. It has not been possible to fully assess the value for money aspect of the Tartan Week programme in 2007 but an economic impact assessment would be beneficial to the Scottish Executive when evaluating Tartan Week in the future.
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