A £6 million major new campaign has been launched to put Scotland in the international spotlight and showcase the country’s world-leading assets to a global audience.
Launching simultaneously today in North America, London and China, ‘Scotland is Now’ is designed to put the country firmly at the top of everyone’s list of places to live, work, study, invest and visit.
Attracting more migrant talent, international students, expanding overseas businesses and high-spend tourists will grow Scotland’s economy and further cement its reputation as an open, diverse and welcoming country.
The campaign sees the Scottish Government, VisitScotland, Scottish Development International and Universities Scotland join forces for the first time to promote Scotland under a single unified national brand, bringing together combined spending of up to £6 million to promote Scotland globally.
‘Scotland is Now’ builds on the nation’s acknowledged strengths as a land of unrivalled history, breath-taking scenery and warm welcomes, but shines a light on lesser-known qualities: a pioneering, dynamic and progressive nation taking the lead on key global challenges.
The campaign launched simultaneously in London and North America, and was unveiled by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during her visit to China:
The message at the heart of ‘Scotland is Now’ is of a bold and positive country offering the warmest of welcomes, rich in history and heritage and with a progressive, pioneering and inclusive approach to our future.
The campaign will inspire people to be part of Scotland’s future and tell Scotland’s story through those who know it best – people who have embraced living, working, studying, visiting and investing here.
The campaign includes a core Scotland film, which is being launched today, alongside a number of ‘people’ films which offer a personal perspective from those who call Scotland home.
The campaign brings together public sector partners with key business interests and will be a vehicle to support export growth in the private sector.
Charlie Smith, VisitScotland Director of Marketing & Digital said:
‘Scotland is Now’ is an exciting and bold collaborative campaign which uses our rich mix of people, place and experience to tell Scotland’s story. At the heart of this movement is the message that Scotland is a country with the warmest of welcomes, one that is challenging new thinking, inviting new investment, creating new opportunities for study and jobs. Using stories that sum up the very best of our welcome, our humanity and community spirit, we hope that Scots and those who love Scotland everywhere will get behind this campaign and encourage people to live, work, invest, study and visit right now.
Scotland has more world-class universities per head of population than almost anywhere else in the world, has the highest percentage of international and EU students than anywhere else in the UK and is the most successful part of the UK for spin-out creation. Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde said:
‘Scotland is Now’ is a vibrant and modern way to demonstrate all that the country has to offer. Our university sector is one of the very best in the world and each year we generate thousands of work-ready graduates, discover new knowledge, produce new research and create innovative developments which help society to tackle its biggest issues. ‘Scotland is Now’ will tell the world about our country’s many strengths and the University of Strathclyde is proud to be part of that story.
The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020 and his will be supported by five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement. Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
