TWO marketing experts today unveil a masterplan setting out how the next independence referendum can be won.
Writing in The National, Ian Dommett and Dr Iain Black consider shortcomings in the last campaign and set out 11 ways for Yes2 to persuade a majority of people an independent Scotland would have a positive impact on them and their families. They believe that how the independence message is sold, to whom, and when is vital.
Dommett is a former marketing director for Yes Scotland, while Black has studied the marketing strategies used during the 2014 independence referendum campaign.
Their blueprint includes having the organisational apparatus and message in place before the campaign is launched, the need to win the big arguments early on – disadvantaging opponents from the outset – and making the benefits of living in an independent Scotland real to “soft” No voters.
Dommett and Black also issue a warning to passionate “Yessers”: get away from the computer screen and engage face-to-face with people in their sitting rooms or in the pub: don’t be rude, be charming.
On who to target they said: “Victory will come from persuading those in the 55 per cent to change their minds. Who are the people who can be persuaded to vote for independence next time and how they will move to this position? What are their worries, hopes, and fears? What do they believe about independence and its consequences, why didn’t they vote Yes last time? What are their attitudes and values, how do they view themselves and what are their emotions surrounding Britain, Scotland and independence? Where do they live in your area? What is your contact plan?”
They add: “Last time we did a great job of building a movement based on hopes of prosperity, fairness, social justice and a greener country. We failed to turn these abstract ideas into concrete ones. We need much more detailed planning which shows, for example, that as Edinburgh becomes a real capital, what jobs will be created by the influx of embassies? What governmental departments will be relocated from England to Glasgow and Inverness, and how many jobs will that bring? Where could they be located? How many additional local service jobs could this create?
“How will we spend the money saved on Trident – will it be used to improve the housing in the Raploch? Each town, city, community and person should be able to feel the benefits of independence.”
Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum is “highly likely” after the EU referendum in which Scotland voted to remain, while the overall UK result was to leave.
But she is waiting to see whether Theresa May will be able to satisfy a number of key demands over Scotland’s interests before deciding whether to embark on that path.
Dommett and Black argue that following the Brexit vote, many of the arguments on the EU membership and the economy used by the No side have been undermined by the political and economic turmoil which has been left in its wake.
They also point to the importance of getting a more sympathetic hearing from the media which last time around proved so adverse.
“You must have some supportive media,” they said,
“Is this happening? Are Scottish newspapers about to switch sides and support an independent Scotland? Headlines are the currency of the campaign, whether we like it or not, and recent signs suggest that everything may be up for grabs. Perhaps more media, existing in a sector facing ever-declining sales, will realise that supporting independence mirrors the perspective of their audience and makes good commercial sense.”
And, in the same vein, they warn that rants on social media do no-one any favours. “Too many SNP supporters thought they could rubbish Labour online and then ask Labour supporters for their vote.
“Yes has the experience of getting so close last time, and so recently. It must also remember it lost, listen to why it lost, and understand that the next Scottish independence referendum will be the last.
"Game on!”
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