A LEADING Scottish design company has been chosen to pull together the national campaign for a Yes vote at the next independence referendum.
Tangent Graphic, the designers behind the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the People Make Glasgow brand have been selected to build the campaign, with their appointment made possible by a crowdfunder by the Scottish Independence Convention (SIC). The aim is to involve the grassroots of the independence movement and in order to do so an online survey is being launched today to gather views on tactics and how the campaign should be targeted. Once the views are collated, a range of possible visual approaches will be drawn up by the company and put forward to a target group of undecided and “soft No” voters to see what works best.
A website, social media accounts, posters and printed materials will then be created.
It is all being paid for by the money raised through the Scottish Independence Campaign’s crowdfunding which has so far reached £93,000 of the £180,000 target.
“We’re thrilled to be working with such respected company to deliver this campaign and we’re confident, with the input of pro-independence people from across Scotland, that we’ll have a campaign that’s built to win – as all campaigns like this should be, from the bottom up,” said SIC vice-convener Dave Thompson.
“The generous support given towards our fundraiser has made this, and much more, possible. We’ll soon be employing people to take this campaign forward and we want grassroots activists to influence the way we march forward together.”
David Whyte of Tangent Graphic said 10 staff were already working full-time on the “immensely exciting project”.
The company has already consulted various Yes groups around the country but now wants to find out the views of the wider movement through the survey.
“Just like the People Make Glasgow campaign this is a bottom-up, or grassroots, approach and we’re delighted to be receiving input from the independence movement on the look and feel of the upcoming campaign,” he said. “We also want to hear what people can bring to the future campaign and hope that as many people as possible engage with it.
“The first step to get as much information as we can, then design a campaign and brand name and any slogan together with a visual style to give a very consistent feel about all the materials we will come up with.”
He said the idea was that the campaign would become a vehicle for other people to feed into and canvass voters under an umbrella brand.
“It will have a visual identity, a look and feel that people can recognise,” he said. “We need to create as many different elements as we can so that campaign films down the line, for example, will have that visual identity. We will create something that can work across the board.
“The SIC is going to commission full time strategists and we have to make sure the visual style we create will work for anything. We are hoping to create something that is memorable and recognisable.”
He said talking to Yes groups had been “inspirational” and, although the team had tapped into many different views, one main theme was that the campaign should be essentially positive. “We need to try and draw people together and focus on what is best for Scotland and best for all of us,” said Whyte.
“So it follows that the campaign will be inclusive and positive in tone. That is not to say we can’t raise serious concerns about the direction the UK is going in but people want something positive to rally around.
“People are very aware of how to go about a second campaign,” he added. “They are wiser after last time and know what to look out for next time round.
“There is a sense of injustice about the lies told last time but I don’t think anyone wants to do any finger pointing. If we are targeting the soft nos and undecideds we don’t want to be too loud and shouty as that can put people off.”
To take part in the survey go to www.thisisit.scot/survey. It closes on December 9.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel