Best Campaign in Scotland finalist: Weber Shandwick Scotland

Tackling Tattie Targets - a public affairs campaign for the Potato Council (a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board)

Brief and Objectives

Potato growers and processors are facing a crisis as consumption of fresh potatoes in Scotland plummets. For several years trends have shown that consumers are eating less of this once Scottish staple and turning to imported rice and pasta which are perceived as cheaper and more convenient as their preferred source of carbohydrate. Consumption in Scotland declined by 13% between 2012 and 2014, threatening an industry worth £119m to the UK economy and hundreds of rural jobs across Scotland.

In addition, potato consumption targets which had been referenced in previous Scottish Government policy documents have disappeared from the latest health guidance.

Weber Shandwick was asked to deliver a programme of strategic political engagement aimed at:

• Building relationships with key MSPs and increasing their understanding of the potato industry in Scotland;
• Driving active discussion of the industry’s significance and the need to boost potato consumption levels;
• Encouraging the Scottish Government to promote potatoes as a sustainable, locally sourced alternative to other carbohydrates and to include potatoes in the next incarnation of the food and drink policy.

Research and planning

Our parliamentary research revealed that the potato industry was absent from conversations on Scottish food and drink and that in fact had not been mentioned at all in parliament in recent years. We also found that the case for supporting the Scottish potato was in line with food and drink, sustainability and public health policy direction in Scotland, including the healthy eating agenda and the Scottish Government’s desire to promote sustainable local produce.

We mapped out key points in the agricultural calendar to create new ways for politicians to engage with the industry and spike interest.

This research was critical in shaping our campaign strategy. We recognised that we needed to share the positive economic, health and sustainability credentials of the Scottish potato with decision makers in order to pave the way for government and other influencers to help promote the product.

Strategy and tactics

Our strategy was to create a regular stream of communications activity to raise awareness of the industry and the worrying decline in potato consumption and keep the issue front of mind amongst decision makers as the new food and drink policy was developed.

Tactics included:

• One-to-one meetings with key MSPs;
• Securing a members debate on the importance of the potato industry;
• Parliamentary events;
• Regular html e-briefings on issues of importance to the industry;
• Facilitating visits for MSPs to Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) programmes at primary schools within their constituency;
• Social media outreach through promoting the Potato Council’s twitter handle at events and GYOP visits and encouraging conversation.

Implementation

Starting in late summer 2014, we delivered this programme of engagement over the course of a year. We developed messaging to build a narrative of the industry’s contribution to Scotland and its current plight. We identified politicians with remits or a strong interest in rural affairs, health and the economy. We then targeted these MSPs with one-to-one meetings in order to introduce them to the Potato Council and the campaign.

We secured a members debate in the Scottish Parliament to position the industry and its challenges front of stage in the chamber and provided briefings to MSPs who spoke. The following day we ran a lunch time briefing in parliament which gave MSPs the opportunity to find out more.

We built on this activity with follow up meetings and briefings for MSPs, e-briefings and local GYOP visits, culminating in a final parliamentary event focused on declining potato consumption and the health credentials of potatoes, encouraging MSPs to get involved in promoting the potato.

We leveraged the Potato Council’s relationships with other organisations including the Scottish Food and Drink Federation and the Rowett Institute to help boost the Potato Council’s profile.

Role and results of public affairs and lobbying

Despite being delivered over a relatively short timeframe the campaign has already made a significant impact. Politicians from all parties engaged with the sector for the first time. The Potato Council now has a network of supportive politicians familiar with the industry and the issues it faces.

Meanwhile the Scottish Government has engaged directly with the Potato Council to discuss the development of the new food and drink policy and the potato’s place within it.

Measurement and objectives

Over the course of the year we regularly reached key MSPs and decision makers with messaging around the worrying decline in potato consumption as well as positive messaging on the health, sustainability and economic credentials of the Scottish potato:

• By the end of the year’s activities, the Potato Council had engaged directly with 36 MSPs. Importantly, half of these MSPs had engaged with the campaign more than once, demonstrating that the campaign had captured their attention;
• The Potato Council held nine one-to-one meetings with key MSPs with a strong interest or involvement in health or rural affairs;
• A members debate in the Scottish Parliament on the importance of the Scottish industry enabled the Potato Council to issue briefings to a number of MSPs, three of which directly referenced the briefing during the debate, sharing the Potato Council’s key messages;
• Three MSPs visited a Grow Your Own Potatoes programme at a primary school in their constituency, including the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment, Richard Lochhead MSP, giving them a hands-on opportunity to learn about the Potato Council’s work;
• Three e-briefings issued on the topics of health, exports and skills had achieved open rates of 93%, 87% and 91% respectively;
• 120,616 Facebook and Twitter users had been reached as a result of social media activity from MSPs around GYOP visits or parliamentary events.