‘The creative was slick and very watchable’

A piece of marketing that is so contrived it makes you wish you were fae Dundee? Or a magical and clever word play on our city’s name?

The new winter marketing campaign from Marketing Edinburgh – an arms-length agency of the council – has prompted controversy like never before. Chief executive Lucy Bird may as well have suggested a second tram line, such was the opprobrium that stuck to her.

Last night, more meat was put on the bone of well-fedinburgh with the launch of a 30-second clip showing how the campaign could work.

With the talents of Gerry Farrell behind it, the creative was understandably slick and very watchable.

The £300,000 campaign, featuring street poetry rap, will run between November and January, essentially testing the reaction to the new idea. Senior councillors are still not-impressedinburgh and they have a right to be cautious.

The reality is that with the multitude of talents available at the Leith Agency it’s not too difficult to create a 30-second advertisement that looks great and wows an audience. The key is the strategy behind it.

Will it resonate with a whole range of stakeholders, including business leaders, tourists and students? Will it stand the test of time? And how will it be tested and evaluated over the three month period?

Only with robust analysis can we know whether this is genius or pants. The proof will be in the Christmas pudding.

Ready for winter

Everybody remembers how the Capital ground to a halt two years ago when the city was caught on the hop by the winter weather. Thousands were trapped in their homes by the snow and blocked roads forced emergency care workers to traipse for miles in freezing temperatures just to offer help to those who needed it.

No-one wants to go through that misery again, so the forecasters’ warnings of another harsh winter ahead will have had many people worried.

But amid cuts to winter preparations in other parts of Scotland all the cash-strapped councils in the Lothians are wisely resisting that temptation. It is reassuring to know that in Edinburgh, for instance, the city council is continuing with last year’s plan which involved treble the level of previous salt stocks.

It is a lesson we had to learn the hard way but it looks as though we may have finally taken on board the fact that in Scotland we have to be prepared for the worst over the winter months.