We are delighted to kick off 2025 with an inspiring conversation with Samantha (Sam) Crawford, winner of the City Nation Place 2024 Future Leader Award, whose achievements caught our attention, and a driving force behind Brand Scotland. With a diverse background in creative PR and international marketing, Sam leads initiatives that shape Scotland’s story at home and abroad, including the nation’s first Brand Story Book and a successful partnership with the BBC.
In this interview, Sam shares key insights into the emotional responsibility of representing a nation, the power of listening and collaboration, and her vision for a modern, globally connected Scotland that remains true to its roots.
Sam, congrats on the award! Could you share your journey into place branding and what inspired your focus on shaping Scotland’s global image?
Thank you! I really enjoyed seeing the incredible work from experts all around the world at the City Nation Place Awards. Being considered alongside such talented peers in that category was a true honour. Everyone is doing impressive, intelligent, and strategic work in place branding—it’s inspiring to be part of this community.
As far as my journey into place branding – it has been anything but a straight path—it’s been full of twists, turns, and decisions that eventually brought me here. I started my career in public relations, working with Taylor Herring, an amazing creative agency in London. During that time, I had the opportunity to work on PR campaigns for The Apprentice, The Inbetweeners, and various music festivals. From there, my career took me to PR and marketing roles at Freuds in London, and then further afield to agencies in Dubai and Sydney.
Eventually, I found myself back in Scotland, where both of my parents are from. I returned to be close to my grandfather, which led to an opportunity to work with The Scottish Government. That role, in turn, opened the door to my current work with Brand Scotland. Since stepping into the world of nation branding, I’ve never looked back – it’s a field that I truly love and one where I’ve found a deep sense of purpose.
Your leadership has been key to launching Brand Scotland’s first Brand Story Book. What motivated this initiative, and how do you see it shaping Scotland’s story both locally and internationally?
In 2021, we launched Scotland’s nation brand marque. It works as a unifying symbol that continues to serve as the ‘glue’ connecting all of Brand Scotland’s work. It brings together the efforts of our partners and supports our shared goal of building Scotland’s international profile, enhancing its reputation, and consequently helping to drive economic growth.
Of course, as anyone in our industry knows, a nation’s reputation isn’t defined by a logo or a marketing campaign alone. That understanding led us to the next step in our journey – defining Scotland’s Brand Story. This story was crafted by listening closely to the people who call Scotland home, as well as those connected to Scotland from around the globe.
In my experience, nation branding carries significant emotional responsibility. It’s not just about promoting what you think or hope your country stands for—it’s about creating a story that people can truly connect with. It has to reflect their identity, their values, and their sense of belonging. That’s no small feat, but it’s essential. With the Brand Scotland Storybook, I hope we’ve created something that resonates deeply, especially for our domestic audiences.
We want the people of Scotland to feel that the Scotland we promote internationally authentically reflect their experiences. If they feel a sense of pride and connection, they’ll become some of the most powerful advocates for our brand, continuing the work in their own ways.
Collaborating with major media outlets like the BBC is a significant endeavour. What are the objectives of this partnership, and how will it contribute to Scotland’s brand storytelling?
BBC StoryWorks, amongst other media outlets were asked to look at how they could support our SMART objectives which included a variety of metrics from reach with our target audience (with strong ROI), to tactics for engaging with them. We wanted people to feel inspired and emotionally connected to Scotland. We didn’t want to simply share facts about Scotland. We wanted them to feel something. The response to this brief was incredible and it felt like they knew exactly what we wanted to do, and how they felt they could do it.
They are incredible storytellers. They also played a key role in uncovering some of the amazing people living and working in Scotland whose stories we could share. They also brought together exceptional talent to shoot and edit the content, making sure every detail was just right.
If you know me, you’ve probably already seen these videos – if not, I’d be flabbergasted! I think they’re absolutely magical. Every time I watch them, I feel something. Every single time.
Building domestic advocacy is a priority for Brand Scotland. How do you engage communities and stakeholders to foster a unified and authentic national identity?
I think the first step is going on the journey we’ve been on, and that’s about listening. You need to listen a lot. National identity is complex and varied, but as you listen, certain common characteristics start to emerge. Those are the traits you can celebrate, and that’s how we arrived at Scotland: For the head, heart, and spirit.
When we began sharing the evolving Brand Story with people, I didn’t see any shocked or confused faces – thankfully! I believe that this was because people could see themselves reflected in it. Scotland has a rich history of innovation and striving to do things better, of being warm and welcoming, and of showing strength, determination, and resilience, not just in how we deal with challenges like our long winters, but in so many other ways too.
The next stage is launching the Brand Story book. We’re reaching out to people across the public and private sectors, from all corners of Scotland for the first stage, to share it. We want to show how the Brand Story can help promote Scotland internationally and, most importantly, trust these organisations to then tell and share their own head, heart, and spirit stories.
It’s not about controlling the story; it’s about empowering people. We are providing tools that we believe will help their incredible work feel part of something bigger – a unified story of Scotland that everyone can be proud of. And we are excited to see what good things come for Scotland from this.
In your role, how do marketing, insight, and internal communications come together to advance Brand Scotland’s mission?
Everything we do is rooted in insight. We have a clear process to ensure the right steps are taken (and the right people engaged with) to ensure a best-in-class audience-first approach. Our process is called SUSSED, which moves from scoping of the challenge/ problem that needs solved to the data we have that will guide our strategy and the right metrics in place to measure success – particular with regards to outputs. There are many stages in between and so many different teams involved but the research and insight team are the guiding stars – constantly teaching us to listen and the follow the data with a little space for instinct.
As I say, there are many different teams playing vital roles. It is never about one person or a single hero with Brand Scotland. I genuinely felt most proud about winning our team award – Best Communication Strategy 2024 – at City Nation Place. Everyone is incredibly hardworking and passionate about representing Scotland. What drives us forward is a commitment to being authentic, excelling in our areas of expertise, and knowing when to reach out for help. There is always someone among us who can lend their knowledge or perspective, and when we connect the dots, the results are powerful.
From our Scotland.org website to Brand Scotland’s owned social channels, to our brand partners’ platforms and broader stakeholder engagement, we collaborate on a vast scale. Together, we form a tapestry of people all working toward the same goal: promoting Scotland to the world with pride and purpose.
What personal achievements in your career are you most proud of, and how have they contributed to Brand Scotland’s success?
The BBC films and the soon-to-be-published Brand Story book are probably two of my favourites but there are many. These two come to mind in particular because there is a lot of listening in a partnership, particularly when working on films or creative outputs that will have a big role to play. That isn’t always smooth sailing – it can be tough at times because you can feel frustrated at different viewpoints, at slow progress and want more autonomy, but then there is an ownership at the end that makes it worth it. Everyone feels part of it, proud of it, and that’s priceless to me.
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for Brand Scotland, and how do you plan to navigate the evolving challenges and opportunities in global place branding?
As someone born in the Bahamas but raised in Bermuda, Morocco, Paris, London, Dubai and Sydney – with Scottish and Irish parents – my identity is never quite linear. And I’m ok with that. I am connected to all of those countries and many more. They all have shaped me and who I am.
The world is becoming more and more multicultural, and I think that’s a beautiful thing. I hope that I can play a proactive role with my team in making sure we represent a modern Scotland. A Scotland that is outward-looking, that wants to connect with people and ideas from all over the world. That wants to be a good global citizen and a player in making a brighter and fairer future for all. And of course, in helping promote Scotland so that we can continue to grow and flourish as a country rooted in the values of using head, heart and spirit to make good things happen.
Thank you Sam!
Connect with Samantha Crawford on LinkedIn or continue exploring what Scotland has to offer – at www.scotland.org.
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