Transnational Scottish Book Marketing to a Diasporic Audience 1995–2015 By Rachel Lyn Noorda A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Stirling for the award of PhD in Publishing Studies January 2016 1 Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 4 Declaration ............................................................................................................. 5 Abbreviations and Acronyms ................................................................................ 6 List of Figures ........................................................................................................ 7 List of Tables .......................................................................................................... 8 Abstract .................................................................................................................. 9 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 10 Research Approaches ............................................................................... 12 Research Design ........................................................................................15 Structure of the Thesis ............................................................................. 24 Chapter One: Framework and Groundwork ....................................................... 27 Framework ............................................................................................... 27 Publishing Studies, Book History, Communications/Media Studies, Marketing Groundwork ............................................................................................. 42 The Value of Books, Identity, The Scottish Publishing Industry, Scottishness and the Book, Consumers/Audiences Chapter Two: Marketing Books ........................................................................... 69 Marketing: The Communication of Value ............................................... 69 Communicating Value Through Storytelling .......................................... 78 Marketing in a Scottish Book Context ..................................................... 80 Chapter Three: Marketing Scotland .................................................................... 89 Marketing and Place ................................................................................ 89 Modes of Representation ......................................................................... 93 The Scottish Nation and Identity ............................................................. 99 Representing Scotland ........................................................................... 103 Chapter Four: Influencers of Transnational Scottish Book Marketing ............ 106 Brand ....................................................................................................... 111 National Identity .................................................................................... 123 Company Size ......................................................................................... 128 Entrepreneurial Orientation ................................................................. 134 Chapter Five: Characteristics of Transnational Scottish Book Marketing ....... 143 2 Typology of Companies......................................................................... 143 Narrative Rhetorical Criticism of Online Book Blurbs ......................... 152 Chapter Six: The Role of the Reader in Scottish Book Marketing .................... 169 The Scottish Diaspora as a Readership ................................................. 170 The Scottish Diaspora as a Subculture of Consumption ...................... 183 The Scottish Diaspora as a Market Segment ........................................ 188 Overview of Transnational Scottish Book Marketing to the Scottish Diaspora ................................................................................................. 194 Case Studies ............................................................................................ 205 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 226 Aims of the Thesis ................................................................................... 226 Summary of Discussion ......................................................................... 227 Summary of Findings, Recommendations and Significance of Research ................................................................................................. 230 Limitations of This Research ................................................................. 234 Suggestions for Further Study ............................................................... 235 Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 238 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my primary supervisor, Claire Squires, for her advice, guidance, and expertise. Her support helped me become a better researcher and writer. I would also like to thank my secondary supervisor, Ian Fillis, for contributing his knowledge of small business marketing. His time and perspective have been invaluable. I am grateful to the many members of the Scottish publishing industry and of Scottish heritage organisations who took the time to offer interview data for this thesis. In particular, I would like to thank Katy Lockwood-Holmes, Keith Whittles, and Sara Hunt for offering information for case studies of some of their publications. Additionally, I would like to extend thanks for the Santander travel grant I received to travel for interviews with members of Scottish heritage organisations. Finally, I could not have completed this piece of work without the emotional support of my family, particularly my husband, Robert, who has always been unfailingly understanding and encouraging. 4 Declaration This thesis is presented in accordance with the regulations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It has been composed by myself and has not been submitted in any previous application for any degree. It contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. Signature: Date: January 22, 2016 5 Abbreviations and Acronyms AMA American Marketing Association CCT Consumer Culture Theory DAP Dunedin Academic Press EUP Edinburgh University Press NBA Net Book Agreement NMS National Museums Scotland NWP Neil Wilson Publishing RCAHMS Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland SAP Saint Andrew Press SME Small to Medium Enterprise SPA Scottish Publishers Association STM Science, Technical and Medical USP Unique Selling Point WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation 6 List of Figures Figure 1: The Communications Circuit................................................................ 31 Figure 2: The Whole Socio-Economic Conjuncture ............................................ 32 Figure 3: Schramm’s Model of Communication ................................................. 35 Figure 4: The Communication of Value of Scottish Books ............................... 106 Figure 5: The Nature and Scope of Supplier-Customer Interaction ................. 108 Figure 6: Scottish Publishing Company Logos with Stylised Letters ................ 114 Figure 7: Scottish Publishing Company Logos Borrowed from Parent Companies ........................................................................................................... 115 Figure 8: Scottish Publishing Company Logos that Visualise the Company Name ............................................................................................................................. 116 Figure 9: Scottish Publishing Company Logos that Focus on Books................ 117 Figure 10: The Canons Branded Cover Design ................................................. 120 Figure 11: ‘Lost’ Series Branded Cover Design ................................................... 121 Figure 12: Traditional Scottish Tales Branded Cover Design ........................... 122 Figure 13: The Relationship between Company Size and Scottish Focus .......... 131 Figure 14: The Making of Diaspora ....................................................................174 7 List of Tables Table 1: Ansoff’s Matrix ....................................................................................... 38 Table 2: Definition of Small to Medium Enterprises ........................................ 129 Table 3: Typology of Scottish Publishing Companies ....................................... 145 Table 4: Age of Scottish Publishing Companies ................................................ 146 Table 5: Collocates of ‘Scottish’ and ‘Scotland’ in Online Book Blurbs ............. 155 Table 6: Collocates of ‘Takes’ in Online Book Blurbs ......................................... 157 Table 7: Collocates of ‘Explores’ in Online Book Blurbs ................................... 158 Table 8: Collocates of ‘Examines’ in Online Book Blurbs ................................. 158 Table 9: Collocates of ‘Written’ in Online Book Blurbs..................................... 159 Table 10: Collocates of ‘Includes’ in Online Book Blurbs ................................. 160 Table 11: Collocates of ‘Made’ in Online Book Blurbs ....................................... 160