Foundations
Scottish campaign media planning: setting the budget share
A population split gives Scotland about 8%. Cost STV, Scottish press, radio and out of home by owner, then justify any uplift against the Scottish objective.
What to take away
- A population share of about 8% is the floor for a Scottish campaign, not a target.
- ONS estimates put Scotland at roughly 8% of the UK, and a split set only at that share normally under-delivers.
- Test the weight channel by channelSTV airtime, named Scottish titles, Scottish radio and out of home site lists.
- Weight above the floor only with a reason tied to the Scottish objective, such as devolved policy.
- Report Scotland as its own line so a shortfall shows before the campaign ends.
The 8% floor is arithmetic, not a plan
On ONS population estimates Scotland is roughly 8% of the UK total, so a proportional split hands it roughly 8% of the budget. The figures come from ONS, which publishes mid-year population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries.
That figure is arithmetically sound and often strategically wrong. It assumes Scottish audiences respond at the same weight as English ones, which they do not have to. A population split answers how big Scotland is, not how much buying it takes to reach Scotland.
For that reason the floor stays a floor. If Scotland is a priority market, weight it above population share and justify the uplift against the Scottish objective, with the reason written beside the number.
What a population split leaves unbooked
A split at population share can leave Scotland with a small budget, no STV airtime and copy that misses devolved policy. Four problems recur when Scotland is only a percentage, and each traces back to the weighting, not to the creative.
Four ways UK buy under-serves
- 1Population weighting
- 2Inventory gaps
- 3Creative and message fit
- 4Measurement
Suppose, for illustration, a UK plan books 100 TV spots and splits them by population. Scotland receives eight, with no STV spot booked and no Scottish title scheduled. At the end, Scottish reach sits below the UK average. The cause is the buy, not the creative.
Rebooking STV and adding named Scottish titles lifts the Scottish figure without touching the creative. The same logic applies to Scottish radio, out of home and digital. The useful question about weight is therefore what each channel has to book in Scotland, and who sells it.
Cost the Scottish line owner by owner
Price each channel against a named Scottish seller before agreeing a share. STV holds the Channel 3 licences for most of Scotland and sells its own airtime, so ask STV sales for a Scottish schedule rather than assuming it sits inside a national ITV buy.
| Channel | Who sells or measures | What the Scottish weight must book |
|---|---|---|
| Television | STV for Channel 3 airtime; Barb for audience | A Scottish schedule with STV airtime named, and spot positions reviewed locally |
| Press | Scottish newsrooms and sales groups | The Herald, The Scotsman, the Daily Record, the Sunday Mail and the Press and Journal |
| Radio | BBC stations and commercial groups including Bauer and Global; Rajar for audience | A Scottish line inside the radio plan |
| Out of home | Scottish contractors | Separate site lists for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee |
| Digital | Ukom for measurement | Audience targeting and consent that meet UK GDPR |
Scotland has its own broadcast sales house, its own press newsrooms and its own out-of-home contractors, so English-facing inventory alone leaves Scottish slots unbooked.
Digital is measured by Ukom, and the ICO's UK GDPR guidance applies to audience targeting and consent. The data protection campaign map shows how to record each audience source before it is bought into a Scottish line.
Scottish titles are not regional editions of English papers. The Herald and The Scotsman carry Scottish public affairs, politics and business for readers who follow the Scottish Parliament. The Daily Record and the Sunday Mail reach readers focused on news, sport and consumer matters, and the Press and Journal serves Aberdeen, the north and the Highlands.
Scottish vs English press
Scottish press titles
- Ownership
- Scottish newsrooms
- Agenda
- Devolved policy
- Readership
- Scottish readers
- Buying
- Scottish sales points
- Planning data
- Scottish readership data
English equivalents
- Ownership
- English newsrooms
- Agenda
- Westminster affairs
- Readership
- Mostly English readers
- Buying
- English sales points
- Planning data
- English readership data
English nationals do circulate in Scotland, but their Scottish readership is a fraction of their English readership. A press buy leaning on them will under-index north of the border, so the weight has to pay for Scottish titles by name instead.
Justify any uplift against the Scottish objective
An uplift above the floor needs a reason written against the Scottish objective, not a general sense that Scotland matters. Two reasons stand up in a brief: the objective itself is Scottish, or the message depends on devolved policy. Both can be checked.
Health, education, justice and the environment are made in Scotland, and the Scottish Government runs matters that are devolved from Westminster, including those areas. A brief built for English public services can be accurate and still miss Scottish audiences, which supports a heavier weight for public-service messages.
- Write a Scottish objective with its own reach, frequency or response target, separate from the UK target.
- Name the owners and titles the objective needsSTV, Scottish press, Scottish radio and Scottish out of home.
- Cost each owner in a budget template, then add the lines up and compare the total with the population floor.
- Record the gap between the total and the floor as the uplift, with its reason beside it.
- Buy Scottish inventory separately and confirm STV airtime is on the schedule.
A Scottish line is a set of named decisions: owner, title, weight and report. It is not a separate strategy.
Agencies should show that line in their response, with the uplift and its reason visible. A buyer who needs to compare agency proposals can check that the Scottish owners, titles and weight appear in each one rather than in a regional footnote.
Report the weight against its objective
Report Scotland as its own line across Barb, Rajar, Jicmail and Ukom, so a shortfall appears while there is still time to rebook. Barb covers television, Rajar radio, Jicmail mail and Ukom online, and population splits come from ONS estimates.
UK averages can hide Scottish performance, so the Scottish line sits beside the UK line in every report. When a plan cannot show it, the weighting has not been tested. Ask how an agency's attribution method treats one nation inside a UK campaign.
The same split matters when roles are given to channels. The channel strategy article shows how television, audio, published media and out of home are given distinct roles, and the Scottish weight follows those roles.
Common questions
What budget share should Scotland get?
Start at about 8% of UK population and treat it as the floor, not a target. If Scotland is a priority market, weight it above population share and justify the uplift against the Scottish objective.
Is a population split ever enough?
It is a fair starting figure. It does not book STV airtime or Scottish titles, and a single Channel 3 buy can omit STV airtime altogether, so the split needs the owner-by-owner costing before it is agreed.
Which channels carry the Scottish weight?
STV airtime, named Scottish press titles, Scottish radio and Scottish out of home, with digital measured by Ukom. Each should appear as its own line, reported with Barb, Rajar, Jicmail and Ukom.
What should a buyer ask an agency about the Scottish line?
Ask who sells each channel, which titles are named and where the uplift is written down. Put the answers in writing before the plan is approved, and ask the questions before you sign.
