Haddington marketing strikes again with best-selling calendar

The Haddington Pipe Band of East Lothian, Scotland, may not be much for competition, but they’re emerging as one of the country’s best known bands through canny marketing and attention-grabbing fund-raising initiatives. The band’s latest success is a calendar that has proven to be a runaway success and is already on its third print-run after two weeks since release.

The calendar features artistic photographs of members of the band, which was recently named 2010 Scottish Pipe Band of the Year by the Scots Trad Music Awards, in locations in and around East Lothian. The calendar was created to mark the band’s thirtieth anniversary and to raise money for equipment. The band has also created cards from the photos.

“When we saw the photographs for the calendar we knew that it would be an exciting, unusual and professional product but we had no idea just how popular it would become,” said band chairman John McMillan. “We are now on our third print run with demand outstripping supply.”

The images were created by professional photographers John Archibald, Nick Callaghan and Garry Menzies, and the calendar was designed Shaw Marketing and Design. The businesses contributed their work free-of-charge. The photos are also on display via a tour of East Lothian libraries in Longniddry, Haddington, East Linton and Ormiston.

The Haddington Pipe Band has in the past received other awards, including Best Medium-Sized Event at the 2009 Scottish Event Awards. The group describes itself as a “community” pipe band with an emphasis on teaching and performances and the promotion of piping and drumming, rather than competition.