It's already got its own money and own flag so the first thing a newly independent Scotland would possibly need is a new head to replace that of the Queen on their stamps. That honour should most probably go to John Smeaton, the Glasgow airport baggage handler who thwarted a terror attack in 2007 using basic street-fighting techniques, before warning al-Qaida on international TV: "This is Glasgow – we'll set about ye." Which, with just a small tweak, could serve quite neatly as a spine-tinglingly inspirational marketing slogan to mark the new era of independence. If Scotland does choose to break from the United Kingdom, what other opportunities might it have to refresh its national idenity? We asked four experts.

Mark Borkowski Mark Borkowski PR

Scotland would need to find what we call in the PR industry a new "brand reality". An unfettered expression of what makes them great, not what the British have stopped them from being. It's all about the elegance and intelligence of their country, their grand industrial heritage, the lyrical sweep of their arts and culture and the beauty of their countryside. Not haggis juggling or Sean Connery doing a photo opportunity dressed in a kilt.

Neil Henderson

Red PR



That old tradition is what people want when they visit. They want the kilted man but they also want the restaurants with Michelin stars. We'd look to draw on both with a rebrand that kept some of the good traditions while ditching the stuff about Irn Bru and people getting murdered in Taggart. We'd focus more on the trendy bars rather than the deep-fried Mars bars. We'd adopt the slogan "Scotland: Is there nothing she cannae do?" Which of course draws on the old Supergran line.

Ben Mooge

Partner at creative agency Work Club

We thought that a logical consequence of Scottish independence could be a display of flagrant oil exhibitionism at the expense of their estranged southern cousins. This could take the form of Alex Salmond's government looking like Qatar royalty in Regal Tartan Dishdash dress. Or perhaps a magnificently wasteful installation of Bellagio oil fountains at the entrance to Holyrood.

We've come up with a new direction for the Scottish tourist board campaign: images of lochs and glens will become redundant now the English have a genuine reason to "Visit Scotland".

Jay Pond Jones

Creative director working with design agency &&&

Tourism has always been a big part of the Scottish economy. And, with its popularity among the royals, it's always been a bit of a playground for the rich and famous. It's a country made up of 790 islands so we thought perhaps they could rebrand as northern Europe's very own Caribbean.

The Scottish flag is supposed to have been based on the crossed clouds that marked the sky when Oengus II's army defeated the Angles in 832. He saw it as a lucky omen and we saw this as an opportunity to remake the flag as he originally saw it.

This would obviously have a knock-on effect on the Union flag. We thought that it looked a bit drab without the Scottish blue in it so, given the success of their royal wedding dress, we decided to fill the space with Alexander McQueen's trademark skulls for a more modern British flag.