Empire Marketing Board
Encyclopedia
The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary
Leo Amery to promote inter-Empire
trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was actually established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and this is why it was eventually abolished in 1933, as a system of imperial preference
replaced free trade.
Amery was its first Chairman, Sir Stephen George Tallents was its Secretary, Edward Mayow Hastings Lloyd was Assistant Secretary, Walter Elliot was its Chairman of the Research Committee.
The EMB had three principal aims: to support scientific research, promotion of economic analysis, and publicity for Empire trade. Scientific research took up a large proportion of the EMB's work and budget. It also assisted 126 agricultural and medical research projects and issued many Intelligence Notes, pamphlets and surveys
. The EMB made links with buyers and produced analyses of markets to help producers. Tallents decided that EMB's staff should employ personnel directly from media, PR and the advertising industry on temporary Civil Service contracts,until 70% were drawn from outside the Civil Service
.
The EMB organised poster
campaigns, exhibitions, 'Empire Shopping Weeks', Empire shops, lectures, radio
talks, schools tour, its own library
, advertisements in the national and local press
and of shop window displays. Most famous was the EMB film
unit led by John Grierson
, often considered the father of modern documentary film
, which produced around 100 films with such names as Solid Sunshine (which promoted New Zealand
butter
), Drifters
(North Sea
herring
), The Song of Ceylon (tea), Wheatfields of the Empire, Industrial Britain and One Family.
Colonial governments were reluctant to join the EMB, however. The EMB was ended September 1933 as a result of government cuts and the introduction of Imperial Preference
. The film unit was moved to GPO, and during World War II
was reorganised into the Crown Film Unit
.
There is collection of the EMB's posters at the Manchester Art Gallery and some originals at the Victoria Falls Hotel
, Zimbabwe.
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
Leo Amery to promote inter-Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was actually established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and this is why it was eventually abolished in 1933, as a system of imperial preference
Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference was a proposed system of reciprocally-levelled tariffs or free trade agreements between the dominions and colonies within the British Empire...
replaced free trade.
Amery was its first Chairman, Sir Stephen George Tallents was its Secretary, Edward Mayow Hastings Lloyd was Assistant Secretary, Walter Elliot was its Chairman of the Research Committee.
The EMB had three principal aims: to support scientific research, promotion of economic analysis, and publicity for Empire trade. Scientific research took up a large proportion of the EMB's work and budget. It also assisted 126 agricultural and medical research projects and issued many Intelligence Notes, pamphlets and surveys
Statistical survey
Survey methodology is the field that studies surveys, that is, the sample of individuals from a population with a view towards making statistical inferences about the population using the sample. Polls about public opinion, such as political beliefs, are reported in the news media in democracies....
. The EMB made links with buyers and produced analyses of markets to help producers. Tallents decided that EMB's staff should employ personnel directly from media, PR and the advertising industry on temporary Civil Service contracts,until 70% were drawn from outside the Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
.
The EMB organised poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
campaigns, exhibitions, 'Empire Shopping Weeks', Empire shops, lectures, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
talks, schools tour, its own library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, advertisements in the national and local press
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and of shop window displays. Most famous was the EMB film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
unit led by John Grierson
John Grierson
John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
, often considered the father of modern documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, which produced around 100 films with such names as Solid Sunshine (which promoted New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
), Drifters
Drifters (1929 film)
Drifters is silent documentary film by John Grierson, his first and only personal film. It tells the story of Britain's North Sea herring fishery...
(North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
), The Song of Ceylon (tea), Wheatfields of the Empire, Industrial Britain and One Family.
Colonial governments were reluctant to join the EMB, however. The EMB was ended September 1933 as a result of government cuts and the introduction of Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference was a proposed system of reciprocally-levelled tariffs or free trade agreements between the dominions and colonies within the British Empire...
. The film unit was moved to GPO, and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was reorganised into the Crown Film Unit
Crown Film Unit
The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during World War II. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in Britain and abroad...
.
There is collection of the EMB's posters at the Manchester Art Gallery and some originals at the Victoria Falls Hotel
Victoria Falls Hotel
The Victoria Falls Hotel is a historic hotel at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The hotel is dramatically situated, with a view of the Second Gorge and the Victoria Falls Bridge from its terrace....
, Zimbabwe.