The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Impact of the project

220,000
Annual spectators
50%
International visitors
100m
TV audience

The Challenge

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a spectacular like no other, set against the iconic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. Performed annually by British Armed Forces and partners, the Tattoo attracts over 8,000 spectators every night during August.

As one of Edinburgh’s most popular attractions, engaging visitors from more than 100 countries, the Tattoo wanted to respond to the growing international appeal by reaching 1 billion people across all digital platforms, with the aim of increasing turnover too.

In addition, the Tattoo play to sell-out crowds in cities across the world. They do this both as a standalone act and as part of distinguished line-ups of international groups and performers.

As part of a multi-year digital project, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo commissioned Storm ID to redesign their web presence, including the iconic brand’s website and online shop. Having developed their previous website in 2013, the purpose was to provide an enhanced digital experience that not only promotes the Tattoo event in Edinburgh but also enables users to explore the history of the Tattoo, the Tattoo on tour, news, venue information, as well as a fully refreshed e-commerce platform.

The Objectives

  • Grow audience

    We were tasked with supporting the Tattoo’s global growth strategy. This specifically included the ambition to attract an audience of 1 billion across all digital platforms. A significant portion of this was achieved by attracting a new, younger audience through popular social media content shared via the Tattoo's social channels.
  • Double turnover

    The Tattoo were looking to attract a wider, international audience beyond the largely domestic audience that they enjoy. They targeted doubling turnover by 2025; amounting to approximately £20 million.
  • Improve mobile usability

    It was imperative that we increased the mobile friendliness and usability of the site. This ensured that site's rich content could be accessed and enjoyed by even more users.
  • Expand online experience

    Equally important, there was a need to improve the online experience by surfacing relevant content. This included highlighting the many performance partners of the Tattoo, making content easier to find and redesigning the site so it was more intuitive to navigate.

The Insight

The project delivered an enhanced website with a greater emphasis on mobile usability. It also simplified the commerce experience and enabled visitors to sign-up to a richer newsletter, featuring improved online content and exclusive news, amongst other perks.

Since launch, users visiting the Tattoo’s online shop have increased by 35% and sessions to the shop have increased by 55%. Consequently, tracked product revenue increased by 67% and the average number of products per purchase increased by 4.3%. Traffic from social media to the Tattoo website also increased by 70%.

Key Features

New shop

The online shop was redesigned and improved to ensure the presentation and rendering of products reflects the premium experience the Tattoo has created within their retail store.

History of the Tattoo

The History page was built to create an engaging, visual history of the Tattoo and introduce the event to audiences around the world.

Seating plan

A new Seating plan page allows The Tattoo staff to update sections and prices as required to provide an enhanced user experience.

Tattoo on tour
The Tattoo on tour page highlights performance partners from Pipers Trail, Hjaltibonhoga and Tattoo Dance Company.
Umbraco CMS

The Umbraco content management system underpins the Tattoo’s website, allowing for non-technical Tattoo users to manage the site according to their needs. This includes customising the site layout or adding components to a page, including cross-promoting relevant shop inventory with alongside aligned content.

We integrated with a number of systems used by the Tattoo, optimise all channels and touchpoints for conversion. These integrations assisted in creating a more seamless and enjoyable experience for users.

Get in Touch

If you're looking to develop a refined new brand website like this, get in touch and we can discuss your requirements.