Background
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a series of performances by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands and display teams that has been taking place in Edinburgh annually since 1950. Performances are held throughout August and the event hosts just under 220,000 visitors each year.
The Brief
Progressive has undertaken the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Audience Tracking Study for the last 20 years. The study was initiated to monitor the profile of the audience attending performances, as well as to examine motivations to attend and audience appreciation of the event.
Our Research Approach
The research programme has evolved over the lifetime of the study and now incorporates both quantitative and qualitative primary research. The main tracking study comprises face-to-face in-street interviews with audience members as they queue to enter the Castle Esplanade, and self-completion questionnaires distributed within the arena itself. For the past three years the quantitative research has been complemented by a qualitative study investigating the views and opinions of audience members in greater depth. Qualitative interviews are also conducted with representatives of the travel and tourism industry who work directly with the Tattoo, to explore attitudes towards both the efficiency of the Tattoo as an organisation and the quality of the event it delivers. Progressive has also used the quantitative data to undertake economic impact analysis to demonstrate the economic benefit of the Tattoo for the City of Edinburgh and for the rest of Scotland.
Quantitative Research
The self-completion survey has formed the core of the research programme since its inception and allows tracking data to be gathered on the audience profile, as well as providing economic impact data and, importantly, performance appraisal. The street interviews are primarily used to confirm the profile of the Tattoo audience and provide further economic impact data.
Approximately 25,000 self-completion questionnaires are distributed to a random sample of the Tattoo audience at the event itself, yielding a typical response of approximately 3,500 surveys. The sample for the street interviews is selected using strict random sampling techniques, allowing an accurate profile of visitors to be measured. Each interview is conducted with visitors, using CAPI technology (Computer Aided Personal Interviewing) as they wait to enter the Tattoo
Qualitative Research
Members of the Tattoo audience are also recruited to participate in in-depth qualitative telephone interviews to gather detailed views of visitors after the event has finished. Respondents are selected to provide a good spread of audience members across age, gender, nationality and method of ticket booking. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo also provides Progressive with a sample of tour operators who have purchased tickets directly from the Tattoo and, from these, respondents are recruited for in-depth interviewing.
The Output
A full report of the findings of the study, including trend data and analysis, is produced each year. This provides essential information to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to enable them to monitor performance and user satisfaction and to profile their audience.
The quantitative and qualitative work with the audience has been of significant value to the Tattoo organisers, providing detailed insights into the performances and also information to assist in the enhancement of the infrastructure of the event (e.g. in relation to seating, queuing approaches, merchandising and WC facilities). The qualitative interviewing with businesses has both gathered further feedback from audience members and enabled the Tattoo to enhance its working arrangements with its business customers.