From the Edinburgh Tattoo to Social Media: How Sound and Colour Drive Audience Connection

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As a proud Glaswegian and Scot, July and August have always meant one thing: it’s time  for the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo.

Growing up, almost every year we’d head to Edinburgh just before dark, parking at the foot of the impressive Edinburgh Castle. We’d walk up the Royal Mile absolutely wrapped in layers you’d never guess it was summer, but hey, that’s Scotland for you! At the top of the volcanic rock was the world-famous Military Tattoo, a spectacle that always captivated me.The vibrant colours on the intricate tartan kilts, the majestic animal adornments on the pipe band’s uniforms, all set against the backdrop of the Edinburgh Castle, and of course the unforgettable sound. The deep rumble of drums and the haunting shriek of the bagpipes could bring even the toughest of Scots to tears.

We were often lucky enough to get VIP access to the photography booth, where I saw how the perfect image with its composition – and contrast of colours against the misty castle backdrop – made all the difference in telling the story of the evening.

Cut to today, where I work as a Customer Success Manager at Alison.ai, I witness how images and videos can evolve into winning creatives on social media, and see how much the right visual and audio elements matter in this transformation. What used to perhaps be more art than science, now combines instinct with data-driven decisions to craft campaigns that leave a lasting impression.

Sound That Moves You

One of the most striking things about the Tattoo is the sound – not just the thrill of the bagpipes and the deep roll of the drums, but the silences in between, and how the pipes echo off the castle’s stone walls. It’s deeply emotional and grabs your attention.

In social media, sound is often an afterthought, but in reality, audio is emotion. A well-chosen soundtrack, relatable voiceover, or carefully placed sound effect can transform a creative. At Alison, we’ve seen this play out time and time again: change the music or add a human voice, and the performance of a creative can dramatically improve. Recently, with a big e-commerce client of ours, we had a creative that was slightly underperforming. We suggested they try out two subtle but powerful changes – adding a voiceover of a female character and including subtitles, and changing the tempo of music and the soundtrack, from a fast paced aggressive tempo, to a lighter and cheerful beat. Within a week, the very same creative suddenly performed 35% better in CTR. 

Interestingly, although Scottish accents aren’t often heard in voiceovers, they’re widely regarded as trustworthy, a reminder that even the voice – male, female, young and perky or more mature and husky sounding, and even accent choice – can influence audience perception more than we realize.

Colour and Visual Identity

At the Tattoo, colour isn’t random. From the detailed tartans of the pipe bands to the purple-lit castle backdrop and carefully timed fireworks, every shade tells a story and punctuates the emotional peaks.

The same is true for social media creatives. Colour drives brand recognition, sets the mood, and clarifies the message. It’s not just about aesthetics; it’s psychological. Yet, many campaigns still rely on safe, obvious choices like red or green CTA buttons that can feel disconnected from the rest of the creative. With gaming clients, this is a classic pitfall: they choose the safe and traditional “green for go” CTA background, but when they switch to more subtle colors like grey, white, or even transparent backgrounds – or the stark opposite to very on-trend summer colors like butter yellow,  baby pink and sky blue – the data speaks for itself. A recent example that comes to mind is with a traditional slots-based gaming company that decided to switch things up by incorporating the trendy summer hues in their CTA background and donning their main animal character in a baby blue polo shirt. This resulted in an uplift throughout the summer campaign of 42% in CTR.

The best-performing creative campaigns I see usually share one trait: colour coherence with purpose – a thoughtful palette that reinforces the brand and message, rather than detracting from it.

Looking back at my years attending the Tattoo, it’s remarkable how this centuries-old tradition feels modern, immersive, and emotionally powerful. That’s the benchmark for all creative work today, especially in the fast-moving, noisy world of social media.

So when you get to creating and strategizing your next creative campaign, remember it isn’t just content – it’s an experience. Sound, colour, motion, and message must come together in perfect harmony to create emotional impact that customers remember.

The power of gut feeling can only take you so far. At Alison.ai, we help brands take that next step, backing instincts with real data to build creative campaigns that resonate and perform.

So this summer, whether you’re lucky enough to be there at the Tattoo, or crafting your next creative, remember: it’s not just what you show, but how you make people feel.

Enjoy the Tattoo!