How We Created The Riot Squad ‘Riot Rehab Bus’ Tour!
Touring almost all of the UK festivals from 2022 through to 2023 was the Riot Squad ‘Riot Rehab’ bus!
Most recently, we brought this roadshow to the Reggae Land Festival at the National Bowl, Milton Keynes; our hometown! See here.
This was a unique concept and design we produced for our client, Riot Squad, who we produce events for all year round. From static brand exhibitions to rolling roadshows (like the Riot Rehab bus).
Riot Squad came to us with a basic design and a brief explaining their desired outcomes of the roadshow. Our team got to work developing the concept and brought this unique concept to life.
Deciding on a mobile ‘Riot Rehab’ bus that would tour some of the largest UK festivals including the likes of Glastonbury and Soul Town, the roadshow would come to gain coverage in magazines and newspapers across the UK including the likes of the Mirror and the Daily Star.
What Was The Riot Rehab Concept?
The idea behind the ‘Riot Rehab’ bus was to raise awareness of the Riot Squad campaign, which was to reduce the number of festival-goers who smoke at festivals and make the switch to vaping.
Festivals are a huge trigger for smoking; Riot Rehab was done to reduce the number of festival-goers who smoke at these events.
Riot Squad wanted a mobile event that festival-goers could visit to see their new products and stay in an area where they could enjoy and view the festival take place.
Socialising with other people at the event and creating an area where people could test out their new products.
They wanted festival-goers to stay on the stand; socialise and have a view of the festival. So it was important we made the most of the limited space we had available.
Because the brand exhibition stand had to make appearances at festivals across the UK over many months, we decided on the ‘Riot Rehab’ bus so that we could make a fully mobile brand stand and activation that could be quickly and easily set-up and moved.
The bus had to be on-brand, easily accessible and of course aesthetically pleasing. It was paramount for the bus to keep people entertained and engaged.
Riot Rehab Bus Design
As mentioned above, the design had to be modular so it would be quick to set up and take down and of course move to different festivals across several months.
Riot Squad is a very energetic brand, so it was important for the design to really stand out and capture the attention of anyone at the festivals.
We considered sustainability in the production and management of the roadshow; we upcycled a de-commissioned London bus and recycled any used vapes (providing recycling areas in and outside of the bus).
Our team retrofitted a London double-decker bus, taking it from a decommissioned vehicle to a moving event space.
We gutted it, custom-made the furniture and fittings inside, added product displays and opened the bus at the top to create a VIP area complete with booths, a DJ booth and a viewing deck to watch the festival in style!
Our team produced two versions of the design/bus to accommodate to all the festivals we would attend (as some wouldn’t allow it due to space restrictions):
- a 10x10m production with the decking and bus (as in the design above)
- the other was just the bus with some outdoor furniture (for smaller spaces) – no decking
The bus provided a fantastic view of the festival, making it the place to go when visiting any of these festivals across the UK!
What Did We Provide For Riot Squad?
Riot Squad handed full control of the concept and design, to the production and management of the event – we provided a fully comprehensive service from concept through to completion covering all the services required from design and production to management and logistics – we did it all.
The Riot Rehab Bus at Glastonbury 2022!
Glastonbury was the 3rd stop of the Riot Rehab bus tour! One of the biggest festivals in the UK that returned in 2022.
Taking place on over 900 acres of land, the festival sees roughly 210,000 attendees, making it the perfect event for a brand like Riot Squad who wanted to increase their brand awareness!
2022 saw huge global artists take centre stage including the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish – so we saw a huge turnout of festival-goers as a result!
The location of the Riot Rehab bus was very important to get the most awareness and attendance to the stand.
We placed the bus near the main camping site in ‘The Winding Lake’. This camping site was for A-listers and high rollers who enjoy the ‘Glamping’ festival experience.
It was amazing to see some of the celebrities getting involved with the brand stand!
The Riot Rehab Bus was very busy in the morning and evening as people wandered to and from the main stage area.
Everyone who visited the riot rehab bus loved the luxury seating area and the DJ booth at the top of the bus. The top of the bus also provided some amazing views of the festival giving a real VIP experience!
Into the evening, the bus provided a fantastic party atmosphere for guests to enjoy.
Some guests were treated to Riot gift packages consisting of all 10 Riot Bar flavours, some merchandise and of course some festival essentials too.
We had experts on smoking cessation giving advice to attendees to kick their quitting smoking journey off on the right foot.
We also provided drinks and Riot Bar tasting for anyone who attended the stand. We received nothing but positive feedback on the experience.
The campaign proved successful with countless festival-goers making the switch from traditional cigarette smoking to vaping!
What Were The Results?
Riot Squad were extremely happy with the turnout and the results of the brand exhibition roadshow and we continue to work with Riot Squad, promoting their brand across the UK at many exhibitions and roadshows.
We are proud to have come up with a unique concept to market their brand and delivered a fun, engaging, immersive experience to engage festival-goers and the wider public.
The unique brand roadshow made headlines in news outlets across the UK too! So it proved to cause a reaction! Outless such as the Mirror, the Daily Star and more covered the Riot Rehab bus in their online publications.
Do You Want To Find Out More About Our Roadshows and Brand Activations?
We also have a full case study on this unique roadshow if you’d like to find out more about what we done.
As an events company, we are experts at designing, producing and manging roadshows and brand activations and are happy to help with any questions you may have.
Find out more about our services:
Feel free to get in contact with a member of the events team or alternatively take a look at our dedicated pages below:
Be sure to keep an eye out for our future events with Riot Squad and other events!
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