First Bus launches new work to get young riders on board
First Bus has launched a major nationwide youth campaign, created by long-standing brand and creative partner MadeBrave, to reconnect under-22s with bus travel.
Across the UK, young people’s use of buses has been in long-term decline and never fully recovered after the pandemic. This is despite significant national and devolved government initiatives to encourage youth travel – including free bus travel in Scotland for under-22s since January 2022, as well as schemes in Wales and England offering heavily discounted fares.
The new campaign from MadeBrave – playfully called LFG, the popular, hype-charged acronym from gaming culture – is designed to inspire young people to take advantage of these benefits.
Crafted to feel native to the tone, humour, and energy of Gen Z culture, the platform frames buses as a gateway to freedom, independence and the social trips that shape youth culture. It will show up across channels, including Roblox, YouTube, and select out-of-home.
At the heart of the campaign is a series of ‘stop-the-scroll’, fast paced videos (10 and 20 secs), created with production partners MTP.
Featuring a cast of 15 young people and powered by a soundtrack from globally acclaimed producer Howie B, the films channel the pace and energy of Gen Z’s feeds.
Working with specialists System 1 and Savanta, the campaign’s rigorous research phase uncovered surprising truths about Gen Z travel habits. Notably, that price was not the main barrier many expected, but instead, that most lack knowledge about routes and pricing.
The research also revealed how young people are most open to trying the bus for social trips with friends, and how their world is dominated by short-form, mobile-first content.
Mark Cullen, Head of Strategy at MadeBrave, said, “Our team took no knowledge for granted and started from scratch in understanding how this generation think about bus travel. Investing in bespoke research, creative testing and pre-and-post tracking, we built a robust and unique base of insight.
“We found the how traveling with friends for social occasions could be our gateway to more routine travel across all aspects of life. However, the biggest barrier for our team was in ‘stopping the scroll’. So, we set ourselves a ‘3-second challenge’ – to distract and engage in a short-form video world. That’s where boldness of ‘LFG’ came from.”
The campaign comes just weeks after the UK Parliament’s Transport Committee called for urgent action to reverse a decade of decline and support young people in getting back onto buses. The Government asked for change and First Bus listened.
Martin Hirst, Director of Revenue & Customer Proposition at First Bus, said, “Getting young people back onto the nation’s bus network really matters for us all. It helps them, through greater educational and employment opportunities, and it can help power our economy and social mobility too. This is why this challenge is so important to the team at First Bus.
“We’re delighted with the campaign from MadeBrave – not just for the strength of the thinking that backs it up, but also for the creative bravery to speak in their language, on their terms. It’s about supporting them to get out into the world, enjoy life, and succeed.”
The strategy combines high-engagement formats proven to resonate with young audiences.
This includes TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Meta and even a Roblox in-game activation – alongside outdoor and regional influencer content. The campaign’s cast included a diverse mix of real young people and emerging creators with their own followings, giving it added authenticity and cultural cut through.
The new campaign will run throughout September and October, supported by a UK wide PR campaign from Stripe Communications and a targeted, cross-channel media campaign, delivered in partnership with the7stars.
Andrew Dobbie, CEO at MadeBrave, said, “LFG is about more than marketing to young people – it’s about cultural change. LFG gives First Bus a youth platform that cuts through in the places young people spend their time, while tackling a real societal challenge head-on: to get more people using the bus.”
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