Case Study: First Bus empowers young people to explore Scotland with MadeBrave

First Bus empowers U22s to explore Scotland with MadeBrave, reaching 1.6 million daily customers

First Bus, one of the UK's largest bus companies, faced the challenge of authentically engaging young people under 22 to become their next generation of customers following a new free travel scheme. They partnered with the creative agency MadeBrave to develop a social-first campaign that would resonate with this demographic on their own terms.

MadeBrave created the #Freetoexplore concept, which used a "nursery grime" musical approach—a fresh take on a nursery rhyme inspired by Scotland's grime music scene—to naturally deliver the campaign message through entertainment. This integrated strategy allowed First Bus to connect with the target audience across the platforms they use. The vendor reported that the campaign successfully set a new standard of 'cool' for First Bus, with the creative and media mix being laser-focused and the content speaking directly to what the audience is passionate about.

First Bus