Rob Da Bank on how Bestival accidentally became a global brand and ended up in Bali
Bestival, a festival that ultimately started with a bunch of people dressing up and dancing to music on the Isle of Wight, has spawned sub-brands and spin offs and now finds itself in Asia for the first time, with its upcoming event in Bali, Indonesia.
Bestival is launching in Bali this year, taking the brand to Asia for the first time
According to its founder DJ Rob Da Bank, Bestival never had global aspirations but its success in the UK, and it’s accidental global brand awareness, has led to many conversations about other places to host it.
The Drum asked Rob Da Bank if globetrotter status was planned: “Not really but it suits us! We have had loads of offers from many different countries but we don’t want to just do any old random partnership - we need to know we can create a festival for that country to enjoy as their own as well as bringing our magic to it. This is only the second Bestival outside the UK in 14 years so it’s very special.”
While many brands need to buy, or try very hard to create, an authentic link into culture, Bestival’s journey is quite the opposite, as Rob Da Bank says the journey to becoming a ‘brand’ wasn’t intentional.
“I suppose we have become a ‘brand’ over the years but hate to think we started as one! We started as a fun festival with great music, an adventurous crowd who like dressing up and a beautiful site to explore…we’ve kept those key bits over the years but hopefully got better at everything!” he explained.
While the festival may have learned its professionalism over the years, it always had commercial sustainability from the start - but on its own terms. It's an important factor as not all brand involvement at festivals work, but ensuring a cultural fit means festival goers appreciate the involvement.
“We’ve worked with sponsors from day one, we manage this in house. We need the income from that to facilitate all the fantastic art and creations at the festivals, but we’re very conscious of only working with the right partners,” said Rob Da Bank.
The festival will take place in Bali on the weekend of 30th September and will include international acts such as Alt-J, Rudimental and De La Soul.
“We want to bring the real Bestival so it will be our line-up, with the headliners we’ve chosen which we’re really proud of, but we are also using a lot of local talent, all the food and traders are from Bali and a lot of the decor will be handmade in Bali so it’s a marriage of our festival and Balinese culture and music.”
According to Rob Da Bank, Bali was chosen because of its rich cultural heritage and geography, as well as its links to the surf and music scene,as well as having a good potential for local and tourist trade.
Bestival Bali is, he admits, the main focus for now but the spin off festivals in the UK could also have global appeal: “Well I think there’s a huge market for our family festival, Camp Bestival, in loads of territories but we don’t want to water down our shows and we’ll only do more if we feel absolutely sure it’s the right thing, but family festivals are definitely on the up.”