Rockstar Spotlight Studios | 2022

Designers: PepsiCo Design & Innovation, PepsiCo, Inc., New York, New York, USA
Manufacturer: PepsiCo, Inc., New York, New York, USA

As a part of The Big Game weekend, Rockstar® unveiled a new brand experience, the Rockstar Spotlight Studios and the Unplugged Mood Booth, to wow locals and fans visiting Venice Beach, CA and introduce them to the new Rockstar Unplugged® flavors. The Brand Experience Design Team collaborated with the PepsiCo Music & Culture Team to create a state-of-the-art mobile recording studio, a place that spotlights hustlers, emerging artists, and gamers to create, exchange and inspire. We activated the Rockstar brand through a free 360 event featuring Rockstar Spotlight Studios as the centerpiece.

For the Rockstar Spotlight Studios launch event in Venice Beach, we wanted to amplify local storytelling through the lens of the real hustlers who are native to L.A.’s neighborhoods, spotlighting the subcultures that are born and made here. While emerging LA artists recorded new tracks inside the Studios, musicians performed live concerts all day long on a bespoke stage right outside the truck. VIP invitees enjoyed the scene from the exclusive Studios rooftop lounge while guests enjoyed infinite entertainment right in front of the truck itself. The event featured multiple sampling stations, customization stations (including caricature artists and hot press bespoke t-shirts), local food trucks, an art gallery with photographs by Estevan Oriol, and a super immersive photo booth celebrating the launch of the new Rockstar Unplugged flavors.

The event in Venice Beach was just the kick-off for the Rockstar Spotlight Studios as the truck will tour the country and Rockstar partners with emerging artists across the continent. Content generated inside the truck’s state-of-the-art recording studio will be released by the Interscope music label in partnership with Rockstar Energy Drink.

The Design team designed and developed every detail of the Rockstar Spotlight Studios and Unplugged Mood Booth Structure, from top to bottom. To create the Rockstar Truck, we translated the new iconic Rockstar brand identity into an elegant 3D exploration that embeds the brand shapes, colors, and finishes into the recording truck elements themselves, such as acoustic foam panels, fixtures, upholstery, and extruded logo panels. This way, tactical/technical elements and design elements were harmonically combined.

We played up the metallic gold elements of the Rockstar Visual Identity, utilizing metallic vinyl, gold paint, gold powder coating, and gold laminates. These finishes had to be perfectly executed to match and celebrate the elevated aesthetic of the new brand VIS. We also incorporated a refined edge lighting solution to highlight the shapes of the acoustic foam panels and provide ambient light and in tone with the warmth of the brand’s gold accents.

The functionality of the studios was of utmost importance, so we installed double glass windows and doors to achieve the best possible insulating results. Each room was individually accessible through external entrances. We designed the interior so that each of the three areas would be visually connected through glass windows but perfectly insulated at the same time. This allowed us to create three independent recording spaces that could each hold multiple artists and at the same time, allow clear communication and creative exchange between each room.

Though we envisioned the space as a technical recording studio, it also is an environment for exchange and entertainment. For this reason, we added two lounge areas – one inside the controlling room, one in the recording room – and an exclusive rooftop accessible via an external staircase. The rooftop featured highboys for standing events but could also be repurposed. On a functional level, we also embedded special belts and tracks into the space to hold all equipment and furniture perfectly still during transportation. All of these carefully considered elements of the Rockstar truck atmosphere come together to create a refined, high-quality space for artists to produce next level music and art.

A three-in-one installation, the Unplugged Mood Booth merged a sampling station, a photobooth, and an immersive audio-visual experience into one compact space. Guests were invited to pick a Rockstar flavor and then enter the booth. Their choice triggered 3 different light and sound spectacles, depending on the flavor profile they picked. At the end of the experience, an integrated photo device captured the moment, and guests could instantly post their experience on social media by scanning a custom QR code.

Perfectly designed to fit inside a loading truck, the Unplugged Mood Booth is able to be easily transported and activated without the need to unfold or disassemble it. The booth combines an interactive sampling station and an 8’ x 8’ waterproof container equipped with pouf seating and an outdoor rooftop extension. The sampling station features a lightweight, transparent polycarbonate design, printed with the sleek graphics of the brand’s Visual Identity. Behind the counter, 4 buttons allow BAs to operate the experiences.

The booth features cutout and extruded branded shapes that overlap on walls and on the ceiling. A frosted LED surface is embedded behind each wall, while LED strips are applied around each shape for edge lighting effects. The booth can be activated in 3 different color, sound, and light modes, depending on the flavor of the Rockstar can picked. The experience is able to be updated and tweaked whenever needed by changing the light visuals and the soundtracks. Also, additional buttons can be added for additional flavors in the future.

The Rockstar Spotlight Studios and Unplugged Mood Booth launch event was a tremendous success, with 2,300 guests in attendance and garnering 11MM social impressions leading up to the launch event. Over 5600 Rockstar cans were sampled during the event, allowing guests to experience and enjoy the new Rockstar Unplugged flavors alongside an experience they’d never forget.