Hotel Royal｜2026 Royal Explorer Brand Campaign

Context

Every year, Hotel Royal Group launches “Royal Explorer.” More than just an accommodation provider, Hotel Royal is like a well-traveled, curator-minded friend who wants to show travelers: this land can be seen in a whole new way. For 2026, Resonance of the Land puts music in the luggage: six cities and nine hotels, each with its own local travel proposal. For this year’s campaign visuals, JL wanted to do more than let the scenery be seen. We wanted to connect travel and music.

Strategy

Make music the doorway into travel. Music can’t be seen or touched, so we invited Hotel Royal to become a music curator. The culture, city, and era of each of the nine routes were turned into nine vinyl records, each one saying, “Hey, this one’s good!”, opening an intuitive door travelers want to walk through. At the same time, we stepped away from the brand’s usual elegance, so Royal Hotels could talk about music and travel with more people, while giving longtime guests an unexpected surprise.

Solution

Music, visible at every touchpoint. The campaign film takes travelers through back alleys and streets, following sound to discover different landscapes. The key visual gathers elements from every route into one record, Resonance of the Land. The route visuals are nine vinyl covers, such as Beitou’s Moon Lute Night Dream, Dadaocheng’s Spring Breeze Blowing Toward Me, and Jiaoxi’s Gongs and Drums Together, each personally recommended by a local guide. One visual language runs from physical to digital, and every appearance is Hotel Royal’s invitation to travelers.

Campaign Film

Let sound be the clue that starts the journey. Documentary-style footage captures the musical experience of each place, taking travelers from Tainan’s Taiwanese folk songs, to Beitou’s Nakashi, to Taitung’s mountain chants, discovering the stories in the melodies and new scenery along the way.

Key Visual

Elements of every route’s music come together as the Resonance of the Island turntable record, symbolizing that when the needle drops, this year’s journey starts spinning.

Route Visuals

Nine vinyl records, each holding the sound memories of one city, sincerely recommended by local guides: Hsinchu’s wind and rock, Beitou’s hot-spring Nakashi, Dadaocheng’s musical era, Taipei’s disco. Every cover is Hotel Royal’s reason for picking that record.