STARLUX Airlines Kobe Route Launch Campaign
Client
Starlux Airlines
Year
2025
Sectors
Aviation Services
Services
Kobe Route Launch Campaign
The Problem
STARLUX Airlines became the first international airline to operate direct flights to Kobe. This alone was a milestone worth highlighting. However, traditional route launch marketing often relies on iconic landmarks as key visuals. The format is familiar and easily overlooked.
A larger challenge lay in perception.
Internationally, Kobe is long dominated by the image of Kobe beef. What many travelers do not realize is that Kobe has the highest density of dessert shops in Japan. It is, in fact, a true city of sweets.
How could we break away from conventional airline promotion.How could travelers participate in the launch, rather than passively view advertising.How could Kobe step beyond its existing image and reveal a more intimate, everyday charm.
These were the core questions the project needed to answer.
The Solution
We chose to begin with an overlooked truth. Kobe is a city of desserts. From this insight, we designed a launch campaign built around participation rather than one way communication.
2. Bringing the Brand Closer to Daily Life. Dessert Character Prototypes
Two dessert inspired characters were created as communication interfaces for the campaign.
Kurimoto. Warm and delicate, like a chestnut pudding with a golden glow.Meisan. Bright and energetic, full of vitality like a berry mousse.
These characters did more than accompany travelers. They became recognizable brand symbols that carried the campaign across platforms.
Their presence extended throughout the project, including offline stamp collection activities, online interactive quizzes, and guided short form video content. Through character driven storytelling, the brand’s voice became more approachable, while participation and sharing increased naturally.
3. Integrating Brand and Journey. Offline and Online Activation
The launch campaign was not a series of isolated events. It was a connected experience.
Offline elements included the Kobe Dessert Walk, guided stamp stations, and direct interaction with dessert shops.Online elements included interactive quizzes, short form social videos, and the expansion of character narratives.
Through this dual track approach, the brand did not sit outside the journey. It became part of it.
The Results
The campaign quickly generated strong engagement from travelers and on social platforms.
More than one hundred sixty thousand people participated in the online interactive quiz.Short form videos reached hundreds of thousands of viewers.By May thirty first, nearly twenty thousand passengers had flown the route.
At the most critical moment of the route launch, the campaign successfully repositioned Kobe as a city of desserts in the collective imagination. STARLUX’s route marketing shifted from visual promotion to cultural experience, brand conversion, and emotional connection.
This was not simply a route launch campaign. It was a lived experience that grounded city life, dessert culture, and brand spirit in reality.
1. Creating a City Specific Experience. The Kobe Dessert Walk
We explored the streets of Kobe and selected a number of representative dessert shops. These locations were curated into a walkable route designed for real tasting, real exploration, and real participation. The experience was named the Kobe Dessert Walk.
Travelers were no longer limited to viewing destination images. Through walking, tasting, photographing, and collecting stamps, they were able to step directly into the sweetness of the city.
