Visa is riding the K-pop wave in its latest brand push, launching a regional campaign with BLACKPINK’s Jennie Kim just as fans across Asia prepare to travel for the group’s ongoing world tour. Titled Road to Ruby, the video-led campaign dropped unannounced on November 21 and urges viewers to “travel like Jennie,” aligning seamlessly with BLACKPINK’s international tour circuit.
This article explores how the campaign blends global pop culture and cardholder perks, and what marketers should take away from Visa’s APAC playbook.
As global fandoms become business levers, “Travel like Jennie” offers a case study in leveraging influencer capital at scale. For marketers watching K-pop’s growing commercial footprint, Visa’s timing and execution are worth a closer look.
Short on time?
Here’s a table of contents for quick access:
Patrecia Meliana
What’s in the campaign?
The Road to Ruby video showcases Jennie on tour, balancing cinematic shots of travel with voiceovers reflecting on ambition, movement, and perseverance. Phrases like “Bright lights. Loud silence. Breath pound.” lead into aspirational taglines: “Dream like Jennie. Travel like Jennie. Pay like Jennie.”
The spot ends with a nod to Visa’s updated brand message, “Everywhere you want to be,” and directs viewers to a travel support page offering Visa travel tips, regional offers, and more.
Distribution was no afterthought. The campaign rolled out on Visa’s regional Instagram accounts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, along with a TikTok launch via @genvisa. Within 20 hours, the Korea Instagram post alone pulled over 634,000 views and 66,000 likes.
Why the timing matters
This campaign didn’t drop in isolation. BLACKPINK’s DEADLINE world tour had just wrapped stops in Kaohsiung, Bangkok, and Jakarta, with upcoming shows in the Philippines, Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. That means thousands of fans are currently booking flights, hotels, and tickets across borders.
Visa’s move is not just celebrity endorsement. It is strategic brand placement in the middle of a real-world travel spike. Fan accounts have already begun sharing the clip across platforms, amplifying Visa’s visibility through fandom virality rather than paid distribution.
The campaign also builds on Visa’s ongoing collaboration with Jennie. Earlier this year, they launched the Ruby Experience Tour, culminating in Visa Live: Jennie in Paris back in March. Now, Road to Ruby looks like the next chapter in a broader brand narrative aimed at APAC’s young, travel-hungry, mobile-first audience.
What marketers should know
Visa’s Travel like Jennie is not just content. It is a layered campaign tapping into multiple strategic levers. Here’s what stands out for brand marketers:
1. Regional pop culture is a full-funnel play
Visa isn’t just borrowing Jennie’s face for awareness. It is tying her presence to mid-funnel action with travel perks and calls to explore Visa card benefits. The seamless bridge from reel to travel support page is a reminder that branded content can (and should) lead to conversion.
2. Cross-border moments need cross-platform reach
The campaign spans Instagram and TikTok, but with localized Visa accounts driving initial traffic. This highlights a winning format for APAC marketers: tailor by market, distribute by culture, and amplify through fandoms. Visa did not need massive paid media to gain traction. Fans did the work for them.
3. Influencer equity doesn’t end at the spotlight
Jennie’s on-stage persona carries weight, but this campaign also focuses on the in-between — airports, rehearsals, downtime. By leaning into travel’s emotional arc, Visa gains more than just celebrity clout. It earns narrative depth that resonates with high-frequency, high-spend travelers.
4. Timing over reach in campaign launches
Visa didn’t overhype this drop. They let the BLACKPINK tour ecosystem do the heavy lifting, launching Road to Ruby without warning. This aligns with a growing trend: letting culture carry the launch instead of months of anticipation that risk fatigue.
Visa’s Road to Ruby shows what happens when brand partnerships are treated as long-term investments, not just one-off stunts. By aligning with fan behavior, travel intent, and entertainment cycles, Visa positioned itself as both relevant and useful, right when fans were opening their wallets and booking flights.
For marketers, this is a reminder. When your audience moves, move with them. But do it in their language, not yours.
Leave a Reply