– Star Plus Legend Achieves a Win-Win in Both IP Ecosystem and Commercial Value
On June 15, the outdoor reality-variety show J-Style Trip Season 3, co-produced by Star Plus Legend and Zhejiang Satellite TV and exclusively sponsored by MODONG MAGIC, successfully concluded its season. Praised for its unscripted format, absence of fixed personas, and rule-free structure, the show has maintained high popularity across all three seasons. This season, J-Style Trip Season 3 topped the ratings for 12 consecutive episodes, ranking No.1 among variety shows in its time slot across 71 major cities according to CSM data. Across the entire season, the show garnered 375 trending topics on major platforms and generated over 4.1 billion views related to its content. On Weibo, the main hashtag #J-Style Trip# surpassed 2.2 billion views, with the total cumulative views of the main topic across all three seasons reaching 3.77 billion. A total of 56 individual trending topics remained on the charts for over 10 hours each, contributing to a long-tail effect with the season’s hot search duration exceeding 1,220 hours. On Youku, the show consistently ranked No.1 on multiple charts, including the Free Variety Show Popularity List and the Travel Variety Show List. J-Style Trip Season 3 set new benchmarks across all three seasons in terms of social media buzz and audience engagement. On Weibo alone, topic views for this season exceeded the combined total of the first two seasons — highlighting the show’s enhanced storytelling power and growing cultural impact.
This season, J-Style Trip Season 3 was led by Jay Chou, the creator of the “J-style journey,” who was joined by a vibrant group of travel companions including Will Liu, Ken Lin, Funky Tu, Will Tsai, Chien-Te Fang, Kuan-Ting Chen and Guanlin Chen. Together, they visited breathtaking destinations and uncovered touching personal stories—building an emotional connection unique to the “J-style” travel experience and contributing countless standout moments throughout the show. The addition of Will Liu brought fresh energy to the series. His seamless chemistry with Jay Chou created numerous memorable highlights—from leading foreign tourists in a ‘Chinese Herbal Manual’ fitness dance on the streets of Greece, to exploring traditional Chinese culture through Wing Chun and lion dancing in Guangdong. These moments added new layers of fun, spontaneity, and cultural richness to the journey.
J-Style Trip Season 3 centers around the theme of “looking for outstanding Chinese individuals around the world,” highlighting overseas Chinese who have made remarkable contributions across various fields—including professionals, artists, and cultural inheritors. This season’s journey spans countries such as Italy, Greece, and Saudi Arabia, where the cast meets figures like tennis star Zhang Zhizhen, rising opera talent Wang Kang, and world latte art champion Hu Zhonghua, among many others who are preserving and innovating intangible cultural heritage. Through these inspiring personal stories, the show vividly conveys the spirit of “passion knows no borders” and sheds light on the diversity and strength of Chinese identity in a globalized world. No longer just a casual trip among celebrity friends, this season has transformed into a warm, meaningful, and resonant exploration of culture.
This season, J-Style Trip 3 further elevated its signature relaxed travel aesthetic, while staying true to its unscripted, unfiltered, and freeform filming style. With a faster storytelling rhythm and more dynamic transitions, the show guided viewers through local markets, street food scenes, and everyday urban life—offering both in-depth cultural exploration and practical travel tips. In the season finale, the J-Style Trip group took part in a cultural exchange with young Chinese dancer Liang Daiqing and the “Shaoli Ensemble”, a traditional folk music group from the Zhuang ethnic minority in Guangxi. This “folk song × pop” crossover showcased the unique charm of the minority culture.
As the show’s popularity continues to rise, attention has also turned to its sponsors. MODONG MAGIC is the exclusive title sponsor, with Alipay as strategic partner. Special sponsors include ADATA, Enya Cyber-G, Bonggie, and VIVICYCLE, while the tourism boards of Saudi Arabia and Australia provide special support. This diverse brand backing fully unlocks the commercial potential of the content IP. Historically, star-led reality shows often “win critical acclaim but fail to reach mass appeal.” Even with top-tier celebrities and loyal fans, they rarely break out of niche circles. Star Plus Legend, the company behind J-Style Trip Season 3, has now set a new benchmark in star IP commercialization.
Unlike traditional talent management firms, Star Plus Legend focuses on creating proprietary brands based on each artist’s traits, adopting a long-term approach to star IP commercialization. In this season, Star Plus Legend upgraded the commercial loop around the show’s boutique content IP. Industry insiders explain that Star Plus Legend attracts brand sponsors and earns licensing revenue through the show, while also empowering its own IP and brands to boost new-retail sales. Leveraging celebrity influence and full-channel promotion, including livestream e-commerce and private-domain social media, Star Plus Legend converts IP traffic into product volume, forming a complete commercial loop that highlights the superiority of its operating model.
The success and monetization of J-Style Trip Season 3 mark the maturation of Star Plus Legend’s “IP-empowered new retail” model. In the arena of deep integration between content and consumer, this IP-centric, omnichannel marketing commercial loop not only increases the long-tail value of star IP but also creates a sustainable monetization path for the industry.