As our 100 Travelers campaign gradually unfolds, more and more people are showing strong interest in joining. In addition to understanding the format and details of the campaign, they’re also eager to learn more about TESSAN and our upcoming global initiatives — which greatly excites us.
To share this in real time, we’ve launched a blog series on our official website under #100 TESSAN Travelers, where we share stories between us and the participants.
Without a doubt, this story is about how our sincere collaboration with Rachael Yamagata came to be — from the background to the behind-the-scenes.
Behind the success of gaining Rachael’s attention and forming a smooth collaboration was someone tirelessly carrying the brand’s mission — our Head of Brand, Patrick.
As the head of branding at TESSAN, Patrick has always stayed true to our brand values. He treats “connecting people’s journey” as the ultimate mission of his career. While envisioning the 100 TESSAN Travelers campaign, he was earnestly searching for the perfect figure to represent it.
One night, while riding a taxi home from work, Patrick heard a Rachael Yamagata song playing. The familiar melody and lyrics stirred a flood of memories.
Patrick had long been a devoted fan of Rachael. He believes that many of his insights about music, life, and travel were inspired by her songs. Whether in emotional turmoil, career confusion, or the depths of loneliness, Rachael’s music accompanied him through every stage of his life. He often says she is his “soul icon.”
Sitting in that taxi with Rachael’s music playing, Patrick once again fell into deep reflection about the meaning of life’s journey. He asked himself: Why are we creating and promoting this campaign for global travelers? What makes us qualified to earn people’s trust and co-create with them? The answer came — in that very moment, through her voice.
Because we are travelers, too. Our mission is to connect people, share energy, and through that energy, build, heal, inspire, and explore. Simply put, we hope to become a faithful companion to travelers worldwide — witnessing both ordinary and extraordinary journeys. Just as Rachael’s music influenced Patrick, he felt we have both the ability and the responsibility to pass that beauty of the journey on to others.
Then, a bold idea sparked in Patrick’s mind: Could I invite Rachael to be a part of our 100 Travelers journey?
And so, a beautiful story began to unfold.
At the beginning, Rachael asked why we had chosen to collaborate with her. Patrick answered with honesty and even wrote her a heartfelt letter, sharing the strength he had drawn from her music and creative journey — strength that gave him the courage to walk into each of his own unknown paths.
He believes that travel is not defined by profession or social role. In his heart, Rachael’s pursuit of her dreams and her process of musical creation are journeys in their own right. Her years of touring across countries have left behind footprints — each telling a different story from different phases of her life.
Patrick firmly believed that Rachael is an extraordinary storyteller.
Eventually, his sincerity and actions moved Rachael. The two parties quickly finalized their collaboration and jointly launched the #What'sYourNextJourney documentary — which received wide attention and praise from users.
Most importantly, together with Rachael, we delivered the message of connecting people’s journey to our audience — and extended an invitation to travelers all over the world. These touching stories and emotions were brought to life in the documentary we co-created.
What touched us the most was when Rachael shared the intimate details of her life journey in an interview with Patrick. She spoke about her career growth, her relationships, her creative experiences, and her reflections on the ups and downs of life.
She especially shared the story behind the creation of her hit song “Elephants.” She described the inspiration as almost divine. While walking in the woods, the melody came to her. She rushed down to her cabin at the foot of the mountain, picked up a pencil, and wrote down both the melody and the lyrics — poetic and raw.
That inspiration came not only from Rachael’s experience of pain but also from the healing strength within herself. In the end, she transformed that healing power into music and shared it with others.
These stories and details clearly show Rachael’s profound understanding of the journey, as a pure musical creator. She radiates love, courage, and healing — perfectly aligned with our brand’s mission and values.
For more details about our collaboration with Rachael, we invite you to watch the documentary we created together.
Of course, we’re not expecting every participant to create content the same way we did with Rachael. We understand that everyone has their own uniqueness, their own route, and their own storyline.
In fact, what we are most proud of are the real stories that happen to ordinary people.
In our collaboration, Rachael also spoke as an individual — sharing her insights and telling her story. She simply did so through the language of music.
Throughout this process, Rachael also came to know TESSAN more deeply — and the sincere, kind-hearted people behind the brand. There’s no doubt that TESSAN’s products are exactly what she needs.
We believe that in every cross-border journey to come, we will be there as a faithful, sincere companion — joining Rachael on her path and witnessing more moving stories together.
Our story is still unfolding.
