TikTok’s first Upfront: ad placement tool, shoppable livestream and more
At the TikTok For You Summit yesterday – the company’s first Upfront event – the short-form video platform unveiled a raft of new offerings for brands, creators and agencies that, commercially, will see its audience more elaborately segmented and content more e-commerce friendly in 2023.
The company introduced TikTok Pulse, an offering that will allow brands to place ads after the top content within a specified category, facilitating their exposure to target communities.
On the e-commerce front, the platform presented TikTok Shopping Ads that will allow merchants to sell directly through their TikTok account.
Importantly, this will give TikTok Australia the capability of housing real-time showcase for viewers, enabling interactions with streaming hosts, and making purchases from the livestream – something its Chinese equivalent, Douyin, has successfully developed into a monetisation model.
Research found that traffic to TikTok’s ad portal has seen a 51.5% increase year-on-year this September, outperforming Twitter.
Brands present at the Upfront include Pepsico, Princess Polly and MECCA, as well as the creative director behind the social cause campaign, Reluctant Sea Shanty, Doug Hamilton.
Other announcements include branded content and education programs for creators including:
- Creator Productions: support local creators and content
- Program Sponsorship: help brands leverage the cultural entity within TikTok communities such as #booktok and #foodtok
- Creative Agency Partnerships University: develop networks for creative agencies
Brett Armstrong, general manager, TikTok said: “In two years, TikTok’s unique ecosystem of entertainment has helped brands drive business, performance, and social impact, and given Australians an unparalleled point of access to the ultimate joy; knowing yourself. Our platform wasn’t always a touchpoint people use in their daily lives. Now, Australians use TikTok as a primary form of entertainment.
“As we move in 2023, we are determined to build around what makes us a special place for brands to generate meaningful connections with their audiences and supercharge their results with us.”
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Darcy Song was a reporter at Mumbrella, covering media owners, adtech and social platforms. She left in October 2023.
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