The power of TikTok

Kantar has released a new report, "The Power of TikTok," revealing the most successful marketing campaigns on the social media platform TikTok.

The report focuses specifically on the use of user-generated content (UGC), particularly Hashtag, where brands require people to perform specific tasks and then use Hashtag to label brands.

The report shows that the most successful Hashtags are viewed more often than other prime-time ads. While the vast majority of users of the platform are thought to be very young, Kantar's research found that 67 per cent of people worldwide who see ads on TikTok are over the age of 25.

The researchers combined interviews with marketers around the world to analyze population data from 60 brands of Hashtag, as well as from Kantar TGI Global QuickView 2020. The study highlights the value of TikTok to the brand and the factors that underpin the most successful marketing campaigns on the platform.

Marketers say TikTok has generated a huge amount of engagement, with some Hashtags seeing more views than major sporting and cultural events, such as River Island's "GlowingOut" event, as much as Andy Murray did when he won the Wimbledon final in 2013.

TikTok marketing campaigns can also lead to real-world behavior that encourages consumers to enter stores and websites. The researchers found that 90 percent of those who visited River Island's website on TikTok because of the brand's "GlowingOut" campaign were new users.

Brand Hashtag is particularly effective in helping brands stand out during crowded marketing periods such as Halloween, Christmas or Black Friday.

The survey found that one of the keys to brand success is to leverage the creativity inherent in the platform in marketing by working with the creator community, so that brands can make the most of the platform's features, such as always being online.