Marketing Briefing: ‘Trifecta of industry buzz’: Marketers remain bullish on TikTok despite rising costs

By Kristina Monllos

Last October, Ocean Spray experienced a viral TikTok moment thanks to TikToker Nathan Apodaca. At the time, it seemed like an unlikely “content miracle” that the brand simply needed to lean into and that the industry needed to recognize was impossible to duplicate. But earlier this month another unlikely brand, Adult Swim, got its viral moment on TikTok with hundreds of creators making their own versions of the network’s bumper ad spots for the platform.

To be a part of culture in an organic way on the platform has a number of marketers looking to find ways to “go deep” on the platform, noted Noah Mallin, chief of brand strategy for IMGN, adding typically brands that do so looking to get the attention of Gen Z. “You can pair that [organic] content with ads and it’ll be much more effective than just going in with ads and ignoring all the other parts of the platform,” he said.

As some marketers are looking to lean into TikTok more and taking note of a second out-of-the-blue viral moment for a brand, Bloomberg reports that TikTok is upping its ad prices, charging $1.4 million for a homepage takeover in third quarter, $1.8 million in fourth quarter and $2 million for that ad space during the holiday months. Ad buyers say it’s not surprising that TikTok is upping the cost of its premium ad units as the platform has grown in popularity and shown it can have an impact on culture. Per Digiday research, nearly half (43%) of agencies and brands now post on TikTok at least occasionally. That data is based on a sample of 117 brand and agency professionals.

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“It’s unsurprising the rates are going up, and I’m sure for brands (big and small) who were early to engage with the platform there’s some sticker shock taking place with news of these changes,” said Ruth Bernstein, CEO of creative shop Yard NYC. “However, it doesn’t change the reality that for big brands, with the right content, collaborations with creators and a sticky idea, the buy is worth it, for one simple truth. TikTok drives more and more of culture at large.”

Even with the the increase in ad prices — TikTok’s rate cards for their high impact units went up by as much as between 30-50% compared to third quarter last year, per Emmy Clarke, director of social media at Good Apple —marketers targeting Gen Z are “overwhelmingly bullish” on the platform, according to Brendan Gahan, partner and chief social officer at Mekanism.

“TikTok is a hot commodity,” he said, adding that while TikTok is still a smaller piece of the social pie than Facebook, year-over-year investment in TikTok overall has increased between 3-5X for clients. “The increase in pricing is not going to impact investment in the space. If anything I can picture it creating a greater sense of urgency. The platform itself has the trifecta of industry …read more

Source:: Digiday