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Through a period of great tumult in marketing, the primacy of creativity remains unchanged. The 2024 CMO Report by Dentsu Creative reveals that 83% of CMOs believe powerful creative ideas can transform businesses and 81% agree that creativity is more important than ever before.
However, the nature of creativity in the marketing context has changed in the 21st century. Previously, the narrative used to be led by the big idea — usually presented as a carefully crafted and painstakingly executed TV commercial. Once the big idea was seeded, it was followed by cut downs and edited iterations which were considered more functional and accorded less attention.
While big ideas still matter today, having a single ‘hero’ creative asset is not a recipe for sucess. With smartphones becoming the preferred gadget for everything from work to news, to entertainment, consumer focus is stretched thin. A single creative execution — no matter how strong — is likely to slip past unseen or unacknowledged by its intended audience. Even if it is seen, brands face the genuine challenge of creative fatigue — a decline in consumer attention and interest, on being repeatedly exposed to the same creative elements.
To deliver on marketing objectives, ads must draw inspiration from the most popular forms of contemporary entertainment — videos from content creators on platforms like TikTok which are usually both plentiful (high quantity) and engaging (high quality). On TikTok, content from creators is viewed by an audience of millions every day. The rule of thumb for the platform is a high volume, high variety approach from content. To escape creative fatigue, ads should abide by the same rules.
Marketers are thus grappling with a new paradigm: the need to generate highly creative, platform-appropriate ads with multiple executions.
Why both quality and quantity matter on TikTok
Platforms like TikTok play a critical role for marketers. Besides being famous for ushering in an age of content, TikTok is also a platform where creative approaches can deliver strong business outcomes for brands.
Research backs the embrace the high quality and high quantity approach: It has resulted in 5% uplift in brand lift and a 23% increase in engagement, according to a 2023 white paper published by TikTok with Ipsos. The paper further added that 65% of users felt more positive when presented with a variety of content, and one ad was not enough to keep their attention.
According to the Nielsen Catalina database, 50% of a campaign's success can be attributed to the quality of creative. The TikTok audience is 3.3x more likely to engage with entertaining ads.
It is quite clear that to succeed on TikTok, brands must optimise the volume of messaging, while avoiding communication that is repetitive and unidimensional.
Two recently launched products are helping marketers create such advertising: TikTok Symphony, a suite of generative AI powered solutions, and TikTok One, a centralised hub for accessing creative tools, insights, and partnerships.
TikTok Symphony is geared towards marketers with a more DIY approach. Driven by the guiding philosophy of ‘if you can imagine it, you can create it on TikTok Symphony’, the suite transforms even a modestly sized marketing department into a creative powerhouse with support on critical areas such as ideation, production, and optimisation.
TikTok One has solutions for marketers who prefer to collaborate. They can pair up with content creators on TikTok via TikTok Creator Marketplace as well as external creative partners with TikTok Creative Exchange.
Winning the numbers game: creating high quantity advertising on TikTok
For decades, marketers have been contending with the challenges inherent to scaling up their campaigns. Video production has been among the biggest cost heads.
Luckily for marketers, it is now easier than ever before to create assets that rapidly ramp up the quantum of communication.
Simplifying production with Symphony Creative Studio: Symphony Creative Studio is an AI-powered video generator which truly democratises video creation and production. Advertisers and content creators can now avail of free capabilities, bridging the gap between ideation and production on TikTok.
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Video generation: To help marketers get started on their video journey on the platform, all it takes is photos, product details, videos, or even a company website. The AI engine uses these inputs to create a range of custom TikTok videos that a marketer can choose from in less than 60 seconds.
- Creating customised video for diverse audiences: Campaigns that run across multiple geographies are typically difficult to execute, requiring translation services for each market, and appropriate local talent to drive greater resonance. With Symphony Creative Studio, scripts can rapidly be translated, with voiceover options available in multiple languages. To further enhance authenticity, Symphony Creative Studio has multiple options for digital avatars. Brands can choose from licensed footage featuring actors; or build a character from ground up using AI. Symphony Creative Studio thus helps marketers with modest budgets dispense with complicated and expensive cost heads.
Case study: Audio House, Singapore
Singapore-based electronics retailer Audio House teamed up with Craft Creative to stoke up excitement around the store’s 35(th) anniversary and generate leads. The store harnessed TikTok’s tools to create over 100 digital avatars complete with realistic physical gestures and facial expressions. This allowed the brand to create multiple videos at scale to discover the most effective combination, for its consumers.
The result: Over 830 leads in 18 days, a 49.9% lower Cost per Action (CPA) compared to a previous campaign without using videos featuring digital avatars; over 3.2 million impressions.
Working together to go further with TikTok One: For marketers who prefer partnerships to self-contained teams, TikTok One has several solutions in place, with flexibility at the core of the offering.
- TikTok Creative Exchange helps brands find partners from an ecosystem of agencies segmented based on vertical, market, and campaign type. For instance, marketers can extend the lifespan of their creative assets, by finding an agency adept at recutting existing collateral such as a TV commercial into TikTok appropriate ads and videos. This is particularly important since research reveals that TikTok-first ads boost purchase intent by +37% and brand favourability by +38%([3]). Nearly 80% of TikTok users prefer brands that demonstrate a clear understanding of how to create platform-specific content.
Case study: Catalic, South Korea
Looking to drive conversions with authentic creator led content, Catalic sought out a partner on the TikTok Creative Exchange (TTCX). TTCX pointed Catalic to Soon-ent, an agency that specialised in the beauty category. Soon-ent helped Catalic produce six impactful videos working with creators and studio talent, while also repurposing assets.
The result: Over 83% real time conversion rate of TTCX assets; 2x higher return on ad spend of TTCX assets.
Case study: Mean Girls for Paramount Pictures Australia
For the reboot of Mean Girls, Paramount Australia wanted to acquire both existing fans and a new audience. The studio used TikTok’s popularity among digital natives, its potential for virality, its ability to create cultural moments, and its suite of unique features to maximise reach and engagement.
Leveraging TikTok Creator Marketplace, Paramount Pictures Australia’s creator-first approach saw partnerships with creators who had an appeal across different audience segments — Deja and Kat, Seb Laz, Ian Zaro, Hannah M, and Joseph Donovan to name a few. The studio then transformed content from creators into advertising, using several different ad formats.
The result: A 4x increase in ad recall and 3x uplift in awareness, driven by creatively remixed content.
Driving quality on TikTok
Previously, a wide range of assets implied a low attention to detail and a compromise on quality. But with Symphony Creative Studio and TikTok One, quality is no longer at odds with quantity. The suite of services helps marketers create immersive, engaging, and eminently TikTok worthy ads
- Insights and research with TikTok Creative Center: Located within the TikTok One, TikTok Creative Center is a one-stop solution for all the latest trending hashtags, music, and best performing ads on the platform. Top Ads Dashboard includes a library of successful case studies and helps zero in on the best performing ads by industry, geography objective and ad format. Trend Intelligence helps marketers quickly get up to speed with top trends, user generated content and hashtags. This helps clients get vital directional cues on the leading trends on the platform and how best to engage with these in an effective and meaningful way.
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Ideation with Symphony Assistant: A product nested under TikTok Creative Center, Symphony Assistant uses a simple, AI-powered chat-based format to offers help across a wide variety of use cases on TikTok. For instance, writing TikTok appropriate scripts, brainstorming creative concepts, and quickly providing analysis reports on a particular product or sector. Symphony Assistant helps in the ideation process, setting a creative framework within which a brand can operate.
- On the go optimisation on TikTok Ads Manager: TikTok’s AI solutions also help optimise advertising on the platform in real time. For instance, ads can be scanned by AI to identify either compliance issues or optimisation opportunities, with a fix applied instantly. AII enhancements at the click of a button can help advertisers ready their creatives for a proper campaign launch. In addition, AI enhanced display cards encourage users on the platform to interact with advertising.
In conclusion, TikTok Symphony and TikTok One do more than streamline the process of creating impactful advertising - they empower marketers and agencies to deliver engaging campaigns with speed and eficiency. As Ng Chew Wee, TikTok's head of business marketing and sales enablement APAC, puts it: 'The development of technology, coupled with human ingenuity, makes it easier than ever for advertisers to produce high-quality content at scale. With the right tools and technology, brands can keep up with the growing demand for engaging content and stay ahead in today's fast-moving digital world.' By harnessing TikTok's innovative tools, brands can focus on what truly matters: crafting campaigns that resonate with audiences and drive meaningful results.
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