TikTok has announced the launched of a new report based on analysis by Kantar of 60 Branded Hashtag Challenges and demographic data from the Kantar TGI Global Quickview 2020 with a sample of 67,000 people. The research highlights the value of TikTok for brands and the factors underpinning the most successful campaigns on the platform.

According to the study, 67% of people globally who view ads on TikTok are over the age of 25 as advertising on the platform continues to cut across demographics.

Meanwhile, engagement via Hashtag Challenges are viewed more times than major sporting and cultural events.

TikTok showing real value for brands

TikTok naturally generates engagement through its simple, challenge-based hashtags that encourage people to join in, which has led to significant engagement and growth across the world, with now over 100 million users in Europe alone using the video-sharing app.

TikTok requires brands and Creators to think differently about campaigns, by handing creative control to TikTok’s Creators.

Campaigns directly drive real-world behaviour, pushing people into stores and on to websites. For instance, River Island’s #GlowingOut campaign found that 90% of the users who came to the River Island website from the campaign were new users.

From an advertiser perspective, branded Hashtag Challenges can help brands achieve cut-through in crowded moments like Halloween, Christmas or Black Friday as we expect a far busier and unique Q4 due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve seen enormous growth as a platform, having recently hit 100 million active users. This has driven interest from brands looking to tap into the natural joy and creativity of the platform. This report is a valuable tool for these brands, setting out how best to use the platform to drive engagement and change behaviour,” commented Stuart Flint, VP of European Sales at TikTok.

Also commenting on the report, Andrew Nelson, social media insight director at Kantar said: “There is no denying that TikTok is an important channel for brands looking to build engagement with new audiences. Our research shows that the unique combination of the platform’s natural creativity, diverse audience and always on sound offers up a special recipe to help brands engage in completely new ways”.