Get ready to level up your marketing game, because we’re diving into the world of TikTok! If you haven’t already heard, TikTok is THE place to be for brands looking to connect with younger audiences and showcase their creativity. With over 1.4 billion active users and a seemingly endless supply of viral trends, challenges, and dances, TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.

So, what can you expect from this blog? We’ll quickly explain why big brands are so keen to include TikTok in their marketing strategy and we have also scoured the depths of TikTok to bring you 6 inspiring case studies of brands that are absolutely crushing it on the platform. From major corporations to up-and-coming startups, these brands have all found unique ways to tap into TikTok’s immense potential and connect with their target audiences. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for what’s possible on TikTok and some actionable insights that you can apply to your own marketing strategy. 

Why are big brands so obsessed with marketing on TikTok? 

The answer is simple: engagement. TikTok is all about bite-sized, visually stunning videos that captivate viewers and keep them scrolling for hours on end. And with the platform’s algorithm prioritising engaging content, brands have a huge opportunity to reach new audiences and make a real impact.

But it’s not just about organic reach. TikTok ads are a game-changer for marketers. With TikTok’s ad platform, brands can create highly targeted campaigns that reach their ideal customers with precision. Plus, TikTok’s ad formats are uniquely tailored to the platform, from sponsored hashtag challenges to in-feed videos, ensuring that ads blend seamlessly into the user experience. Read our blog on the different ad formats available on TikTok. 

And let’s not forget about the demographics. TikTok’s user base skews young, with a majority of users under the age of 30. For brands looking to reach Gen Z and millennial audiences, TikTok is an absolute goldmine.

Just Eat Takeaway

Did somebody say just eat? I think we all remember the song!

Just Eat had a big goal: to get people all over the world excited about their new brand campaign. And how did they do it? By enlisting the help of none other than global superstar Katy Perry.

With Katy on board, Just Eat Takeaway launched a unified campaign across 17 markets, all tailored specifically for TikTok’s sound-on environment. The campaign was a feast for the eyes and ears, featuring bold and fun creatives that got people talking. And of course, Katy sang the brand’s catchy jingle herself, because who better to get people hyped up than a pop icon dressed as a block of cheese?

The campaign was a hit, with an average lift of 7.5% in ad recall across all markets. Plus, the creative drove a significant uplift in brand association, with an average of 5.6% across all markets. And let’s not forget about the view-through rate, which averaged an impressive 24.8% across all markets.

In short, Just Eat Takeaway’s TikTok campaign was a recipe for success. With Katy Perry and some seriously catchy creatives, they were able to drive top-of-mind awareness and positive brand sentiment across multiple markets. And if that’s not something to celebrate with a takeaway meal, we don’t know what is!

Boots

Get ready to be dazzled by how Boots, the UK’s leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, made its beauty and fragrance deals more accessible to everyone during the festive season. Boots came to TikTok with one goal in mind: to drive conversions of its deals, and TikTok provided the perfect platform to achieve this.

Following TikTok’s best practices, Boots began with an account nurture strategy that gradually moved down the funnel, following each step of the customer journey. The brand set up campaigns optimised for ‘view content’ initially, and once the learning phase was complete, it then optimised for ‘add to cart’ and ‘initial checkout’.

Boots’ strategic campaign allowed the brand to test one of TikTok’s newest lower funnel solutions built for eCommerce advertisers, Video Shopping Ads (VSA). The VSA is a shoppable smart video creative appearing in users’ For You feed, which maximises lower funnel performance, amplifying product discovery, purchase intent and conversion with smarter, intent-based targeting and advanced creative functionalities.

The VSA targeted people aged 18 and over with interests related to beauty. Boots used a combination of hero product promotion (showcasing 1-3 SKUs at a time), category promotion and dynamic destination. This allowed the algorithm to find users efficiently and serve them suitable ads based on their purchase intent.

The VSA campaign brought in an incredible return on ad spend for Boots. The results were astounding, with a 133% increase in ROAS compared to previous standard conversion campaigns, a 48% decrease in cost per complete payment and a 20% increase in value per complete payment. TikTok is clearly the perfect platform for driving conversions, and Boots’ experience is proof that it’s worth investing in.

Abbott Lyon

Alright, let’s talk about Abbott Lyon! These guys are a group of fashion-forward designers who started the brand in 2015. Their mission is to create stylish, affordable accessories that are top-quality and really show off your personal style. They’ve even caught the attention of celebs and influencers around the world!

Abbott Lyon knew they needed to expand their reach and find new customers, while keeping their costs low. So, they headed straight to TikTok.

Abbott Lyon certainly knew how to make the most of TikTok’s features to reach their target audience. To drive online sales and reach new customers, the brand used TikTok’s Value-Based Optimisation (VBO) bidding strategy for web conversion ads. This method helped them deliver ads to users who had the potential to become high-value customers. Alongside VBO, Abbott Lyon ran In-Feed Ads and SparkAds, leveraging their organic content in a way that felt completely natural to TikTok users. By showcasing their collection of beautiful and affordable luxury waterproof jewellery and stylish fashion accessories, Abbott Lyon capitalised on trends such as “I want it, I got it” to create relevant and engaging content. And with Shopify’s full integration with TikTok, the brand made it easy for users to shop their products directly from the app.

The campaign on TikTok was a real game-changer for the brand. With a 31% increase in return on ad spend, they reached more customers and boosted order values by a whopping 13%! And that’s not all – the brand also saw a huge 20% reduction in cost per acquisition. The campaign successfully achieved its goal of attracting new users while keeping costs low, and Abbott Lyon continues to see ongoing success on the platform with an always-on strategy.

KitKat

Let me tell you about KitKat, the chocolate-covered wafer bar that’s been helping people have better breaks since 1935. Produced globally by Nestlé, KitKat wanted to spread the word about their latest launch, KitKat Bites, to the TikTok community.

To create the most fun and relevant content for TikTok users, KitKat joined the TikTok Creative Exchange (TTCX) program. This platform gives advertisers access to the best creative partners in the industry, making it easy to collaborate and generate top-notch content. KitKat teamed up with their agency partner, Pulse, to create impactful and hilarious ads that showcased KitKat Bites in a native and engaging way. These ads were set up as In-Feed Ads, appearing in users’ For You feed.

And the results were fantastic! KitKat’s campaign achieved a 2-second view-through rate of 18.6%, which was a whopping 46% above benchmark. This means that users were completely engaged with the ad creative and enjoyed watching it. Plus, a brand lift study showed a 44 percentage point increase in ad recall, proving that KitKat’s campaign had a lasting impact on users. Overall, KitKat’s TikTok campaign was a huge success, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

TALA

TALA is all about activewear that’s as sustainable as it is stylish. They believe that fashion should be affordable, without compromising on quality or performance. That’s why when they wanted to boost sales on their website, they turned to TikTok.

At first, TALA tried a conversion campaign optimised for the “add to cart” event. But when the results fell short of expectations, they decided to add an extra layer of optimisation for “view content”. This approach is like nurturing an account, helping the system learn more about the audience’s preferences and behaviour along the way. This, in turn, leads to more efficient cost-per-action and better conversion rates.

TALA’s TikTok campaign showed off their versatile activewear pieces and demonstrated how they could be styled in different ways, all while keeping the videos totally in tune with the platform’s vibe, with transitions, text overlays, and upbeat music.

And the results were impressive! Compared to the non-nurtured strategy, TALA saw significant improvements across all metrics. The total conversions for “place order” shot up by 113%, while cost-per-action decreased by 60% and cost-per-click by 36%. Meanwhile, the brand also saw a 53% increase in page view conversion rate, a 7% increase in “view content” conversion rate, and a whopping 64% increase in “add to cart” conversion rate.

Chelsea FC

Chelsea FC, the iconic football club, joined TikTok with a mission to strengthen their bond with a new generation of fans. To achieve this goal, the brand implemented an “always on” strategy, using bespoke TikTok-native content.

Chelsea FC developed a content strategy that was uniquely tailored to the TikTok platform. The brand then leveraged TikTok’s Community Interaction tool to target new audiences, encouraging users to engage with the content on their profile and follow their account.

To further engage their followers, Chelsea FC utilised in-Feed and Spark Ads, which promoted the brand’s app and its features while staying true to TikTok’s native style.

The results were impressive, with Chelsea FC growing its following by 45% through TikTok’s Community Interaction tool. The engagement levels of the videos were also noteworthy, with a 25.3% increase in 6-second view-through-rate compared to benchmarks. The brand also saw a significant increase of 179% in app downloads after using TikTok’s organic follower retargeting.

Final thoughts

Wow, we’ve covered a lot of ground in this blog, haven’t we? From exploring the ins and outs of TikTok to analysing some of the biggest success stories on the platform, we’ve learned a ton about how brands can use this social media giant to their advantage. If you want to read more about how other big brands have succeeded on TikTok, visit their Success Stories page.

So, what are the key takeaways and lessons learned from these case studies? Well, first and foremost, it’s clear that TikTok has become a major player in the world of marketing. With its huge user base and engaging, bite-sized content format, the platform offers brands an incredible opportunity to reach new audiences and connect with their existing ones in fresh, exciting ways.

But it’s not enough to just create a TikTok account and start churning out content. To truly succeed on the platform, brands need to be strategic, creative, and willing to take risks. They need to understand what makes TikTok tick (pun intended), and be willing to experiment with new approaches and formats to see what resonates with their audience.

So, what’s our final verdict on the importance of TikTok for marketing? Well, put simply, it’s a game-changer. With its massive user base, unique format, and emphasis on creativity and authenticity, TikTok has quickly become one of the most important social media platforms for brands to consider in their marketing strategy. Ready to give it a go? Read our step-by-step guide on how to set up ads on TikTok.

But like any new technology or platform, there are still plenty of challenges and unknowns to navigate. That’s why it’s more important than ever for brands to stay informed, stay creative, and stay flexible as they explore the exciting world of TikTok marketing!