Leveraging TikTok for brand success

It’s Wednesday!

X hired Angela Zepeda as its new head of global marketing. Zepeda most recently was the chief marketing officer at Hyundai. 

TL;DR:

• Leveraging TikTok for brand success: Brands like Coach and E.l.f. Beauty are embracing TikTok’s lo-fi content style, using authentic storytelling and subtle product placement to connect with audiences.

• Ad industry growth to slow slightly by year-end: The ad industry is set to hit $381 billion in 2024, but growth will slow due to high 2023 numbers, despite rising retail media and overseas spending.

• Brands team up with wellness spots: New brands like Cadence and Dose are partnering with high-end gyms and hotels to build awareness, focusing on exposure over sales to fuel future retail growth.

^{Before we dive into this edition, here’s a message from our partner…}

Calculate your ideal marketing budget split

If you believe in science, you’ll love this. Extensive research has proven that while performance marketing drives short-term sales activation, it's brand marketing that drives long-term, sustainable growth and profitability. Tracksuit’s Marketing Budget Calculator uses the variables you input about your brand, to produce a ratio - an ideal budget split between brand and performance marketing. It’s science for the win.

Use the calculator now

Leveraging TikTok for brand success

TikTok is fast becoming a key platform for brands to reach and engage audiences, with its unique mix of organic and paid content strategies. A recent white paper by BoF and TikTok highlights best practices from brands like Coach, E.l.f. Beauty, and Marc Jacobs, showing how to maximize TikTok’s potential. Key insights:

1. Creative, native content: Brands are encouraged to “TikTok-ify” their marketing, embracing the platform’s lo-fi content style. E.l.f. Beauty's CMO, Kory Marchisotto, emphasizes the need to create engaging, authentic content rather than traditional ads.

2. Cultural relevance: Companies like Burberry and Prada have successfully used TikTok by blending high-quality visuals with raw, lo-fi content that feels real and accessible, connecting with audiences through storytelling.

3. Subtle product placement: Consumers prefer subtlety in ads, with creators like Alix Earle gaining traction for making audiences curious rather than relying on overt product links.

4. Brand identity: TikTok content should align with a brand's values. For example, Coach uses filters and effects to enhance their cheeky brand personality.

5. Metrics that matter: For many brands, the focus is on building a community rather than immediate sales. Consistent content, engagement, and brand awareness lead to long-term success.

By focusing on authentic, engaging content and staying attuned to TikTok's trends, brands can build strong, lasting connections with their audience.

Ad industry growth to slow slightly by year-end: report

The ad industry is booming, but a slight slowdown is expected by the end of 2024, according to industry expert Brian Wieser. This year’s ad spend is projected to hit $381 billion, a 7.2% increase, but growth is expected to taper due to high 2023 numbers.

Concerns over the open web’s quality and brand safety may contribute to the dip, but rising retail media and increased spending from overseas brands like Temu and Shein are keeping the market afloat. Advertisers are still bullish, with an IAB survey showing a 12% expected increase in ad spend for 2024, focusing on CTV, social media, and search.

Brands are teaming up with health clubs and hotels to create buzz and boost awareness…

New hydration brand Cadence is betting on high-end wellness spots like Soho House and boutique hotels to get noticed. Cadence’s products are popping up in gyms, minibars, and bars across the UK, with plans to expand into US venues. Co-founder Ross McKay calls it a strategic shift, saying, “Focusing on niche, premium spaces is driving faster growth than traditional retail.”

Wellness partnerships are the new play: Brands are targeting health clubs and hotels to reach a captive audience during downtime. It’s less about big sales and more about exposure, creating a bridge between online buzz and real-world presence.

Dose’s wellness game plan: Dose, a wellness drink brand, is doing the same—partnering with 1 Hotel and Equinox to land on-site and in-room product placements. Founder Vasu Goyal sees this as not just a marketing win but a way to attract attention from bigger retailers like Vitamin Shoppe and HEB.

Why it works: For brands like Nomadica and Cure Hydration, wellness venues offer a shortcut to new customers. The idea isn’t to replace retail but to use these spaces to build brand credibility and fuel future retail and DTC sales.

The bigger picture: Cadence and Dose see these partnerships as crucial steps in their omnichannel strategies, using wellness spots to amplify their premium image before going full throttle in retail.

Extra reads…

• How brands are using Shopify Collective, the platform’s cross-selling tool (ModernRetail)

• Olipop takes aim at Mountain Dew with new flavor, ‘A Can of Do’ ads (Marketing Dive)

• How brands like Olipop and Belgian Boys are trying to reach U.S. shoppers outside the coasts (ModernRetail)