To raise more advertising dollars despite the looming US ban, TikTok is introducing new advertising products and capabilities that will allow marketers to better control what content their ads appear in front of.
The company says it will use generative AI to curate trending, brand-safe content; Expand your selection of tentpole moments like the Paris Olympics and the Met Gala. and allow advertisers to purchase slots with specific networks and content offerings.
The company launched the “Pulse Premiere” advertising space last year and is now expanding it to include new partners. The offering is focused on generating more premium advertising dollars by allowing advertisers to place their ads directly after publisher and media content in over a dozen categories, including lifestyle, sports, entertainment and education. The ads would appear on content from select publishers in the app’s “For You” feed.
The slot is intended to appeal more to TV advertisers who are used to being able to buy commercials running alongside certain programs.
TikTok has previously worked with companies such as NBCU, Condé Nast, DotDash Meredith, BuzzFeed, Hearst Magazines, Major League Soccer, UFC, Vox and others. Now Paramount Global and NHL are being added to its list of premiere partners.
The previous partnership gave advertisers the ability to buy ads to run alongside content from NBCU, for example – think Saturday Night Live, America’s Got Talent, TODAY Show, Bravo and others. For example, the new partnership with Paramount Global will allow advertisers to run ads on content from MTV, CBS Sports, The Daily Show, Entertainment Tonight and others.
TikTok said it will also work with Nielsen ONE Ads and iSpot.tv to give advertisers the ability to measure how their TikTok ads add “additional and complementary reach” to their TV campaigns, the company said.
TikTok is presenting these new advertising options at this year’s IAB NewFronts 2024, where a number of media companies and social apps are marketing themselves to advertisers. TikTok took the opportunity to share some statistics about the success of its advertising offerings, noting, for example, that the TikTok Pulse suite – which guarantees ads next to the top 4% of trending videos, seasonal moments or premium content – increases ad recall by 9.8%.
The company also praised its ability to reach users who may not have seen TV advertising, saying that 58% of all TikTok campaign impressions reached a unique audience that “didn’t see” the TV portion of the campaign. Additionally, it said advertisers who incorporated TikTok into their TV campaigns reached an additional 22% of their audience.
TikTok’s announcement appears to be business as usual for the company, as these are deals that were struck long before the US ban took effect. However, the fate of the app in the country is uncertain. Although the company’s parent company, ByteDance, has vowed to fight the ban, it has also threatened to withdraw from the country rather than divest. Obviously that wouldn’t be good for the ability to bring in advertising dollars.