TikTok Launches New AR Ad Feature, Unveils ‘TikTok For Business’ At NewFronts

Jill Goldsmith
·3 min read

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Red hot TikTok unveiled a TikTok For Business platform Thursday with a new augmented reality feature called Branded Scan and a tagline — “Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks.”

At its first NewFront presentation, the social media giant beloved by teens said it’s partnered with 2D and 3D development firms Bare Tree Media, Subvrsive and Tommy to “scale creativity and production of AR effects and help marketers make ads that mirror user content, that’s often humorous with easy to use special effects and sound.

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Hashtag challenges allow users to compete to create ads for brands they like. TikTok has set up a creator marketplace to connect brands with thousands of ‘TikTokers’ who have been vetted by the Tiktok team.

“TikTok is the greatest show on earth rigt now for people and for the industry,” said Katie Puris, managing director, Global Business Marketing, at the virtual presentation.

TikTok For Business will be “home to all current and future marketing solutions for brands” to engage with the TikTok community.

“We’ve seen more and more brands embrace the unique and creative ways the TikTok community expresses themselves through video. The experience is real, light-hearted and fun, and as we’ve seen over the course of these dynamic times, users and brands have the ability to make a meaningful and positive impact on their communities,” said Blake Chandlee, TikTok VP of Global Business Solutions. He joined a year ago and said the platform and its outreach to marketers are both still young..

The service – which has 500 million monthly active users around the world — has been much in the news from its massive growth to users trolling President Trump’s Tulsa its hiring of former top Walt Disney executive Kevin Mayer. It is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.

The creative partnership with Tommy, specialized in marketing campaigns with entertainment IP and work with global brands, was also announced this morning, “Augmented reality is changing the norms by which consumers interact with brands everywhere,” said Tommy co-founder and chief managing director Chris Edwards. “This unique partnership has the potential to entirely re-frame user experiences.”

Tommy Labs, founded in 2018, has worked on campaigns for motion picture and streaming giants Hulu, Warner Bros., Amazon Prime Video, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Netflix, Paramount Pictures and MGM and brands Adobe, Shopify and soccer club Tottenham Hotspur.

The TikTok creative partnership with Tommy is close to completing a round of creative trials and is now open for worldwide brands to register their interest, the companies said.

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