TikTok launches Creative Digest

DUBAI: With the aim of celebrating creativity on TikTok in the Middle East, the platform has launched TikTok Creative Digest, a bimonthly video newsletter featuring the most creative and innovative regional brand campaigns on TikTok.

The newsletter will highlight the best campaigns, especially during peak advertising moments in the year, such as Ramadan, the UEFA Euro 2020 and the Back to School period.

“In less than a year, we have had the privilege to work with the most creative brands in developing unique campaigns, which appeal to the interests, sentiments and nuances of the regional audience,” said Shant Oknayan, general manager of Global Business Solutions METAP.

“The Creative Digest is a celebration of the best works from across the Middle East, which have successfully tapped into an active audience and resonated with the regional TikTok community by bringing them together during key calendar moments,” said Oknayan.

The first Creative Digest from TikTok is a Ramadan showcase, looking at brands that have embraced the spirit of the holy month.

The top brands highlighted in the first edition are:

Fine: To mark the holy month of Ramadan, Fine partnered with TikTok to develop nine videos under a “Ramadan Wisdom” series. These TikTok videos were showcased in four markets and caught the attention of its Gen Z target audience by using old-school proverbs with a twist, thus merging the traditional with the modern.

Starbucks: Starbucks wanted to find a connection with its fans during the month of Ramadan. So, TikTok created a hashtag challenge based on the insight that after a long fast (and caffeine deprivation), nothing beats the feeling of that first sip of coffee. In true Ramadan fashion, TikTok created a drama-style track for people to express their love for Starbucks.

Arla Foods: One of the most successful campaigns over the Ramadan period, the hashtag #Ramadanprep was a TikTok collaboration with The Three Cows brand from Arla Foods. The campaign asked TikTok users to share videos of how they got ready for Ramadan, and the resulting content showed people getting their homes ready for the month, preparing the dinner table for iftar, and engaging in other related activities. Some of the branded content videos also showed how top creators were making dishes with The Three Cows products.

KIA: To launch the new KIA Sonet in Saudi, the automotive brand decided to bring the highest rate of approval for the car possible in the region: mama’s approval. Through a TikTok partnership, one of Saudi’s top creators created a miniseries of TikToks showcasing all the reasons his mother approved of him buying the new Sonet in a fun and witty manner.

Vimto: The partnership portrayed how iftar would not be the same if you had to celebrate it by yourself. The videos showed mothers beginning to fill the table with meals as families and friends start gathering around it — with Vimto at the center.

Saudi Telecom Company (STC): In light of the pandemic, Ramadan this year was different for many people who could not celebrate it together. With that in mind, STC launched the hashtags #Ramadancheck and #Ramadancountdown on TikTok, bringing the community together virtually to stay connected.

Ounass: The partnership brought to life the region’s first e-commerce-powered live event on TikTok through four live sessions in collaboration with celebrity trendsetters, which enabled people to shop directly from the sessions.

Garnier: To launch the Garnier Hair Food products in Saudi Arabia and connect with the Gen Z audience, Garnier partnered with TikTok to showcase the product benefits through a series of three videos, each highlighting a different benefit. The videos featured popular creators and showed Garnier’s natural ingredients in a fun way.

A101 Harca Harca Bitmez: A101, one of the biggest retail companies in Turkey, sponsored the TikTok #ChefsTable Ramadan project. During this campaign, the most popular chefs from Masterchef Turkey cooked Ramadan meals and invited users to join the challenge, with an opportunity to vote for their favorite chefs and win prizes.