Hyundai

The objective

Highlighting authentic customer stories for a Hyundai brand storytelling campaign

Hyundai is a trailblazing global automobile manufacturer that powers technological innovation with the aim of human progress. Rooted in the brand's commitment to human connection, they launched the #ItsYourJourney campaign to increase brand awareness and highlight the everyday impact of their vehicles. With a robust creator ecosystem and storytelling culture, TikTok was the perfect channel to crowdsource client testimonials from voices with community credibility to drive awareness and consideration for Hyundai.

The solution

Leveraging TikTok brand awareness solutions and TTCX to achieve the 'Keith Lee effect'

To bring their creator-led vision to life, Hyundai utilized TikTok Creative Exchange's (TTCX) Creator-Led Package (CLP) and brand objectives to run a campaign highlighting compelling stories from real Hyundai owners. The CLP program provides personalized services that match advertisers with TTCX creator partners who handle creative production and campaign management. For Hyundai, partnering with a creator who could produce branded content that felt authentic to their audience was essential. In collaboration with an official TikTok Marketing Partner, they sought to source, contract, and create content with a brand-aligned creator. While they ran CLP campaigns before, this campaign marked a new collaboration with Keith Lee — a mega TikTok creator and proud Hyundai owner.

Keith Lee, renowned for honest restaurant reviews and with over 16 million TikTok followers, was the perfect creator for the campaign and brought his signature authenticity. The brand hoped to capture the power of the "Keith Lee effect," a phenomenon describing the transformative impact of his food reviews. These reviews often drive his millions of followers to support struggling local restaurants, serving as an invaluable word-of-mouth marketing channel.

Beyond cultivating a solid foundation of trust with his audience, Lee's taste test videos are almost always filmed in a car — his Hyundai — essentially making it a natural 'supporting character' in videos. So, reviewing his new Hyundai Palisade using his established Lofi POV format and car setting met his audience's expectations while seamlessly supporting Hyundai's brand campaign. Lee's contribution to the #ItsYourJourney campaign highlighted his authentic experiences as a two-time Hyundai owner: the cars' efficiency and how it supported his personal and professional growth over several years. Hyundai then utilized Lee's creative to run In-Feed ads with Traffic, Video View, and Reach objectives that drove audiences to Hyundai.com.

The results

Driving home to success

By leveraging the CLP, a creator collaboration, and TikTok awareness objectives, Hyundai effectively strengthened its #ItsYourJourney campaign. The campaign drove full steam to success, earning 53.5 million impressions and 2.8 million total engagements. The Keith Lee effect was real: audiences were not only excited about Keith Lee's partnership opportunity but also became more interested in the brand because of their alignment with the trustworthy creator. Their traffic ads' click-through rate (CTR) outperformed industry benchmarks by 80%, reaching 1.1 million total clicks to the website. In addition to stellar performance, the ads received overwhelmingly positive audience feedback.

Hyundai's results demonstrate the value of authentic storytelling powered by creator partnerships on TikTok in driving brand performance. Building on the momentum of this highly successful campaign, Hyundai plans to expand its use of TikTok creator solutions to continue connecting with audiences meaningfully.