How the entertainment industry is driving culture on TikTok

What inspires fandom? That's precisely the question that entertainment brands are grappling with in an era of content overload, when consumers' attention is being pulled in more directions than ever before.

In this highly fragmented media environment, studios are seeking new ways to not only reach audiences at scale, but also break into the cultural conversation through key entertainment moments. And this is happening on TikTok every day.

With its highly engaged, creator-led community, TikTok is the perfect place for entertainment brands to drive the cultural conversation around their latest titles.

A recent report from Variety spotlighted some of the studios that are leaning into TikTok's unique world of discovery, co-creation, and sharing to spark new ways to connect with fans.

In this article, we'll take a closer look at why TikTokis becoming an important marketing channel for entertainment studios and how they are using it to reach and engage audiences with TikTok-first campaigns.

How to engage fans through discovery, co-creation and sharing

The TikTok community engages in an endless cycle of content discovery, co-creation and sharing which can deepen the emotional impact of content. Entertainment brands have become part of this cycle of fan engagement and are using it to drive cultural conversations around their latest releases.

TikTok recently partnered with research firm GoodQues to uncover insights around TikTok's ability to create a cycle of fan engagement with entertainment content. According to the research, 52% of TikTok users have discovered a new actor, movie or show on TikTok,¹ 69% have extended their viewing experience by watching co-created content related to shows or movies,² and 1 in 4 have discovered then shared about content on the platform.¹

This cycle of engagement gives entertainment content the boost it needs to reach audiences and turn them into fans. And this is leading to increased interest in entertainment content. According to the study, 58% of TikTok users are interested in seeing more content from entertainment studios on TikTok.¹

Enabling discovery through Showtimes, TikTok's first entertainment-focused ad experience

TikTok is making it even easier for fans to discover new movies and purchase tickets. In late October, TikTok announced its first ad experience geared towards entertainment advertisers. With Showtimes—a new Instant Page template optimized to drive movie-going intent and consideration—fans can viewmovie trailers, search and select showtimes by location, and purchase tickets directly from various ticketing partners without leaving the platform.

Showtimes enables ultra-fast load times, creating a seamless user experience to drive landing page views and showtime lookups for movie studios. Our rich onsite signals also enable ads to continuously optimize for movie-goers and improve cost-per-acquisition.

During early testing, Paramount ran a campaign with Showtimes to promote the release of their film, "The Lost City." Their campaign was a success—resulting in an 82% decrease in CPA and 318% higher CVR when compared to ads that drove to their standard landing page.

Available ticketing partners include AMC, Atom Tickets, Fandango, MovieTickets.com and Regal.

Showtimes is currently available to allowlisted movie studios in the United States. To get started, reach out to your sales rep or contact us.

Inviting participation with TikTok-first campaigns

Major entertainment studios are heeding this call for more content with creative TikTok-first campaigns that lean into the unique user experience of the platform and its vibrant creator community.

Netflix drives engagement with creator-made trailer remakes for 'Red Notice'

For the release of action comedy "Red Notice," streaming giant Netflix created the concept of "trailer remakes." These first-of-their-kind TikTok videos paired the film's stars with three TikTok creators—@khaby.lame,@nobodysausage and @juliannesmovies—who worked with the film's talent to put their own unique spin on the thrilling "Red Notice" story.

The remade trailers saw engagement rates up to 62% higher than standard "Red Notice" trailers also boosted on the platform,³ and viewers were actively engaged, commenting 3x more than the industry norm.⁴ As a result, "Red Notice" became Netflix's biggest film launch ever and the TikTok community loved it.

TikTok singing competition powers world premiere of 'Sing 2'

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment partnered with TikTok to launch a massive TikTok-wide singing competition to promote the release of animated comedy "Sing 2." The competition offered one talented TikTok creator the opportunity of a lifetime—a free trip to Hollywood to attend the "Sing 2" premiere and a record contract with Republic Records.

"Sing 2" star Reese Witherspoon and the rest of cast encouraged participation in the competition with the hashtag #Sing2gether. TikTok users could enter the competition by singing along to a popular song from "Sing 2" and tagging #Sing2gether and #contest. With every hashtag challenge submission, Universal and Illumination donated $1 (up to $250,000) to Education Through Music, a non-profit which helps under-resourced schools provide music classes for children. Witherspoon announced the winner, Julia Minichiello, at the world premiere of "Sing 2" in Los Angeles.

The TikTok-first campaign generated massive awareness and engagement, including more than 3 billion video views and 1.5 million contest submissions. Meanwhile, a TopView ad brought the campaign into focus, driving 6 million clicks to purchase tickets. In-Feed Ads got moviegoers to the theaters too, as over 233,000 people checked out showtimes to buy tickets.

NHL and Warner Bros. tap into the TikTok community

TikTok is a place where entertainment brands, creators and fans create culture together. brands, creators and fans co-create in a community. From studios to sports leagues, entertainment companies of all types are taking advantage of this opportunity to connect with fans, incorporate creators into their campaigns to reach new audiences, and launch content that invites co-creation.

The National Hockey League used TikTok to feature player personalities, reach new audiences and highlight diversity in the hockey community, while American film studio Warner Bros. tapped three creators, @leogonzall, @jstoobs and @therealtati, to host a red carpet TikTok LIVE for the premiere of "The Batman." The studio intentionally selected creators with different fan bases and areas of expertise to keep the conversation lively and draw as many viewers as possible.

End the monologue, start a dialogue

Traditional advertising channels can be effective at introducing new content and informing culture, but only TikTok offers a consistent stream of interaction and engagement that allows fans to participate in these conversations and cultural moments.

Studios are taking advantage of this two-way dialogue along with TikTok's wide range of innovative ad solutions to create show-stopping entertainment moments and drive the cultural conversation.

Learn more about TikTok's ad solutions and start catalyzing culture today!

*For detailed information about TikTok's branded content toggle and our policies regarding what can be posted as branded content on TikTok, please refer to our Branded Content Policy.

Sources:

1. GoodQues TikTok Entertainment Study 2021 via Suzy, Base: TikTok Users 18+ (n=1002)

2. GoodQues TikTok Entertainment Study 2021 via Suzy, Base: TikTok Users 18+ (n=1014); incudes: parodies, fan fiction, reviews, reaction videos, theories/analysis.

3. TikTok Performance Data

4. TikTok Sentiment Analysis Alpha Data