ING
Leveraging TikTok Custom Pulse, ING elevated its basketball sponsorship during the European Championships, driving key brand lifts.
From Courtside to the For You Page: TikTok Custom Pulse Drives Brand Lift and Favorability for ING
Objectives
Driving impact during a high-stakes cultural moment
ING is one of Germany’s leading digital banks and has been supporting German basketball across all levels for over 20 years: as the main sponsor of the German Basketball Federation and as a partner of the wheelchair basketball division of the German Wheelchair Sports Federation.
With the European Championship approaching, ING wanted to amplify its partnership with the national team and engage basketball fans on TikTok.Building on previous successes with TikTok Pulse products, including Max Pulse and the Pulse Music Lineup, ING aimed to test a more targeted approach that would bridge brand sponsorship with cultural conversation on TikTok during a major sports moment.
Solution
Leveraging Custom Pulse to reach basketball fans
Rather than relying on traditional targeting or regular TikTok Pulse options, ING became the first brand in Germany to test TikTok's new Custom Pulse solution. This new offering allows advertisers to create a tailored category lineup based on specific keywords, ensuring ad placements immediately follow trending, brand-safe content relevant to selected themes.
Using the Custom Lineup Builder tool, ING identified 20 basketball-related keywords ranging from general fandom to niche basketball culture. Using In-Feed Ads, these keywords were turned into Custom Pulse topics, allowing ads to capture attention by appearing immediately after the top 4% of trending content in the defined category.
Results
Premium contextual placements and engaging content lead to strong brand lift
ING's activation of TikTok's Custom Pulse delivered a strong brand lift across key metrics. The campaign achieved a lift of 11.8% in Ad Recall, showing that audiences not only noticed but remembered the content.
Favorability increased by 5.6%, a significant lift for a long-term brand metric that rarely shifts, reflecting stronger positive sentiment among viewers. With an average watch time of 6.47 seconds, the campaign was well above benchmark and succeeded in holding attention within a highly competitive feed environment.
These results demonstrate how customized targeting and premium in-feed solutions can help brands to drive engagement and brand impact during key cultural moments and large-scale events.
To learn more about TikTok's solutions, including TikTok Custom Pulse, contact our team here.
With powerful messages, tailored Spark Ads, and creative content production, we strategically leveraged the victory at the Basketball European Championship to position ING as an innovative bank for the young target group. The strong brand lifts and exceptional engagement highlight once more: this is what digital brand building looks like today.