Earlier this month, the Grand Prix of the first-ever TikTok Awards were held in Amsterdam, the culmination of our pan-European program to celebrate the brands and agencies that are leading the charge on our platform with creative, high-performing campaigns.
Following ceremonies in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Nordics, local winners came together in central Amsterdam to see who would be crowned the overall Greatest TikTok Europe, and take home bragging rights as the brand that "gets" TikTok.
Launched in May 2022, we created an awards program to showcase the brands and agencies who are embracing our platform and have the incredible results to show for it.
All of the nominated campaigns tapped into TikTok's advertising ecosystem in a unique and entertaining way, leveraging our community, culture and ad solutions to engage their audiences and smash their campaign targets. We're thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate the innovative brands behind these campaigns.
From clever creator collaborations, to unique applications of our top ad formats, the winners of our inaugural awards give a masterclass on what it takes to succeed on TikTok.
Keep reading for a dose of inspiration from our shortlist and to see who won the top prize.
Tapping into trends is a great way for brands to join in on cultural moments on TikTok. Channel 4 did just that by jumping on the popular "tell me, without telling me" trend with a Branded Hashtag Challenge that invited the TikTok community to celebrate what makes them different. With a custom soundtrack and complementary ad formats, the campaign drove a massive 5.1B video views, 8.7M engagements and 827K video creations.
Watch TikTokKFC set out to engage its target audience on TikTok and then cleverly convert that engagement into restaurant visits. Alongside creator @megicmike133, KFC toured 14 of its Swedish restaurants, filming engaging videos at each stop. The videos then ran as In-Feed Ads - geo-targeted to 14 cities - that invited the TikTok community to visit them along the tour. The campaign led to an incredible 314% increase in revenue at the sites visited.
Watch TikTokDr. Best launched a climate-neutral toothbrush and came to TikTok to reach a new generation of consumers. The brand partnered with three German creators, giving them creative flexibility to represent Dr. Best in their own unique ways. Creator content was then boosted as Spark Ads, leading to over 50M views. A brand lift study also revealed a 17.4% lift in ad recall and an 8.7% lift in awareness, proving just how effective TikTok campaigns can be when brands partner with the right creators.
Watch TikTokUnieuro flooded Italian TikTok feeds with its "The Clerk" campaign, which saw the brand invent its own creator who cleverly acted as a clerk trapped inside Unieuro's TikTok profile. A series of entertaining TikToks built the character's funny story arc, and generated content to be boosted as In-Feed and Top Feed Ads. In just three months, Unieuro amassed an incredible 100K followers, over 50M views and 750K interactions.
Watch TikTokBack Market set out on a mission to highlight the environmental impact of purchasing electronic devices. By partnering with TikTok creators @flashboy.mp4, @leolorini and @eravfx, Back Market could show the different issues at stake in unique and captivating ways, adding special effects to ensure the videos were thumb-stopping in the For You feed. Their engaging In-Feed Ads ultimately achieved over 120M views with 532K engagements.
Watch TikTokDurex exclusively used TikTok to launch the "Hay Tema" campaign, the first 24/7 sex education service on TikTok. Durex partnered with sexologists, creators, and experts to create educational videos that answered real questions from the target audience. Throughout the campaign, Durex ran Spark Ads targeting an 18+ audience, boosting the best-performing content. Following the launch, condom purchases amongst the target group increased by 7% while lubricants increased by 93%.
Watch TikTokOne of Poland's biggest shoe retailers, CCC, used TikTok to engage and connect with Gen Z and drive sales. With a suite of native, creator-driven content that featured trends and TikTok's distinctive language, the videos were set up as In-Feed Ads with a conversion objective and a promotional code specifically for the TikTok community. Not only did CCC grow their profile to nearly 500K followers, but the conversion campaign also led to a 12.85% ROI.
Watch TikTokIn the end, Unieuro was given top honours by the jury for their 'The Clerk' campaign and took home the coveted Greatest TikTok Europe prize! Unieuro perfectly showcased the power of creator-driven, native content and the impact of boosting creative as In-Feed Ads to maximise reach and engagement with the TikTok community. The campaign thoroughly embodied TikTok's mission to inspire creativity and bring joy in a truly authentic way.
Ultimately, the TikTok Awards and the incredible selection of brands that were shortlisted show that the advertising industry is embracing everything that our platform embodies, leaning into entertainment, culture, creators and unfussy creative to build campaigns that truly resonate with their audiences.
The TikTok Awards European Grand Prix jury 2022 was made up of an exceptional group of leaders from across the advertising industry:
Mihnea Gheorghiu, Chief Creative Officer at Publicis, Italy
Rasmus Bjurström, Managing Director at Forsman & Bodenfors, Sweden
Isabelle Champigneulle, Head of Conversation Générale at BETC FULLSIX, France
Marcin Samek, Chief Innovation Officer at McCann, Poland
Auxi Barea, Head of Social Media & Branded Content at La Despensa, Spain
Eliza Williams, Editor at Creative Review, UK
Roland Eisenbrand, Director Editorial at OMR, Germany