This newsletter is not about the Twitter acquisition :)
TikTok ads get an interactive facelift, and along came Bezos.
Trend Roundup
In a moment of sheer exasperation, creators are quite literally throwing up their hands at their own (and others’) inconvenient behaviors.
You get the ball…you bounce it…you shoot…you miss it! This one’s to celebrate every time you were so close, yet so far.
If you’re not sick of Harry Styles’ new bop yet (I envy you) – the introverts of TikTok have created their own version of the song that highlights their aversion to socializing.
Trendsetter Spotlight
Along came Bezos.
In TikTok platform-related news, it’s looking like ads just got a major facelift. The addition of a new feature to make ads interactive as they appear on your screen was announced via a blog post last week:
“Our research shows that 57% of viewers are more likely to search for brand information online when they connect with businesses on TikTok.
Acting as an extension of your creative idea, Interactive Add-Ons offer flexible formats that encourage consumers to join in the fun when they see your ad.”
Through visual effects like stickers and pop-ups, TikTok will offer two different tiers of add-ons: a standard one to help drive conversations and clicks, and a premium tier to increase brand awareness via new formats like interactive product carousels.
Riding on the tailwinds of TikTok’s rollout of CAP University (its digital training course for agencies), this move raises the bar on the app’s commitment to increasing the sophistication of its capabilities as an advertising platform. It also affirms the message that TikTok ads aren’t just here to stay – they’re here to dominate the playing field as it expands to new audiences and niches.
If that’s still not enough to get your CMO’s buy-in, just let them know that Jeff Bezos also finally got the memo (which is especially hilarious given that one time in 2020 when 500,000 U.S.-based Amazon employees were instructed to delete the app from their phones).
In a video collab with Jason Derulo, Amazon Prime has made its marketing debut on TikTok in hopes of boosting its subscriber growth globally, which currently sits at 200 million subscribers versus 1 billion users on the TikTok app.
Stir the Pot
Trouble for Tinx.
(Not) speaking of Twitter, a series of unfortunate Tweets has resurfaced from TikTok’s ‘big sister’ and one of the platform’s most-loved OG creators – influencer Tinx (Christina Najjar), stirring up some chaos across the social media universe. In the posts dating back to 2020, Tinx fat-shamed a Kardashian and retweeted a few conservative quips from right-wing commentators (ironically, Elon Musk being one of them). None of it is particularly newsworthy in and of itself, tbh, but apparently, the backlash has been enough to evoke a public response from Tinx, whose apology hit Instagram and then numerous news outlets this morning.
Tinx is one of TikTok’s biggest influencers boasting partnerships with megabrands like Kiehl’s, and has gained millions of followers with her notoriety as a no-bs, luxe-brand loving, 31-year-old satirical commentator dishing out down to earth advice about things like salads, Erewhon, rich moms, and bad boyfriends.
Given her feisty persona (and previous openness about being conservative), this whole thing feels…weirdly entirely on-brand for her? We’re not saying any press is good press, but between this and her recent profile piece in the New Yorker, we’re not super surprised by any of this. We promise this newsletter isn’t turning us into conspiracy theorists, but we can’t help but feel like it’s all kind-aaaaaa giving PR.