The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Entertainment Brand Purpose Creative Works

TikTok, Loewe & Dash Hudson reveal how to create a winning social entertainment strategy

Author

By Jenni Baker, Senior Editor

March 22, 2022 | 6 min read

Sponsored by:

What's this?

Sponsored content is created for and in partnership with an advertiser and produced by the Drum Studios team.

Find out more

We’re in the nascent stages of a new social media era. People today are consuming more short-form videos than ever, and they are flocking to TikTok in their masses to be entertained. Enter the era of social entertainment. For brands to win, it requires a different and modern approach. Brands need to be brave, nimble and willing to experiment to find the right formula – and unleash their creative superpower.

Video in the golden age of creative – the future of social entertainment.

Video in the golden age of creative – the future of social entertainment.

Changing consumer behaviors, swings in data deprecation and user privacy restrictions – limiting the ways that marketers can reach consumers – and the ascendance of TikTok have all converged at the same time, putting the focus firmly back on creativity.

“It’s the golden age of creativity and, as marketers, we can go back to doing what we do best, which is creating really cool content that captures the attention of the consumers, because we know that’s going to rise to the top. Those are the brands that are winning right now,” says Marie La France, vice-president of strategy, Dash Hudson.

La France was discussing why creativity will reign supreme in the new world of social entertainment with Pip Dunjay, director of strategy at TikTok Creative Lab and Charlie Smith, chief marketing & communications officer, Loewe (LVMH) in a recent panel discussion ‘Video in the golden age of creative – the future of entertainment’. Register to watch the full session here.

Finding your brand lens

TikTok differs from other platforms in that it’s a “lean forward platform”, explains Dunjay. A lot of people don’t double screen TikTok, “they give it their full attention, because of the power of sound where you have to listen to everything as well as watch it – it's really immersive entertainment”.

Smith’s focus as CMO has been on ensuring that luxury fashion house Loewe has a presence where customers and future customers are, to try and catch their attention: “What we’ve really been trying to do as a brand is figure out what our voice could be on the platform in a way that feels authentic.”

TikTok presents an exciting creative challenge for brands, adds Smith, recalling: “It reminds me of when we started on Instagram quite a long time ago. The first thing you're trying to do is to figure out exactly what kind of content you should be creating, and what's going to resonate. A lot of that is about not being afraid to try things and not spending too much budget doing something massive at the start.”

He suggests trying different things, analyzing the competition and understanding the trends that customers are consuming on the platform to organically define what the brand voice should be.

Breaking down barriers

Those brands who are feeling the challenge the most are those who haven’t taken the time to restructure themselves to be nimble in this space, says La France, reiterating that it does require some willingness to experiment. This is an opportunity to be more creative, playful, and fun with content.

“If you still need approvals from 10 different regions and 10 different departments before you can put a piece of creative out there, you cannot participate in this world that’s moving so fast and where there’s so much content,” she says. “The biggest challenge is really with comfort, accepting that even a gorgeous luxury product can come through if it’s shot on an iPhone in a low-fi manner. There is a space for your product to exist within the creator universe, but it’s about overcoming a little bit of fear.”

“Making TikToks is easier than it looks. Millions of people every day make TikToks without being scared of barriers and just enjoying the creativity on the platform,” adds Dunjay. “It’s a great space for brands to be in, with tons of things to look at, participate in, learn about, and it really creates culture.”

Smith adds: “Get in early and experiment, while there’s still that moment of experimentation. It won’t last forever. Right now, there’s an incredible opportunity to play in a space where it’s not heavily infiltrated by brands. There’s lots of room for creativity and experimentation to get the attention of your customers.”

The experts explore all of this and more, including the new rules of creativity on TikTok and the opportunities with AR, sound and shoppable formats. They also touch on how the blurred line between church and state (organic and paid) gives brands an opportunity to lead the charge in setting trends, how to reevaluate the success of campaigns, and how to adjust KPIs for this new era.

They also share their favorite examples of brands pushing boundaries with social entertainment, including Old Spice, BMW, Revolution Beauty, Nordstrom, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Gucci, Balenciaga and Moncler, and offer top tips and advice for creating a winning social entertainment strategy.

Watch the full panel discussion with Loewe, TikTok and Dash Hudson here.

Entertainment Brand Purpose Creative Works

Content created with:

Dash Hudson

Dash Hudson was founded in 2015 with the mission of empowering brands to deepen engagement through photos and videos. Today, the global leader in social marketing...

Find out more

More from Entertainment

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +