Leading global media investment and intelligence company, Magna Media has conducted a new study commissioned in partnership with TikTok as part of its Magna Media Trials proprietary research offering. The study looks at and compares the effectiveness of both native and repurposed TikTok content when it comes to brands’ advertising.
The study found that both types of ads drove positive brand favorability up by 8%, purchase intent by 6% and search intent by 7%, but Magna noted that the two types of ads are perceived very differently by consumers and require unique considerations to amplify effectiveness.
Native TikTok ads drove purchase intent up 6% in the beauty vertical and search intent up 6% in the entertainment vertical, along with yielding a 7% jump in positive brand perceptions such as “interesting” and “fun” in both of those verticals.
When it comes to repurposed ads, the study noticed that memorability (up 37%) and brand perceptions including “relevant” (25%) and “creative” (24%) indicators rose to such amounts.
The TikTok buzzword did also, of course, come up; authenticity. The study showed that inauthentic ads negatively impact the brand and are 19% less effective in driving purchase intent.
Interestingly, when it comes to ad production, high production quality is not a necessity for native ads; instead, creators and brands should focus on embracing TikTok effects (e.g., transitions, music, voiceovers, etc.) endemic on the platform.
Creative storytelling was also placed highly among ad content priorities with it being noted as the strongest driver of impact. Magna’s study found that when good storytelling and creative quality are not leveraged, there is potential for significant loss in key metrics. As part of best practices, repurposed ads should be reformatted to fit the vertical orientation of the TikTok feed. Reformatting repurposed ads to vertical orientation increases purchase intent (+8%), as well as brand perceptions such as “relevant” (+7%) and “creative” (+3%).
Jorge Ruiz, TikTok’s global head of marketing science, released a statement on his thoughts on the study. “The findings from this study clearly show that building assets for TikTok is the most effective, but also shows that when you get repurposed ads right, they can also be effective. This study brings brand new guidance on how to think about native versus repurposed ads, and also shows us something that is new in our learning agenda: how TikTok can also drive search intent. I am looking forward to seeing the IPG network deploy these learnings into their creative best practices across our joint clients.”
In regards to how best to balance native and repurposed content, Magna Global executive vice president and managing director, intelligence solutions Kara Manatt sums it up beautifully; “Marketers have a choice to either repurpose existing creative for TikTok or create custom, native ads. Our research found that both strategies can be effective, but best practices must be considered for brands to put their best foot forward on the platform. When using native ads, authenticity is table stakes, so brands should thoughtfully choose creators and know that high production quality doesn’t necessarily equal authenticity. In turn, brands should lean-in to entertaining storytelling when identifying which ads should be repurposed for TikTok, making sure they alter video orientation to vertical for seamless integration.”
