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TikTok may have a reputation of shortening consumer attention spans, but the platform’s streaming advertisers are now encouraging users to pause their feed scrolling to engage in longer-form storylines.
Attracting attentive audiences
Samba TV found that TikTok is a strong driver of tune-ins beyond traditional TV campaigns—97% of TikTok campaigns resulted in viewership with an average tune-in lift of 159%—but the tech company also studied the platform’s ability to drive longer consumption. Viewers who tuned in after exposure to a streaming platform’s ad logged an average watch time of 86 minutes, a 26% increase from the brand’s control group.
Dallas Lawrence, Samba TV’s senior vice president, emphasized TikTok advertising as a strong method of reaching the increasingly cable-averse consumer. These studies found that 45% of TikTok tune-ins were not exposed to the TV portion of the campaign, which aligns with an earlier finding from the brand that 65% of Gen Zers don’t have a cable subscription.
“We can no longer use the old technologies of the past to measure the signals of the future,” Lawrence said.
Balancing paid and organic engagement
The study found TikTok to be a more economically sound advertising option. The platform was 1.2 times more cost-efficient than TV when driving tune-ins, with a median cost per tune-in of $1.06. Beyond taking up space in media buying budgets, Lawrence also points to the platform’s ability to drive consumer buzz around a streamer or series that has already embedded an understanding of TikTok culture into its product.
@netflix Wednesday Addams has a word of advice for tonight’s Emmy nominees:
He stressed that Wednesday, Netflix’s Addams Family spin-off, had the most viewed premiere of 2022 due to its ability to talk to and engage with Gen Z and millennials on TikTok. The series fostered a Wednesday Addams dance trend, and Netflix drove viewer anticipation by posting clips of actress Jenna Ortega cryptically commenting on current events.
TikTok is Gen Z’s primary platform for discovering new shows, according to a Harris poll. Jorge Ruiz, global head of marketing science at TikTok, spoke to the platform’s role in driving streaming service engagement through organic user discussion. Platform data found that 63% of users say they discovered a streaming service on TikTok by seeing a clip or trailer from a show or movie, and 72% say they have found comments from other users useful in making an entertainment decision.
“Beyond delivering paid marketing campaigns to drive tune-in, the inclusion of organic opportunities, such as creator content or audience activation, allows campaigns an additional word of mouth element to support the paid media,” he said.
