Moo Deng. Man in Finance. Brat Summer. Demure. Do these words mean anything to you? For millions of people across the globe, these words form part of a bigger movement: culture, and it all starts on TikTok. TikTok is where communities forge the pulse of modern culture, and for brands, the platform offers a golden ticket to relevance — an opportunity to not only ride the wave of trends but to shape culture more generally, and to tap into the cultural capital that drives clout and brand fame.
That said, the current focus on performance marketing to drive short-term sales is shifting brands away from providing value for audiences, neglecting the deeper, more enduring impact of cultural engagement. A Nielsen study revealed that brands with short-term, sales-focused marketing strategies see an initial spike in sales but struggle to sustain long-term growth1, whereas, according to Kantar, culturally vibrant brands grow seven times faster2. So, for brands, the challenge isn't simply to follow trends but to embed themselves meaningfully within these cultural conversations.
With 75% of users believing the platform has the greatest influence on cultural trends, TikTok is the place to drive cultural relevance, and thus build and grow brands.3
What this means for brands
Exclusive research conducted by WARC in partnership with TikTok has revealed that most social-and-video-platform users believe that the biggest trends start on TikTok and consider the platform a key driver of culture and change.Most strikingly, these users reported that TikTok is their preferred platform for discovering and learning about new and emerging cultural trends.4
Here are the four main takeaways from the report that show how to unlock business impact through cultural relevance:
1. Cultural relevance deepens consumer connections
Through surfacing a steady stream of relevant content to its users, TikTok expands the interests of its audience and, in doing so, enables brands to reach new audiences that previously hadn't considered their brand or even their product category. This offers opportunities to broaden reach and increase market penetration.
2. TikTok cultivates and disseminates cultural relevance
TikTok's personalized, community-driven platform makes it a powerful tool for marketers to connect with consumers, expand brand awareness, and drive relevance. As the go-to platform for discovering cultural trends, it influences purchasing behavior, with 71% of users buying a product or brand they had never purchased before after seeing it advertised on TikTok.4 TikTok fosters interest expansion and enables category growth by showcasing topical, trending, and new content.
3. Relevance boosts business impact across the funnel
The research found that cultural relevance boosts brand metrics across the funnel, enabling brands to attract new audiences, expand into broader categories, and inspire conversions. An example of this is Peugeot leveraging TikTok to target niche subcultures and untapped markets, resulting in more than a 107% increase in attitudes and more than a 76% increase in intent.
4. Go beyond simplistic segmentation
To position themselves for relevance, marketers must move beyond surface-level segmentation and develop a nuanced understanding of consumers and the cultural communities they belong to. This allows brands to identify organic opportunities to intersect and engage with audiences meaningfully, as Burberry has seen by tapping into #FoodTok.
"In our owned media strategy [on TikTok], we find people who we think align with our brand codes and values and have them interpret our brand in a way that's relevant to their audience," Burberry's global social media director, Alex Whitlock, said. "We might find a baker who makes amazing pies. And we're like, why don't you make a checked Burberry pie? There's magic in that, and it becomes relevant in an unexpected way."
Now it's your turn
Winning on TikTok means thinking community-first, embracing subcultures, and co-creating with audiences. On a platform where creativity reigns, the brands that take risks and facilitate culture are the ones that thrive. Trends are a powerful driver of culture — just ask KFC, whose TikTok Ad Award-winning campaign turned viewers into advocates. Or Weekday, where a well-executed trend sparked a ripple effect, amplifying its message far beyond its follower count.
TikTok provides a unique platform to supercharge engagement and achieve cultural relevance. By leveraging trending templates, hashtags, songs, lingo, hooks, and co-creation with its vibrant creator community, brands can unlock unparalleled opportunities for growth and resonance. In its new Trends Digest End of Year Zine, TikTok showcases the brands that didn't just get trends, they got results, diving into its favorite brand trend takes, creator interviews, exclusive interviews, and more, to provide the tools and education brands need to take their trend game to the next level.
To help brands gather audience insights and get the most out of their creative, TikTok has created a host of tools such as Symphony and Smart+ to make creating great campaigns and reaching the right audiences as easy as possible.
This post was created by TikTok with Insider Studios.
Sources
- Nielsen, Communicating Brand Value: Marketing's Business Case for Investment, 2024
- Kantar, Why playing a greater role in culture is key to growth, 2024
- GWI Zeitgest, Sept 2024, Markets: Global, Audience: TikTok Users 18+
- TikTok Marketing Science, Business Impact Through Relevance, US, UK, AU, conducted by WARC, August 2024