Short-form video and digital content continue to present significant opportunities for brands. No other platform has shaped culture this past year like TikTok has. WPP, with a newly cemented TikTok partnership, will be able to tap into the creative capabilties of the platform for brands and agencies.
The move gives the London-based WPP, whose subsidiaries include marketing agency Oglivy and media-buyer GroupM, early access to TikTok’s oncoming ad products, such as API integrations and augmented reality. WPP will also be able to offer its clients — who include Walmart, Adidas and other retail giants — exclusive collaborations with a network of TikTok creators.
The move comes as brands increasingly turn to influencer marketing and social media to sell their products.
One of the world’s most popular social media apps, TikTok boasts over 1 billion users worldwide. As part of the agreement, the two will build new APIs that link TikTok’s stars to brands, providing the ad agency deeper insights into influencers’ audiences and past marketing campaign performance.
Bringing in WPP, valued at $13 billion, could further cement TikTok’s role in the growing influencer economy.
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, will also collaborate with its creator community to build a “diverse” network of creators to partner with WPP and facilitate exclusive opportunities for collaboration with select advertisers.
WPP and TikTok will co-create an “industry-leading” training and accreditation program for WPP agencies, which will secure priority access to content tailored to media and creative disciplines.
WPP chief executive officer, Mark Read, said: “Our clients want new and innovative ways to reach consumers. TikTok has quickly demonstrated the power of mobile video and the many opportunities that exist for brands to engage in meaningful and creative ways on its platform.
“I am delighted that we have formed this global partnership, a first in our industry, and look forward to working with TikTok to ensure our clients continue to benefit from what its platform has to offer.”
The two companies plan to conduct joint research “to guide brands on TikTok best practices and assist them with employing data-informed strategies for driving engagement on the platform.” Additionally, they will be developing a training and accreditation program for WPP agencies, meant to signal those agencies as leading resources for TikTok marketing solutions.
TikTok has been steadily building up a stable of creators through its Creator Fund, the company’s pledge to dole out $300 million over the next three years to TikTok creators with high-performing videos. The statement did not indicate whether the influencers that TikTok will connect to WPP are linked to the Creator Fund.
Snap joined the creator-incentive battle with its own version of a creator fund, distributing $1 million a day to top performers on its TikTok-esque Spotlight feature, which it launched in November.
TikTok’s WPP partnership looks poised to accelerate that arms race.