TikTok tells nervous advertisers: ‘We’re not leaving’

Business As time ticks down for TikTok in the U.S., the company’s president of global business solutions tells concerned advertising executives that it will fight tooth and nail against a potential ban. Don’t back down.”

TIkTok’s NewFronts presentation to ad buyers began with a reference to the elephant in the room: a looming ban on the app in the U.S. in about nine months if Chinese parent company ByteDance fails. Selling US Platform. However, the company insisted in its opening remarks that TikTok would fight the proposed ban in court.

“We want you to know we’re not going backwards,” Blake Chandley, TikTok’s president of global business solutions, said during the company’s invite-only NewFronts presentation. There, attendees were treated to lavender and elderflower cocktails to ease fears of the impending ban, and TikTok lulled them to sleep with stories like: fight a US bill in court.

It’s no secret that advertisers are completely obsessed with TikTok and its incredible ability to reach the elusive Gen Z consumer. “Advertisers love TikTok because their target audience loves TikTok.” Said John Morgenstern, head of investments at VaynerMedia, said: WSJ.

President Biden signed a bill last month that would ban TikTok in the United States if ByteDance doesn’t find a buyer within a year. TikTok encouraged its users to campaign against the bill before it was passed, calling it unconstitutional and vowing to challenge it in court.

Meanwhile, eMarketer estimates that TikTok’s U.S. ad sales will increase 31% this year to $8.66 billion, accounting for 2.8% of all digital ad spending. Marketing executives say the platform is keen to give advertisers the tools they want. WSJfeatures a variety of ad types, custom products, and branded hashtag “challenges” that encourage users to participate in marketing campaigns.

The platform’s Creative Exchange, launched in late 2021, has made great strides in streamlining brand deals with TikTok influencers. Marketing executives say this and similar tools take advertisers a step further in a way that other competing platforms haven’t.

Even though the US ban will cause significant pain for advertisers, most brands distribute advertising equally across social media and digital companies, so it will continue to do so. No matter where your users are.

For example, many of the ads served on TikTok, which favors vertical videos and “DIY-style” production quality, are already being repurposed on other social media platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

“Many people come to TikTok for the creators on it rather than the platform itself,” said Chris Cheever, director of paid social at media agency Exverus. “So those who can offer creators that kind of opportunity will likely find that their audiences will follow.”