As the home of entertainment that drives impact, TikTok is celebrating the brands and creators that have embraced creativity on the platform, at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

With over one billion users every month, TikTok is the place where communities gather, where entertainment, creativity and culture collide and where brands have a unique opportunity to get discovered and drive action among their audiences.

We know that businesses of all sizes are the lifeblood of economies across the world, which is why we're so humbled to see so many of them, across all sectors, thriving on our platform.

On TikTok, content is curated based on what our communities find entertaining. Our community thrives on hearing compelling stories from real people – with the brands that have embraced this ethos seeing significant results. We like to call it "actionable entertainment" – content that is culturally relevant, drives impact and inspires our community.

"With over one billion users using TikTok globally every month, CMOs don't need convincing as to why they should invest in TikTok. It's the place where communities gather, where entertainment, creativity and culture collide and where brands have a unique opportunity to get discovered and drive action among their audiences.

"Yet we can support CMOs when it comes to how to engage these communities on the platform. Marketers need a simplified answer for how to create for TikTok, use our product solutions, and create in a simple and effective way that resonates and drives business goals. Our goal for Cannes is to help marketers, agencies and industry leaders understand how to make the best use of the platform to drive meaningful action among their communities," said Blake Chandlee, President, Global Business Solutions.

At Cannes, we'll be unpacking and celebrating the following concepts that we believe are key to why so many businesses thrive on TikTok:

Influencing culture and driving action both on and off the platform

TikTok has creativity at its core. Creativity is both the source and the result of entertainment on the platform, inspiring communities to take further action. It's creativity among TikTok communities that influences culture, both on and off the platform, with the likes of #BookTok responsible for a rise in book sales across generations and #FoodTok influencing shopping baskets and driving food trends.

Creativity is performance marketing's superpower because compelling, authentic stories drive engagement and real-world impact. Brands that have a finger on the pulse of what their customers are looking for and lean on the platform to inform marketing strategies, product development and trend forecasting, are able to create effective campaigns that drive action.

47% of a brand's sales lift from advertising comes from the creative more than any other element. Alongside this, nearly eight in ten (79%) TikTokers agree TikTok is a place for brands to demonstrate a bit of personality and express themselves (Source: TikTik What's Next 2023).

"From creating attention-grabbing hooks to delivering content with an entertaining narrative, TikTok has all the tools and techniques necessary to simply and easily craft a persuasive story that sells. From easy-to-use video editing functions and platforms to make the entire creative production process simple, to tapping into leading creative experts and partners, we help brands fully embrace creativity and communities as a way to drive performance and drive real impact," said Sofia Hernandez, Global Head of Business Marketing.

Creating a new era of commerce opportunities

The way consumers shop is changing - and it is a growing need to build deeper relationships with brands, before making purchases, that has heralded a new era of commerce opportunities on TikTok. We call this "interest commerce": a new interest-driven discovery culture that blends community, entertainment and shopping to create a seamless journey from product discovery to purchase and beyond.

With our suite of Shopping Ads and TikTok Shop, we're now a commerce ecosystem where brands can reach their audiences and drive them to purchase - all on TikTok. TikTok is a full-funnel solution where brands can be right there to enable anytime shopping moments.

Hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt have reached over 56 billion views and made TikTok a destination for people to discover the biggest trending products across beauty, fashion, food, tech and more.

The platform for creators

TikTok is at the forefront of the still booming creator economy. With a platform that rewards creativity and authenticity whilst also democratizing digital entertainment, TikTok has created an environment that allows creators of any size to stand out and build a following.

Brands and advertisers know this and they understand the value of working with creators from diverse communities and backgrounds since those creators can help them humanize their brand and reach a wider and more engaged audience.

We know that 1 in 2 people on TikTok say they would trust a brand that partners with creators more. This is where the TikTok Creator Marketplace (TTCM) comes in - helping over 800,000 creators connect with advertisers and make branded content that drives impact.

"TikTok Creator Marketplace provides the resources to easily and seamlessly develop TikTok creator marketing campaigns that deliver. We're dedicated to measuring, understanding and empowering the ways in which we can drive actual results for our creators and advertisers and ensure that the marketplace empowers them to accomplish everything they seek to do on our platform — and then some," said Adrienne Lahens, Global Head of Operations of TikTok Creator Marketing Solutions.

The future of creating

Tech continues to transform the way we approach problem-solving, creativity and innovation and we've now reached a point where technology is co-creating with us - making machines an active participant in the creative process.

Last month we started exploring Script Generator, a tool to help streamline the video ad creation process. We also began testing our creative assistant, which is a virtual assistant to support brands through the creative process, as well as our Ad Maker (CapCut) which helps to create templates, keywords and auto-generate script and video to make creating as easy as possible for brands.

The future of creating will need the right people with different perspectives at all levels to help us respond and solve problems. It will see teams challenge the status quo on how we create, opening themselves up to new ideas and creating a two-way dialogue with audiences to create in ways that affect real change.

  1. "Being at the forefront of innovation is core to building the TikTok experience. We are continuously developing solutions to help brands and agencies throughout the entire creative process and continue to innovate in order to stay ahead of the curve.

"We believe that creativity is a brand's most valuable variable and we are committed to building an ongoing smart ecosystem of support, of specialized creative talents and technology that support the creative journey," said Melissa Yang, Global Head of Ecosystem Partnerships.

We're innovating responsibly to drive impactful work

TikTok is a dynamic entertainment ecosystem built on unique connections - between creators, content, brands and community members. Each element makes the other stronger, forming a symbiotic relationship that spurs unparalleled creativity and innovation.

Innovation underpins everything that happens on TikTok and we've held ourselves to the highest standards of quality - tackling complex challenges, doing the right thing for our users and moving the industry forward by challenging the status quo.

Brand safety and trust informs our product journey and roadmap for the future and the safety of our community is our top priority. By protecting our community, we create a positive environment for brands. TikTok is a community like no other and we're looking forward to celebrating our thriving community and what makes our platform unique.

Check out our immersive space at the Carlton Hotel during the Cannes Lions Festival – open to the public from Monday, June 19th – Friday, June 23rd.