Author: Ng Chew Wee, Head of Business Marketing, Asia Pacific at TikTok.

TikTok and TBWA today announced the release of a new whitepaper titled, “Storytelling in the Next Creative Renaissance” which takes an in-depth look at the crucial role creativity and innovation play in contemporary marketing strategies. The Whitepaper highlights the significance and potency of everyday creativity by leveraging the power of the cultural zeitgeist through storytelling, exploring its various applications on and off TikTok.

The paper shares how brands who have broken away from ‘best practices’, have discovered the possibilities on newer platforms, and are being rewarded. These brands are disrupting category conventions, capturing attention, creating on-going value, and gaining recognition.

The rise of new technologies and online platforms has significantly lowered the barriers to create content, resulting in today's consumers evolving. They are now 'prosumers,' actively participating and producing content, not only consuming it, thereby exerting substantial influence. Given this competitive marketing environment, producing culturally relevant audacious creative brand ideas is an imperative. Tessa Conrad, head of innovation, TBWA\Asia shared:“What your brand stands for, what it offers people, and what it makes people feel, results in a community to connect and create with rather than just an audience to speak to.”

TikTok is an exciting place for big brand storytelling and experiences. While brands have the capability to generate a plethora of content, TikTok can augment these experiences, however the real impact hinges on their ability to evoke a response. Brands that focus on the value of authentic engagement across the platform will influence consumer behaviour.

81% of our users take actions such as purchasing a product or seeking more information after watching a TikTok video. This suggests that brands creating relevant, engaging content have a genuine chance to directly influence consumer behaviour.

The whitepaper also highlights the enormous potential for brands to influence across subcultures, as many of these subcultures already have global reach. In fact, as their relevance expands, so will the relevance of the brands already connected to them. While there may also be temptation for brands to hitch themselves to whichever niche has the greatest potential for growth, brands should instead engage with subcultures that share their worldview. Joining these conversations authentically is a shortcut to word-of-mouth promotion.

Brands should harness tech-enabled tools available to supercharge creative minds and tell stories at scale so that brands and marketers can upgrade quickly, giving assets new value, or streamline the creation of bespoke content. Rather than using technology to simply churn more of the same content, this will provide brands and marketers the ability to supercharge their creative minds to tell their impactful, engaging stories at scale.

TikTok has developed and deployed 'Recut, Remix, Reimagine' framework to foster creativity amongst brands and marketers on its platform. Under this framework, TikTok aims to encourage them to go beyond conventional marketing paradigms to not only increase their creative output with the help of technology, but also fine-tune it to align with targeted audiences and distinct subcultures.

The use of cutting-edge tech tools such as CapCut and TikTok Creative Exchange for smarter, more targeted, and efficient creative executions can amplify creative output while simultaneously reducing expenditure. Brands are encouraged to use these solutions to generate content that is highly relevant and interactive for audiences. In fact, as trends are increasingly emerging from the digital sphere and manifesting in real life, the Whitepaper emphasises that marketers who study digital platforms not only acquire valuable cultural insights but also position themselves to effectively benefit from marketing innovation.

As outlined by TikTok and TBWA in the Whitepaper, this is the era of the new Creative Renaissance, where fostering meaningful connections is paramount. While budget constraints ripple towards being risk averse, this approach could prove counterproductive. Rather than diminishing creative ideation, brands and marketers should consider optimising other operational processes to achieve a harmonious balance to reap the most from their marketing strategies.

This project is a key initiative by TikTok and TBWA to elevate industry standards and deliver insights that enable businesses to thrive amidst rapid changes in the digital landscape. The research, insights, and strategies outlined in the Whitepaper highlight the importance of creative risk-taking, consumer engagement, and innovation as critical elements of successful marketing strategies. Download the full Whitepaper here.