Tag: TikTok

Singapore – TikTok has recently announced the launch of the ‘Scam Prevention Edition’ of its Digital Wellness Hub with the goal of providing users with the resources and knowledge to navigate the digital world safely. 

Introduced in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), and the Singapore Police Force (SPF), this initiative aligns with TikTok’s dedication to creating a reliable and secure digital environment for its platform users.

With the Scam Prevention Edition, TikTok will contribute to local scam education and reinforce MHA’s anti-scam ACT (Add, Check, Tell) framework to translate anti-scam awareness into actions. 

This endeavor merges education and entertainment to facilitate engagement with users of all ages on the platform. TikTok will deploy educational messages on scam prevention through various initiatives such as raising awareness through scam identification and prevention challenges as well as a  ‘Shop Safe’ tab that allows users to access educational videos on identifying scams and how to shop safely.

Teresa Tan, head of public policy at TikTok Southeast Asia and Singapore, said, “TikTok has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of scam-related content on our platform. We have implemented policies to guard against scams and take strict enforcement action upon detection. Through the Scam Prevention Edition of the Hub, we hope to strengthen the resources available and build understanding within the community on how it takes a joint effort to keep our platform safe.”

Meanwhile, Gerald Singham, chairman of the Singaporean National Crime Prevention Council, commented, “We are excited to be part of the Scam Prevention Edition of TikTok’s Digital Wellness Hub, which provides useful scam prevention resources to help Singapore residents protect themselves against scams. Through this partnership, we hope to not only raise awareness but also encourage more individuals to take ACTions against scams.”

These efforts are an extension of educational resources available on the Digital Wellness Hub, which was launched in 2022 and anchors all of TikTok’s initiatives around mental wellbeing, cyber wellness, user safety and more.

Singapore – Despite an overall decline in overall engagement on Instagram, the platform still delivers the highest engagement rates for brands compared to Facebook and Twitter. More specifically, brand usage of the platform’s Reels features has risen to 86% this year, according to the latest data from unified customer experience platform Emplifi.

According to the data, despite only 11% of these ads are Reels placements—still, 87% of brands used Instagram Reels for ad placements, at least once in Q2 2023, representing a 26% increase year-over-year.

The rise in Instagram Reels usage amongst brands is also amidst Reels engagement trending downward for the last five quarters, dropping 30% year-over-year in Q2 2023. The competition for engagement on the platform is steep, not to mention the recent deprioritization of Reels by Meta, Instagram’s parent company. 

“These data points make clear how important it is for brands to diversify their social content, embracing more than one channel for their video marketing efforts,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, in comparison to popular platform TikTok, Instagram Reels is still outperforming TikTok content when comparing median reach, median interactions, and median video views. Meanwhile, TikTok wins in terms of median engagement rates when compared to Instagram Reels. 

In addition, while Instagram Reels are exploding, Facebook Reels are not seeing the same traction. In APAC, Facebook Live Video dominates all other video content on the platform, earning nearly four-times the number of interactions compared to static video posts.

The report also noted that Facebook Reels have not been around as long as Instagram Reels, having been released two years after Instagram launched its most popular video format. As more brands cross-post their Instagram Reel content to Facebook, marketers may see a shift in engagement.

Lastly, with all the recent changes happening at Twitter, the platform has been a hot topic among social media marketers and advertisers. For APAC brands wanting to make the most of their activity on the social network, Emplif’s data found that Tweets containing GIFs earned 2.4-times as many interactions as those with links and 1.85-times more than text-based status updates.

Zarnaz Arlia, chief marketing officer at Emplifi, said, “Because the social media landscape is evolving and changing at such a rapid pace, it’s crucial marketers have access to insights that can help them earn the biggest bang for their marketing bucks. A key insight from this report is that despite an ongoing decline in engagement on Instagram last quarter, the platform still delivers the highest engagement rates for brands compared to Facebook and Twitter.”

She added, “It is time marketers fully embrace their video efforts, and that means everything from Instagram Reels and Facebook Live Video to TikTok content and even GIFs on Twitter. Short-form video is exploding and the brands that lean into this trend will gain a major competitive edge. As a leading customer engagement platform, we know that implementing a successful video strategy takes time. That’s why we devote so much of our efforts to creating these reports and sharing this data—we want to help marketers by giving them a headstart on developing social media strategies that will deliver measurable impact.”

Singapore – TikTok has announced a multi-million dollar investment that will be aimed at helping SMBs transition their businesses online and participate in the digital economy. A total of US$12.2m will be used to deliver cash grants, digital skills training, and advertising credits for SMBs, including micro businesses in rural and suburban areas. 

This comes as TikTok continues to grow as a valuable platform for businesses and creators. According to research by the platform, SMBs polled increased their revenue by nearly 50% through selling their products and services on TikTok, and close to four in five businesses (79%) transitioned from offline to online marketing channels using the platform.

“Across Southeast Asia, more than 325 million people come to TikTok every month and 15 million businesses use the platform. The role we’ve played in expanding economic opportunities, education and community-building in this region and around the world is immense. We are excited to see the positive impact TikTok has had and are committed to continuing the work of helping individuals, communities, and businesses grow and thrive,” said Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok. 

Amongst the initiatives TikTok has planned for the SEA region is the ‘Support Local’ programme where over the next three years, it aims to empower micro and small businesses, particularly those in rural areas, who may be new to social commerce. Partnering with more than 25 government agencies and non-profit organisations across the region, the programme will give businesses the opportunity to reach new digital consumers through cash grants, digital skills training, and advertising credits.

In Indonesia, it will be partnering with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Asosiasi Pusat Pengembangan Sumberdaya Wanita (PPSW), Platform Usaha Sosial (PLUS), and Telkom to launch TikTok Jalin Nusantara. Said initiative will establish internet connectivity in community hubs across nine rural villages in East Nusa Tenggara and North Sumatra. Besides strengthening the local digital infrastructure, TikTok Jalin Nusantara will offer training programmes in these villages, as well as in five creative hubs in key tourism and creative economy centres and five Telkom IndigoHubs. 

A partnership is also on the horizon within the Bangkok market which will further support TikTok as a learning platform for users. The company has collaborated with social enterprise Kid Kid, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to raise environmental awareness and action amongst youth in Thailand. This includes educational workshops and challenges on everyday sustainable lifestyle choices, such as waste segregation and energy consumption. The programme is also in line with the company’s goal of increasing educational climate content and achieving operational carbon neutrality by 2030.

Beyond on-platform education, TikTok will continue to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs, particularly youth who may not have equal access to economic opportunities. In partnership with ASEAN Foundation, the Social Enterprise Development Programme will provide capacity building, mentorship, facilitation to market, and seed funding of up to US$320,000 to 20 youth-led social enterprises in the region, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals in Southeast Asia.

“In just over six years, we have created new avenues for income generation for both creators and businesses on the platform. We have also introduced e-commerce channels such as TikTok Shop, which allows SMBs to connect with new consumers and grow their businesses,” said Teresa Tan, head of public policy for Southeast Asia. 

“Our mission to inspire creativity and bring joy is firmly rooted in our desire to enable discovery, growth, and connections among individuals and communities in Southeast Asia. Today’s newly-formed partnerships and initiatives will expand our efforts to empower micro and small businesses who may face limited access to digital resources and opportunities. We are grateful for the support we’ve received throughout the region and are excited about the future impact we can make together,” added Tan. 

With a workforce of close to 8,000 employees across the region, TikTok also shared that it is committed to investing in developing local talent. Initiatives such as the regional TikTok Shop Graduate Development Programme, aimed at building talent for the e-commerce industry, and Singapore’s TikTok Tech Immersion technical boot camp for tertiary-level students, offer opportunities for young tech talent to thrive. 

Singapore – Integral Ad Science (IAS) has announced that it is expanding its partnership with social media platform TikTok, bringing its ‘Total Media Quality’ brand safety and suitability measurement product to advertisers in 23 new markets.

This will be available in the Asia-Pacific markets of Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This expansion further cements IAS’s deep partnership with TikTok and adds to the seven countries where brand safety and suitability measurement went live in October 2022. IAS’s comprehensive coverage reflects the ever-growing popularity of TikTok worldwide and the demand from marketers to have the most actionable data to deliver the biggest return on their advertising spend.

IAS’s ‘Total Media Quality’ for TikTok uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide unique insight into video content through frame-by-frame analysis of images, audio, and text, and can even interpret semantics. This granularity gives marketers the ability to effectively monitor the quality of their media buys on TikTok, providing confidence that their ads are appearing next to content that is brand safe and suitable.

Lisa Utzschneider, CEO at IAS, said, “IAS’s Total Media Quality for TikTok is powered by advanced AI-driven technology that analyzes video content with extraordinary depth, giving advertisers unmatched insights to run the most effective advertising campaigns.”

She added, “This expanded partnership with TikTok is a strong vote of confidence that advertisers around the world rely on IAS to deliver powerful results.”

Meanwhile, Chen-Lin Lee, global head of measurement and data partnerships at TikTok, commented, “TikTok is committed to building a safe environment where communities can express themselves and be entertained. We are excited to expand our partnership with IAS and offer brands around the world best-in-class reporting to ensure video-level transparency in dozens of languages and countries. We look forward to continued collaboration in providing transparency and confidence in TikTok’s ability to present brand messages in safe and suitable environments.”

Sydney, Australia – Ogilvy Network ANZ has announced the launch of TK.Lab, a centralised and end-to-end specialist capability that aims to help brands deliver impact and reach new audiences on TikTok. 

TK.Lab will develop organic, paid, and creator-led TikTok strategies for local and global brands operating in the region. Capabilities include strategy, creative, sound, media, commerce, influence, and intelligence provided by a team of specialists from across the Ogilvy Network.

“Most marketers are aware of TikTok’s massive potential and are keen to engage with its highly engaged audience and active communities, launching or scaling their brand presence on the platform. We have the know-how and want to help our clients master the specific codes of TikTok, find true cultural resonance and create impact,” said Dan Young, managing director for consumer PR and influence at Ogilvy.

“TK.Lab combines expertise and talent from across Ogilvy with a creator network and redesigned agency and creative workflows that align with the pace and cultural pulse of TikTok. With millions of monthly users in Australia, high rates of engagement and relatively unique audience, the opportunities for brands that get it right are significant.”

TK.Lab will integrate proprietary data and intelligence tools, including Trends Tracker and Karma, which analyse brand performance on the platform, with a suite of products and solutions that educate and inspire marketing teams as they begin their journey onto the platform. 

Ogilvy will leverage its close connections with marketing and creative teams at TikTok and the TK.Lab Creator Network – a community of over 30 AUNZ TikTok creators that can be deployed quickly to co-create for TK.LAB client projects and campaigns. 

“At TikTok, we’re thrilled to see the launch of TK.Lab from Ogilvy Network ANZ. With its team of specialists, TK.Lab will help brands navigate the unique cultural pulse of TikTok and create impactful strategies that resonate with our highly engaged audience. We’re excited to see what they’ll achieve for their clients and look forward to working closely with them,” said Brett Armstrong, GM of global business solutions at TikTok Australia.

TK.Lab launched on 23 May at an exclusive Sydney event called ‘What the Tok!’ designed for CMOs, senior brand marketers, and social leads. The event features speakers from TikTok Australia, Big Sync Music, and an Australian creator.

The Ogilvy Network ANZ TK.Lab team is the latest addition to a growing global TK.Lab network which includes presence in more than 20 markets across Europe, South Africa, North America, Latin America, and South-East Asia, and supported by execution centres in Brussels and Cape Town. 

TK.Lab has helped organizations such as Mondelēz, Ford, Unilever, L’Oréal and The Coca-Cola Company establish their global presence on TikTok.

Sally Kissane, CEO of Ogilvy Network ANZ, concluded, “We already have the know-how and talent within the Ogilvy network who live and breathe TikTok, which has a unique pace and cultural dynamism that requires its own specialist approach. TK.Lab is about bringing those experts together in a centralised offering to directly benefit our clients.

“We’re excited by the prospect of helping brands go beyond conventional approaches, question the rules of consumer engagement and use the fastest growing entertainment platform the best way possible. It’s all part of Ogilvy’s focus on providing our clients with opportunities that go beyond the norm, and an ability to change and evolve to create true impact.”

Singapore – Hepmil Creators’ Network (HCN), one of Southeast Asia’s leading digital creator community and part of Hepmil Media Group, has announced that it is to be a badged as a TikTok Creative Marketing partner specialising in Creator Marketing.

Under the program, brands can work with HCN to create content optimised for TikTok and clients will be able to access all offerings of TikTok Creator Marketplace. Brands can likewise tap into TikTok’s first-party audience insight, growth trends, best-performing videos, and much more to identify the right creators for creator and paid advertising campaigns.

With the partnership, HCN plans to double the number of creators within the Network this year and is also expanding its operations to Thailand and Vietnam to help brands operating in these markets kickstart hyperlocal TikTok campaigns with its pool of creators. In addition, HCN is also widening its scope, and evolving to become a talent agency for creators who are exclusive to the Network. 

“TikTok is now a key platform for brands to engage their audiences in an authentic way. For brands to resonate with their audiences, they must have content that strikes a chord. Many turn to creators for advocacy, but it’s more important to have a pulse on what’s trending within the TikTok community, such that branded content can drive desired marketing impact,” said Cassi Yang, regional general manager at Hepmil Creators’ Network.

Yang further added that being badged as TikTok’s creative marketing partner is proof of the Group’s capabilities in delivering ‘content that sticks’.

“With our network of creators and onground teams who have a pulse of what works and trends, we have been able to offer our clients solutions that resonate with their target audience. The mark of accreditation by TikTok will only further our abilities to provide services that are effective, but more importantly, content that is optimised to resonate,” added Yang.

Adrian Man, director of ecosystem partnerships, APAC and MENA at TikTok also said, “Badging Hepmil Creator’s Network is a milestone for the region’s digital media capabilities, and acknowledging that homegrown network can deliver solutions for brands that can resonate in a region has a diverse audience.”

Man added, “Creators are the lifeblood of our platform, and we’re constantly thinking of new ways to make it easy for them to connect and collaborate with brands. We’re thrilled to be integrating with an elite group of trusted partners to help brands discover and work with diverse creators who can share their message in an authentic way.”

HCN joins influencer marketing and content creation platform Vamp, marketing services company Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs, and ad platform Nativex, amongst others, as one of TikTok’s marketing partners.

Singapore – AnyMind Group, the end-to-end commerce enablement company with a focus on Asia, is now officially part of TikTok’s marketing partners program, and will specifically join the list of enablers under the platform’s assistance for creative to brands. Through this, brands will now be able to plan and execute TikTok creator marketing campaigns within the group’s influencer marketing platform AnyTag. 

Through the integration, brands that use AnyTag will be able to access all the features of the TikTok Creator Marketplace (TTCM) – the official platform for brand and creator collaborations on the short-video platform. Brands will be able to tap into TikTok’s first-party insights on audience demographics, growth trends, and best-performing videos, amongst others to identify the right creators for creator and paid advertising campaigns.

In addition, marketers can tap on AnyTag to understand a creator’s posting insights – including the best times for a creator to publish a post to get the highest user engagement. The integration also omits the need for marketers to toggle between TTCM and AnyTag to run influencer marketing campaigns with different groups of influencers, with AnyTag now having integrated capabilities for influencer discovery, campaign activation, campaign management, tracking, and reporting for TTCM campaigns.

Purwa Jain, managing director of product growth for AnyMind Group, said, “TikTok is an entertainment platform that we’ve worked with across various levels, from market entry and on-the-ground collaborations to tech integrations, to help marketers and creators to glean increased value from both our companies and corresponding platforms. We’re looking to expand the partnership to enable marketers to leverage TikTok even more effectively, ultimately driving forward the ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, Adrian Man, director of ecosystem partnerships for APAC & MENA at TikTok, shared that creators as the lifeblood of the platform make TikTok constantly think of new ways to make it easy for them to connect and collaborate with brands. 

“We’re thrilled to be integrating with an elite group of trusted partners to help brands discover and work with diverse creators who can share their message in an authentic way,” Man said. 

At present, AnyTag enables marketers to discover influencers, and activate, manage, track and attribute influencer marketing campaigns, including affiliate marketing campaigns that leverage influencers.

Aside from AnyTag, AnyMind Group has also developed connections for its other platforms with TikTok. In August 2022, its e-commerce management platform, AnyX, was connected with TikTok Shop to help businesses and online merchants improve cross-channel operational efficiency on even more e-commerce channels across Asia, including e-commerce marketplaces, brand.com sites, and social commerce platforms.

Australia –TikTok now allows online gambling company Sportsbet to advertise to its Australian users over the age of 21. Despite its advertising policy prohibiting any gambling-related content, TikTok is now breaking its own rules by allowing sports betting that has obtained permission from TikTok via an application process to be promoted on its platform.

According to a report by ABC, TikTok stated that the ads were only shown to users over the age of 21, but experts said this would be hard to regulate. TikTok also stated that the recurrence of the advertisements would be limited and that an “opt-out feature” would be implemented.

Even with a ‘strictly controlled advertising pilot’, as a Tiktok spokesperson stated, young people will undoubtedly see the advertisements and viral videos created about joining the races.

According to Tiktok’s guidelines, ‘TikTok defines a minor as any person under the age of 18.’ However, Sportsbet will be advertised to users over the age of 21. Although TikTok has a great mechanism for guaranteeing filtered content for its users, it is simple to modify your birthdate to appear older when creating an account for the platform.

TikTok also stated that it employs a variety of methods, including a safety moderation team that monitors accounts where users are suspected of lying about their age. In Australia, the minimum user age is 13, with accounts under 16 barred from direct messaging, hosting live streams, or appearing in the For You feed. 

According to the TikTok Guardian’s Guide, ‘if someone tries to create an account but does not meet our minimum age requirement, we suspend their ability to create another account using a different date of birth.’

Singapore – TikTok is reinforcing its commitment to fostering a safer space for mental health conversations with new educational and inspiring content added to its ‘Digital Wellness Hub’. This was shaped in consultation with experts and mental health advocates as well as with results from a joint survey with market research firm YouGov. 

The survey, which was geared towards further understanding local and cross-generational attitudes towards mental well-being, underscored the need for greater mental wellness support ecosystems amongst adults above 18. In particular, it uncovered people’s comfort levels in talking about their own mental health. 

The research specifically found that 59% of respondents in Singapore expressed fear that their loved ones would not be able to help if they talked to them about the topic, whilst 64% stated they are afraid that being open about their mental well-being will negatively affect their future prospects at work.

Taking into account people’s current dilemma when it comes to their mental health, TikTok has introduced new content to its in-app ‘Digital Wellness Hub’ – a one-stop portal that anchors all of its educational initiatives around well-being and cyber wellness – to further bolster its mental health offerings to the local community.

Teresa Tan, TikTok’s director of public policy for Singapore and SEA, said, “While significant strides have been made to build and reinforce mental health support systems in Singapore, more needs to be done to help our local community feel less afraid of judgment and more empowered to actively seek help. These safeguards span across all areas, from people in the community, policies, and platforms like ours.”

The newly improved Hub also includes a new ‘Creator Spotlight’ series, featuring local mental health advocates like Adeline Tay, Samantha Ng, Jeannette Qhek, and Nava Neetha, amongst others, to inspire audiences in the community with their personal journeys. Local users will also be encouraged to continue sharing their own stories with the hashtag #mentalhealthawareness.

These initiatives are set to further expand the wellness community on the platform, including non-profit organisation (NPO) partners, such as CARE Singapore, Fei Yue Community Services, Samaritans of Singapore, and TOUCH Community Services, as well as the participants and alumnus across TikTok-driven programmes like ELEVATE and Youth for Good. 

The newly-added initiatives will complement existing safeguards in TikTok, including in-app well-being guides that have been developed in consultation with experts, to provide a holistic support ecosystem for all. 

“At TikTok, we firmly believe in the power that an inclusive community wields in breaking down stigmas and driving important conversations around mental health. With the continued support of our non-profit partners, we endeavour to keep growing our peer support ecosystem on the platform, providing our wellness creators with safe spaces and resources to express themselves authentically, seek help, and support others,” Tan added.

Singapore – Integral Ad Science, global solutions for digital media quality, has announced the addition of a post-bid brand safety and suitability measurement solution to its ongoing partnership with TikTok.

Through an integration with the IAB Tech Lab’s Open Measurement Software Development Kit (OM SDK), IAS provides advertisers campaign insights into brand safety and brand suitability aligned to Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) standards on the TikTok platform in select markets. 

The new partnership allows brands and agencies to effectively monitor the quality of their media buys on TikTok, giving advertisers confidence that their media investments across TikTok are appearing next to content that is brand safe and suitable.

“We are excited to continue to grow our partnership with TikTok and provide valuable tools that allow brands to make the most of their pre-bid and post-bid campaigns,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS. 

Utzschneider added, “As one of the largest video platforms, offering a holistic solution for advertisers planning their digital ad campaigns with the platform is more important than ever.” 

IAS’ current TikTok brand safety solution provides comprehensive brand safety measurement and protection on TikTok for pre-bid ad placement in select markets.

The post-bid brand safety measurement offering will provide third-party measurement which gives advertisers campaign insights of the content ads appeared adjacent to. Powered by the OM SDK, which is owned and governed by IAB Tech Lab with IAS being a founding member, the OM SDK is designed to facilitate transparent third-party viewability and verification measurement for ads served to mobile apps and open web environments. 

Furthermore, it offers an industry-aligned safety and suitability measurement in line with Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) categories and floor, which provides clear insights. It also promises a 100% artificial intelligence and machine learning brand safety technology, which combines video, audio, and text to accurately classify content on the feed at scale. 

“At TikTok, we strive to create the most trusted environment for brands, built on a foundation of safety, transparency and accountability. We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with IAS to offer both pre- and post-bid brand safety solutions to businesses of all sizes,” said Melissa Yang, head of ecosystem partnerships at TikTok. 

She added, “Bringing IAS on board as a global brand safety and suitability measurement partner will give our brands the confidence they need to ensure they are protecting their brand reputation.”