Marketing Insights from TikTok Viral Successes

Ah! You guys know I love a masterclass in marketing. And, this is it. Let’s unpack. A woman posted a video on TikkyTok that showed her car absolutely demolished by a fire but her Stanley cup was still standing strong - even the ICE hadn’t melted. Unknowingly, she had just created a superbowl worthy ad. The brand took notice and the President created a stitch not just offering to send her product, but to replace her entire CAR. To most folks, this looks like a brand is being incredibly generous, and sure - it’s a generous move - but it’s also brilliant. The whole thing costs them 1/10th of a television ad. Searches for Stanley have skyrocketed since their response. A few more takeaways - 👉🏽 Relevance is the hardest thing to accomplish for most brands these days. Stanley 1913 is literally a hundred year old brand that sells not the most exciting of goods - like tumblers. This allowed them to immediately gain relevance. 👉🏽 They are using what I call the Jaguar Effect. This isn’t a moment that sparked and all of a sudden they ran out to meet it. No. This is the result of years of patience and listening and building a brand. When the moment came, they were ready - and it shows. 👉🏽 The response came from leadership. No doubt the team's fingerprints are all over this, but it's powerful that the President responded and showed great empathy. Today’s leadership is held to a higher standard than ever before. It’s the digital standard. #marketingstrategy #marketing #ceoinsights #earnedmedia #socialmedia

I, like most of the U.S., was part of the 197 Million views on TikTok following ReesaTeesa's "Who TF Did I Marry" chronicle -- a personal story recounted by a woman who met, married, and quickly divorced a Prince Charming who turned out to be a pathological liar, possible narcissist, and convicted felon. But what made this go viral? Great content + relatable storytelling and delivery + being where the audience is (TikTok). For reference, this year's Super Bowl averaged 123.4 Million views across all platforms, up 7% from last year, with brands paying upwards of $7 Million for a 30-second spot, not including the production costs of the spot itself. How much did it cost ReesaTeesa to shoot her story on her iPhone and effectively garner more views (197 Million on TikTok alone) than the Super Bowl? Nowhere near $7 Million. As marketers and creators, we know that content trumps everything. And this is proof positive of that, yet again. But even more so, it points to the importance of platform, delivery, and customer insights. Good content for content's sake is not enough anymore in a world where media consumption is everywhere all the time. The question is no longer just *what* are you creating, but for who and where. While there is no magic equation for the perfect media spend, content, platform and delivery to churn out maximum ROI, marketers should be pushing this conversation constantly, taking a second or third look at media plans and content strategy, and investing heavily in customer insights to land the right content, at the right time, and in the right place. P.S. If you haven't seen "Who TF Did I Marry?", get on TikTok, pour yourself a glass of wine, and buckle up for the ride! #Marketing #ReesaTeesa #ContentStrategy #Insights

By now you've likely heard about the most talked-about serialized drama since, well, "Serial," which blew up over the weekend on TikTok: the 52-part TikTok series called "Who TF Did I Marry" that chronicles one woman's wild story of meeting, marrying and divorcing a pathological liar. It has since racked up millions of views and propelled endless conversation. The story itself, from a creator named @reesamteesa contains jaw-dropping multitudes (read The Cut's analysis, linked in comments, to go down a rabbit hole). But perhaps as compelling as the content are the *many other stories* about the state of media, entertainment and tech today that the explosive popularity of this series tells us. Here are a few: 📣 The story about TikTok successfully edging in on Netflix's territory: Despite all the talk of short attention spans, long-form content is having a moment. Even TikTok, known for short-form video, is prioritizing it (the platform has said that people spend half their time watching videos longer than 60 seconds). Reesa's series totals over 500 minutes of content, and people are consuming it with the same obsessiveness as a true crime doc, often on their TV screens, just like their favorite Netflix shows. 📣 The story about how TikTok can still make viral stars: A few days ago, Reesa Teesa was at 600k followers. Now she's at 2.4M with over 20M likes on her content. What other platform could that happen on today? The growth potential on TikTok is unmatched (yet oh so elusive for many). 📣 The story about the expectation that brands will participate in culture: Reesa references brands like BMW Group, Zillow, The Home Depot and more in her tale. Right on cue, people are calling out all of these brands in the comments (and on other platforms) asking them hook Reesa up with merch. Whether or not the brands deliver on these requests, the consumer expectation is that they will--an expectation that did not exist even a couple of years ago (so far, it appears that Delta Air Lines offered Reesa a trip to London). 📣 The story about the impact of TikTok virality on Google search: Searches related to topics mentioned in the videos, such as "arena football" have steadily increased in the last few days. And "who tf did I marry was also the top trending "marriage" search in the US over the past week (!) 📣 The story about the power of participatory media: We all know that shared cultural experiences are rare today. So when they happen, I'd argue they carry more weight. Especially since we need powerful moments of connection that spark joy more than ever. The fan analysis and sleuthing of Reesa's story (fans revealed the identity of Reesa's ex-husband, for example) has a participatory intensity reminiscent of die-hard Swifties, and I'm here for it. Now your turn: What other stories about the about the state of the media and technology platforms today does the popularity of this series tell us? #tiktok #socialemediamarketing #longformcontent