Today's digital-first consumers are increasingly seeking joyful, entertaining, and authentic interaction with their communities, the wider world, and the brands they buy from. With this shift in expectations toward greater authenticity, brands have to seriously consider how to “humanize" their audience engagement.

There’s no better way to inject authenticity and entertainment into your brand marketing campaigns than through working with content creators, who know the platform and its users best. On TikTok, this is amplified with native content championed by a diverse community of creators.

And we have the statistics to prove it. According to a Neuro-Insight study, users find content on TikTok to be 44% more likeable and 15% more engaging than content on other platforms. That means that audiences find TikTok's immersive, sound-on video viewing experience hyper-relevant and highly engaging. The study also found that ads on TikTok are up to 40% more memorable than TV ads. We've also seen that creator branded content outperforms non-native ad creative with 2x more 6s video views and 2x higher engagement rates on TikTok, the home of authentic, joyful interaction.

Below, you'll find three real-life case studies featuring growth brands in Southeast Asia (SEA). Their stories show how they leveraged TikTok Creator Marketplace to find the right TikTok creators for successful collaborations and a winning TikTok creator marketing strategy.

What do fintech company Plentina, online eyewear retailer Peculiar Eyewear, and fashion brand Pomelo all have in common? These three Southeast Asia-based startups wanted to cement their presence among their respective target audiences through seamless, authentic interactions. To achieve their campaign goals, these startups leveraged TikTok's content creator community, as well as Spark Ads – TikTok's native ad display format.

In addition to building brand awareness, Plentina also specifically targeted app installs, while Peculiar Eyewear optimized its campaign for conversions. All three brands ran their creator marketing campaigns on TikTok Creator Marketplace.

First, each of the three brands turned to TikTok Creator Marketplace to work with content creators for their creator marketing campaigns. On our first-party marketplace, brands can search for creators, directly invite them to collaborate and execute on campaigns, and view insights into the creators' audiences and performance analytics. For content creators, it's a way to forge new business connections and secure substantial incomes. Both brands and creators use TikTok Creator Marketplace to work on high-quality partnerships and branded content opportunities.

Plentina sought out two local Filipino creators with direct invites on TikTok Creator Marketplace to help explain its value proposition to its target audience in an approachable way. Eyewear brand Peculiar Eyewear found its ideal, passionate creator @anthonybarion and invited him to produce multiple videos for its campaign. Meanwhile, fashion startup Pomelo identified four fashion-focused creators to collaborate on its Chinese New Year campaign, all via TikTok Creator Marketplace in an effortless manner.

Next, the three startups used TikTok's Spark Ads to amplify the videos the creators had produced for their campaigns. Spark Ads are a native in-feed ad format that takes the content creators' organic TikTok posts and inserts them in users' For-You feed. This unique format lets brands publish creators' content with their authorization, and creates a seamless experience for the TikTok community. This way, all views, comments, shares, likes, and follows gained from amplifying the campaign are also attributed to the organic post. Sparks Ads are proven to boost video views and engagement rates, helping to drive full-funnel success.

With this winning formula, each of the three brands saw highly successful campaigns. Plentina, the Philippines-based fintech startup, attracted more than 20 million video views in less than two weeks, with over 12,000 app installs as a result. That put the campaign’s cost per conversion (CPC) at only 74 US cents.

For Peculiar Eyewear, the eyewear startup, its campaign achieved more than 6.3 million impressions, with brand awareness skyrocketing. Its creator content led to over 3,000 conversions, with an even lower cost per conversion of 69 US cents.

And Pomelo, the startup fashion brand, garnered nearly 5.3 million total video views, with more than 4.9 million impressions, across the four videos it had boosted with Spark Ads. Those videos attracted more than 75,000 likes, meeting their creator marketing objectives.

On TikTok, holiday content never fails to spread joy. From preparations to celebrations, 42% of users in Australia expect to spend more time on TikTok for festive inspiration.(1) And in the lead up to gifting season, creator collaborations are a great way to spark the festive feels and boost sales for brands.

With an easy-to-use interface, thousands of creators at your fingertips and first-party data reporting to analyze campaign performance, TikTok Creator Marketplace gives you everything you need to kickstart your holiday campaigns and connect with customers, through creators, over the festive period.

Demand for holiday content is growing. Across Australia, there are three main things the TikTok community is looking forward to on the platform:

It’s gifting season – and the TikTok community is ready for #ChristmasGiftIdeas. In Australia, 72% say they’re looking forward to finding gifts for friends and family.(1) Users are also feeling extra generous this year: users in Australia are 3.4x more likely to increase their gift shopping budget for Christmas 2022.(1)

While buying gifts for friends and family are high on the list, Australians are also investing in #selfcare this holiday season, with 65% of TikTok users in Australia planning to pamper themselves in the year-end.(1) Australian TikTok users are also 2x more likely to pamper themselves compared to non-users.(1)

From festive parties to family dinners, the holidays are a time for celebration and TikTok users are searching for inspiration on how to get prepped. In Australia, 77% of consumers are looking forward to dining with family and friends, with TikTok users being 1.7x more likely to try new recipes compared to non-users .(1) As they start planning their festive spreads, leverage on TikTok creators to offer grocery inspiration!

Holiday shopping may start as early as September but for the TikTok community, it ramps up in November. In Australia, 7 in 10 TikTok users begin gift shopping 1-3 months before the holidays. Plus, they’re 51% more likely to convince others to buy a product they saw on the platform.(1) Brands should certainly leverage on tapping into creators’ influence and outreach. Partnering with creators ahead of, and during, the November surge gets customers inspired for planning and shopping, boosting festive sales.

On TikTok, creator content not only sparks discovery – it leads to purchases. In Australia, 41% have immediately bought something they discovered on TikTok.(1) Inspiration also pays off: users in Australia spend 45% more when TikTok is part of the purchase journey.(1 )

On TikTok, there’s no start or end to the purchasing path – it’s an infinite loop of discovery, consideration, conversion and post-purchase reviews. So, what’s the most effective way to partner with creators and inspire your audience this holiday season? Here are some key content ideas to try:

• Food and beverage: Involve TikTok food creators to try new Christmas themed recipes (or a spin on traditional dishes) for 12 consecutive days – #12DishesOfChristmas!
• Beauty: Leverage TikTok beauty creators to bring Christmas looks to life with GRWM videos, beauty wish lists or party look inspiration – #ChristmasMakeup.
• Gifting: Lean on local TikTok creators to share their best suggestions on where to shop for gifts, as well as to provide gift wrapping ideas – #ChristmasGiftIdeas.

On TikTok, inspiration is everything. This holiday season, find out how to leverage the power of TikTok Creator Marketplace and kickstart collaborations that are sure to spark festive joy.

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(1) TikTok commissioned survey conducted by Toluna on Christmas behaviors in APAC, n=6,212 (AU results), Jun-Aug 2022.

Having seen the success on TikTok with organic content thanks to the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend, Maybelline New York worked with TikTok creators in Australia to drive additional reach and awareness of their Maybelline Colossal Curl Bounce Mascara launch campaign. The New York city-based leading makeup brand had two specific outcomes in mind:

1. Creating awareness of Maybelline as the best mascara brand on the market

2. Driving awareness of the unique benefits of their new Maybelline mascara, Colossal Curl Bounce

Multinational cosmetics brand, Rimmel London, wanted to drive awareness of their new Rimmel Lasting Finish compact foundation, and educate consumers on the importance of a good base care for long-lasting makeup that stays flawless all day.