The cornerstone of TikTok for Business is the key to effectively marketing to Gen Z as identified by the motto, “Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks.” It’s not just about self-promotion for the platform that has had explosive growth over the past year but about meeting the expectations of a generation that is responsive to marketing that moves it. Not to what feels like an ad.
Draw in Gen Z with creative content
Marketers “should create ads that don’t feel like ads,” according to Gen Z in 2020: How to Advertise to the New Digital Natives. That’s the conclusion it draws from research into what draws positive attention from Gen Z.
Drawing on a 2017 study by Time Inc., Media Post says Gen Zers “want to see brands do something new, unique, or creative to get their attention.” Also 88% agree that it’s “a good way for new brands it hasn’t heard of to reach them.”
The numbers are equally impressive for the responses on engagement: “the study found that 90% of those polled like the idea of custom content as a way for brands to engage them, 89% believe that custom content is a great way for brands to break through the clutter.”
How can brands create this kind of custom content that engages Gen Z? Performance art appears to be a pretty effective approach, as it taps into this generation’s passions.
These were the findings of market research company, Millward Brown: “Gen Z are dramatically more passionate about music and movies. Ads placed in these contexts are far more powerful with this group, with 39% of Gen Z saying music makes them more positive to advertising and 38% reporting that movies have the same effect.”
Likely that is due to the emotional pull that music and movies have on audiences. When we listen to or watch something that really resonates with us, it makes a very deep impression, which is why it can prove so effective for marketing.
Music and marketing, a natural pairing
This is the background of that approach Movers+Shakers takes in creating custom content for marketing, particularly aimed at Gen Z and millennials. The company’s CEO, Evan Horowitz, shared the secret sauce of its campaigns’ success: joyful marketing.
What underlies their approach is the understanding that “consumers want to be entertained,” he said. “Anything that feels like an ad is a turnoff.” That’s why at Movers + Shakers, the content produced for brands is entertaining with music selected to resonate with the style of the brand and its audience.
“It’s a very much positive emotion to connect back to the brand to drive brand love,” he said.
His company’s mission is sparking joy, he says. The feeling one gets when they hear a song that they want to hear over and over again because it makes them feel uplifted.
That joyful experience is what audiences come away with when they experience the custom content infused with original music that is catchy, memorable, and culturally relevant to the brand. That is why their ads are not like ads but mini musicals delivered on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.
The choice of platform and format would be determined by the preferences of the target audience. Their brands often aim to attract the attention of Gen Z, and so TikTok, a platform with music at its core, has been a favored means of connection.
“The idea of using joy to make your marketing more powerful is universal,” Horowotiz observed, “People of all generations look for that positive energy.”
That evoked the memory of commercial jingles that date back to the days of radio. He conceded that there are some similarities. “In some ways this is the modern jingle, though jingles were shorter and kitchier,” they also aspired to become “stuck in your head.” he said. They also seek out musical composition that will become “earworms,” that keep playing in your head.
Cool factor from cultural relevance
But the major difference between their approach to branding through music and the brand jingles that stick in our heads eleven decades later is that quality of being “culturally relevant.” Associating a brand with popular culture makes it more appealing to today’s generation and give it that “cool factor.”
For example, the song the Movers+Shakers agency commissioned for e.l.f. Cosmetics that launched as a brand TikTok challenge took off spectacularly. It really was a simple concept, centering the song around the words “eyes, lips, face” which is what e.l.f. stands for. It had original music, in this case of the hip-hop variety.
It became the most viral campaign on TikTok, drawing almost 5 million user-generated videos, as well as videos from celebrities like Lizzo, Ellen, and Reese Witherspoon who were not paid for their performances. The campaign spread organically through additional social media channels, and the music track was so popular that they made it available on Spotify and iTunes, where it was #4 on Spotify’s Global Viral charts.
The video version of the full song hit a full billion views. But they also got a huge amount of free press with media coverage from the likes of Vogue, Rolling Stone, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Vox, Adweek, and Forbes.
Musical selection: one size does not fit all
As they work with original music, they need a lot of musical talent with a range that can fit different needs for different brands. Horowitz confirmed that they have a huge network of composers they work with, and they like to handpick the musical talent based on the brand personality and the campaign they’re running.
That’s a challenge because when brands first come to them, they usually don’t know how to identify the sound of their brand. They can say what it looks like or what it says, he said, “but not what it sounds like in music.” The key is finding a piece of music that will “bring the brand to life.”
Finding that piece entails a process that begins with finding the right genre, say jazz or hip-hop, and then proceeding to “fine-tune” and presenting the clients with a number of music demos. The selection is then refined into a finished musical composition or an album.
Matching the music
Among the major success stories for Movers +Shakers is what they call Match.com the Musical. As you can see in the comments on the video, viewers were very engaged by the mini film that carried enough of a story through the songs that it came across as entertainment rather than advertising.
“Match presents a tale of modern romance and how finding the right someone just makes you want to sing!” is how the video is described.
Horowitz explained that to fit the vibe that Match.com was aiming for in trying to make online dating sound appealing and romantic, they worked through an allusion to “Summer Nights” from the musical Grease with the more updated sensitivity of La La Land. The combination delivered “the emotional proposition of spark and chemistry” that resonated with the millennial target audience.
It worked because the video captured the excitement and hopefulness sparked by “meeting someone special,” which makes up the “emotional experience” that Match.com offers as its value proposition. Viewer engagement with the video didn’t just translate into repeated views of the ad but “drove a ton of signups for Match,” Horowitz said.
Musical revival
There’s more than one form of musical revival, and we are certainly in a time that cries out for revival. The crises people across the globe have encountered in 2020 make it an even greater imperative to deliver joy now, Horowitz insists.
He declares that he’s “proud of being part of a company that puts joyfulness and positivity in the world.” It’s not just about making people feel good, though. It’s also “very effective marketing because consumers want that joyful positivity in messaging.”
When a brand can deliver that by driving an emotional story that engages the audience, it draws a very positive reaction.
