Is TikTok’s Advertising Potential Worth The Brand Safety Risk?
Let’s be honest. TikTok
has been on a roller coaster ride since its inception.
Bytedance’s TikTok,
currently valued at $75 Bn, has witnessed admiration, neglection, rejection,
and dejection in a tight timeframe.
Do you remember
Musical.ly? One fine morning, the users of this teen karaoke app woke up to TikTok
on their phones instead of Musical.ly. Yes, TikTok acquired Musical-ly and
rebranded the app.
With a Bn reported users as of February 2019, TikTok is the first Chinese app with
a wide user base, i.e., 14.3 Mn
users in March 2019 in the
States. TikTok is sailing the high tide.
It is currently pushing
paid ads after hosting several successful sponsorships. However, recent controversies
have given rise to concerns around brand safety for businesses. Are you wondering if investing in
TikTok’s Ad Business would be a smart move to grow your brand?
Then you must keep
reading.
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| TikTok |
The Right Audience Exists
The primary user base
for the platform is not just teens; it is the upcoming economy class. Reports
suggest that Gen Z forms a large population of the user base too. This means
that the right audience exists on the platform.
NBA is showcasing the fun side of the game with
behind the scenes footage. Guess’s viral #inmydenim challenge drove engagement
and user interaction for the brand.
United Nations IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) is leveraging TikTok to combat world hunger by
encouraging rural agriculture.
What is common in all of
these brands when they are poles apart? I am glad you asked.
They are putting a creative spin on their messaging.
TikTok is a platform
that doubles up as a tool for new content creators. The evolution of the
platform has been tremendous. From a meme sharing platform, it has evolved as
a contextual video ads platform with a creative edge.
Micro-content is easy to
create, and the inbuilt tools make it convenient - an offering previously
offered with pictures by Instagram!
TikTok Ads Business- A Marketer’s Dream, or A Brand Safety Nightmare?
The idea of
multi-channel marketing through audio-visual content revolves around staying on
the customer’s mind and keeping them informed about the brand. However, when
businesses invest their time, energy, and funds, the initial apprehensions are
obvious.
TikTok is making several
brands think, “Will my brand getting the kind of visibility that I want? ”
Or, is Tik Tok going to
be another platform to expose our brand to the next brand safety debacle?
From
data privacy to encouraging child pornography, the allegations on the platform
have been massive.
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| Brand Safety |
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) levied a hefty
fine of $5.7 Mn for violation of
COPPA: the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The app admitted to
collecting children under 13 years of age to collect email addresses, names,
and other private information with no parental consent. They put an age
verification feature under works but it hasn’t been refined yet. BBC’s investigation and it’s startling discovery does not make the decision
any easier for brands.
In an India High Court,
ByteDance’s legal representative, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Sanghvi rightly pointed out something that led us to a
realization. Data privacy and illicit content continue to exist on leading
social media platforms: just like YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat.
The Sword Dangles in the Air
YouTube, Facebook, and
SnapChat is still updating its data guidelines to find the right mix of
practices. They have been in the business since the last decade.
TikTok will need some
time to find the right mix of tactics that can help brands showcase their
strengths better, as well as, extinguish their concerns around brand safety. However,
the execution on a global level will require time. The early adopters of the
platform will gain an advantage.
But what about today?
Should brands abandon TikTok until the issues are resolved? That’s a big fat
no.
Not in the age of
Artificial Intelligence. Leveraging external platforms that ensure brand safety
through their unique product offerings is the safest bet with a better
conversion rate for your brand.
No business should have
to miss out on the pros because of the cons. The introduction of such products
in the ads business will keep your customers in the loop while keeping brand safety intact.
Is Artificial Intelligence Powered Video Advertising The Answer?
Data-driven artificial intelligence-powered video advertising
solutions can understand the context and are fast becoming an answer to brand safety woes on
platforms like Tik Tok. Through the use of artificial intelligence in video advertising, it is now possible to process
large volumes of data at speed, with better context, at higher scale and improved
targeting efficiencies, while avoiding potentially damaging ad placements.
However, most of these solutions still depend
on the use of natural language processing (NLP) and still carry the limitation of
not truly understanding the complex relationship words have in written or
spoken language. And the biggest limitation for video content lies in the fact
that more often than not, the actual content in a video can be drastically
different than what it is described in words through meta tags and more. For
instance, a 10-minute video might have significant frames featuring smoking or
nudity, but this will most likely be missing from the description. Here, Artificial Intelligence-powered computer vision
technology can play a significant role.
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| Artificial Intelligence |
How Mirrors is making Video Ads Brand Safe
MIRRORS, by SilverPush, is the world’s first in-video
context detection platform for context-relevant video ad placement targeting.
Trained to draw insights from millions of pieces of visual content, MIRRORS use
OTT Computer vision and deep learning to identify faces, objects, actions,
scenarios, logos, and emotions in a streaming video to contextually filter video
content. Helping brands engage with the target audience, while they are
engaging with their interests across social platforms like Tik Tok, without
collecting reams of personal data.
MIRRORS maximize performance through
strategically placing in-stream ads at the moment when the targeted context is
being viewed and through real-time optimization of your in-flight campaigns.
MIRRORS’ Artificial Intelligence-powered in-video context
targeting not only targets context-relevant video content, but it also filters
out unsafe, irrelevant and unsuitable content through MIRRORS SAFE. Providing
you absolute control and transparency to run your video campaigns in the most
relevant environment ensuring complete brand safety.
