Here is a deliverable that I presented to the Senior Consultants of R3. It included a holistic company analysis of the app TikTok.

1. www.rthree.com
TikTok: A Revamp of Vine?
By Julian Tedja
9 July 2019

2. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Table of Contents
2
TikTok: Company Profile and Overview
Features. Benefits. Watch-Outs.
Target Audience Profile
How Can Marketing Leverage the App
Which Brands Are Using It?
Miscellaneous/Personal POV
1
SWOT Analysis
2
3
4
5
6
7

3. 3
Company Profile
1

4. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok: An Introduction
4
TikTok is the world’s leading
destination for short-form
mobile videos.
What is It?
Mission Statement?
Capture and present the world’s creativity,
knowledge, and moments in everyday life.
Purpose?
Empower everyone to be a creator from
their smartphones and build a community
by encouraging creative
expression.

5. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok’s Company
Profile
5
TikTok was able to capitalize on a need for both individuals
and communities to share snackable content and
disseminate this through a seamless platform.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is worth
TikTok is essentially the international counterpart to Chinese
counterpart app Douyin.
TikTok has grossed over $75 Million
Dollars(USD) through in-app purchases since
inception.
75 Billion
Dollars(USD).

6. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Tiktok’s Meteoric Rise
To Popularity
6
2016 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2018 2019
September –
ByteDance launched
Douying for the China
market.
January – TikTok and
Douyin are labeled as
exclusively separate
entities.
November –
ByteDance spent $1
Billion to purchase
musical.ly.
Q1 – Most Downloaded
App in Apple Store/ 6th
Most Downloaded App
In World with Google
Play and Apple Store.
August – TikTok merged
with musical.ly, creating
a larger video
community.
October – 500
million TikTok
monthly active
users globally.
September - TikTok
launched in the
United States.
Q1 – TikTok was the
third most downloaded
app in the world, with
over 190 million
downloads.

7. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok’s Finances and
Revenue Model
7
• Bloomberg has reported
that ByteDance has not
yet reported a profit on
TikTok
• 2018 Target Revenue was
over $7 Billion
USD
• Rumors of the
Company Going
Public this Year
• In-App Purchases of
Coins, starting from 100
for $.99 and up to 10,000
for $99.99
• Musical.ly had a similar
profit model and took
20% from each
transaction
• Users are able to give coins to
their favorite TikTok Creators,
who are then able to
exchange these for virtual
gifts

8. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Key Facts and Figures
8
• More Users on
Android than iOS
• 26.5 of the
500 million
global
monthly
users are
from the US
• 66% of Users are
Younger than 30
• Users spend
approx. 52 min per
day on the App
• 29% of monthly
users open TikTok
Every Day
• In-App Purchases
increase by 275%
year after year
30• 43% of
TikTok’s total
user base is
located in
India

9. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Simplicity
What Makes It Differentiated from
the Competition?
9
1
Scope
2
Savings
3
An easy-to-use
interface that
optimizes on the idea
of the dissemination of
content for tribes to
enjoy.
Substantial international
market entry, universal
user applications, and
unlimited potential for
various niche forms of
marketing.
By relying on user generated
content, localized marketing, and
hashtag campaigns, TikTok has
been able to organically grow
substantially without significant
investment into digital
marketing/advertising

10. 10
Features, Benefits,
Watch-Outs
2

11. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Features, Benefits, Watch-Outs
11
The app allows for users to share videos of 3-15
seconds and looping videos of 3-60 seconds.
Offers wide selection of sounds and song
snippets, with the option for special effects and
filters
Creation of a larger variety of videos, ranging from challenges, dance
videos, funny videos, and magic videos, giving it a substantial
competitive factor versus Musical.ly
Ability to publish longer videos than the
constraint of 6-second videos established by
previous incumbent Vine
TikTok has faced scrutiny over issues of illegal data collection on
children and being a haven where online predators lurk to exploit the
underaged
As of May 2019, Indian politicians called for a ban on
TikTok, as the Indian government put greater pressure
on Google and Apple to sanction the app for
pornographic and pedophilic charges
Features
Benefits
Watch-Outs

12. 12
SWOT Analysis
3

13. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
SWOT Analysis
13
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
• Massive Virality of Easy-To-Produce
Content
• Clear Target Market of Expressive
Young Adults
• Network Effects
• AI Backed Recommendation
Engine/Customer Database
• Capitalize on the mass market
hole that was created with the
decline of Vine
• Mobile Internet Users easily driven
into the short video format
• Growth Opportunities in both
Developed and Developing
Nations
• Snapchat. Wickr. Snow. Instagram.
Facebook Messenger. Tons of Direct
Competitors.
• Douyin also many competitors in
China’s short video platform market
• Internet players encroaching on this
space
• Lack of Proprietary Technology
• Questionable Customer Loyalty
• Prone to Legal Scandals and
Susceptible to Wavering Brand
Perception
• Unclear Profit Model and Monetization
• Weak Content Filtration System
• Disincentive for Users to follow
Corporate Accounts

14. 14
Target Audience
Segmentation
4

15. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok’s Key Audiences
15
• Most of the Data Aggregated Regarding
TikTok’s Market Segments can be
analyzed through Douyin’s Metrics
• 41% of global users are aged 16-24,
TikTok is heavily targeting the Millennial
and Generation Z Demographics
• Age Segmentation, as opposed to other
types of market segmentation, is
particularly vital for TikTok
• There is also a differentiation based on
gender, as over 66% of TikTok’s Chinese
users are female
• Countries With the Largest TikTok
Database In Order: India, USA, Turkey,
Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, France, Germany

16. 16
How Can Marketing
Leverage the App?
5

17. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok’s Inaugural SEA
Marketing Summit
17
Key Takeaways:
• Three-pronged monetization strategy
of working with brands, content
creators, and localizing content, ex.
#thisissingaporelah campaign
• In Singapore, the hashtag challenge
is the most popular ad format
• Brands with TikTok profiles can
already measure reach and
engagement, can also use creators
who track affiliate links to measure
sales
• Planning to introduce shoppable ads
and one-click shopping globally in
near future
• TikTok failed to address brand safety
issues when execs took the stage

18. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok and
Influencer Marketing
18
• Huge number of micro-influencers available
on the platform
• Brands like Coca Cola, Universal Pictures,
Sony Pictures, and Google have already
worked with Popular TikTok Users
• Should be of particular use to brands looking
to expand their global audiences
• For marketers,
1-Launching challenges and contests with
hashtags will boost brand engagement, and they
work very well on the app
2-Partnering with influencers directly,
despite in an infant stage, has shown evidence
of highly engaged community
• Rumors of native ad testing, targeting
options, and viewability measurement tools

19. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok and Social Media
Marketing
19
• TikTok showed Indian brands how to
harness the power of User
Generated Content in Marketing at
ad:tech New Delhi, a leading digital
marketing advertising conference
early in 2019
• SINC – Short-form, influencer driven,
native and co-created – this
addresses diverse advertising
• Potential for Low-Cost, Viral
Marketing Campaigns
• Use of Creative Storytelling which
has resulted in higher interaction
rates
• Less competition for early adopters,
meaning a cheaper alternative to
platforms like Snapchat and
Instagram
• Seen as a more organic play for
digital marketing

20. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
TikTok and Location-
Based Marketing
20
• Many opportunities for TikTok and
business to collaborate on co-
branded experiences tied to brick—
and-mortar locations
• TikTok should leverage location-
based services, just as shown in the
examples below:
• Burger King could challenge
TikTok users to post stories in
different BK locations
• Firms could provide location-
based branded filters, as seen
on Snapchat
• Events like Coachella could
provide event based
promotions, based on
attendance fluctuations and on
certain times of the day

21. 21
Which Brands Are
Using It?
6

22. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Case Study
22
• TikTok launched a promotion with Lootcrate to
increase consumer awareness and attempt to
lower customer acquisition costs
• Lootcrate is a subscription-based service that
providers fandom enthusiasts a box full of
gaming goodies on a monthly basis
• With each friend recommended that
successfully converts onto the platform, that
user gets a free Lootcrate
• This partnership received a lot of exposure on
Reddit, which was able to redirect customers
to this offer as well
The Intent

23. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Case Study
23
• Launched the #UTPlayYourWorld in-app challenge,
a global marketing campaign
• Ran from June 25th to July 11th and invited users
to share “UT moments” while wearing their
favorite UNIQLO UT outfit
• UT is UNIQLO’s collection of T shirts inspired by
pop culture
• Intention of building brand associations with a
wide variety of audiences
• To be eligible, participants needed to select the
music #UTPlayYourWorld, film the video on TikTok,
use the hashtag, and follow UNIQLO’s TikTok
account
The Intent

24. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Case Study
24
• Guess launched a partnership with TikTok to
launch branded content in the US
• Targeted towards Millennials and Gen Z
• Urged these demographics to post videos with
this promoted hashtag
• Merchandise worn by popular social
influencers on Instagram
• Sought stronger foothold in the US as well as
greater market share of Chinese tourists who
visit the US looking to buy apparel
The Intent

25. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Case Study
25
• This co-sponsorship launched #MyTikTokStory,
a campaign surrounding diversity
• Encouraged Indian users to create 15 sec.
videos around their personal passions/identity
• ScoopWhoop is India’s leading youth media
platform for lifestyle and Entertainment
• Sattvik Mishra, Co-Founder and Ceo of
ScoopWhoop Media, “TikTok has taken over
the Indian audience in a unprecedented
manner and the craze is only growing bigger.
We will be debuting further unique contents
exclusively made for the TikTok audience.
The Intent

26. 26
Personal Point of
View
7

27. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES 27
• Personally, I do think that TikTok is the
second coming of Vine, albeit with greater
international scalability.
• I see potential synergies with entertainment
tech companies, such as Discord or Twitch,
for Tiktok.
• I see major legal challenges ahead for
TikTok that need to be addressed
immediately, especially concerning the
issues regarding data mining, child
predation and pornography
My Point of View

28. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Works Cited
28
https://www.businessofapps.com/data/tik-tok-statistics/
https://walkthechat.com/how-did-tiktok-become-the-first-chinese-app-to-succeed-oversea/
https://influencermarketinghub.com/tiktok-statistics/
https://www.quora.com/Who-uses-TikTok-What-is-their-demographic
https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/30/18107732/bytedance-valuation-tiktok-china-startup
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TikTok
https://mediakix.com/blog/top-tik-tok-statistics-demographics/
https://www.similarweb.com/website/tiktok.com
https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/musically-statistics/
https://www.emarketer.com/content/what-s-behind-the-sudden-growth-of-tiktok
https://musically.com/2019/06/11/tiktok-now-has-120-million-monthly-active-users-in-india/
https://musically.com/2019/05/17/tiktok-was-the-third-most-downloaded-app-globally-in-q1-2019/
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-is-rising-but-will-it-be-a-relevant-platform-for-brands/549376/
https://www.aicy-create.com/douyin-tik-tok-branding-china/
https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/guess-launches-inmydenim-viral-campaign-on-tiktok/531472/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_Crate
https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-tik-tok/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/16/18411013/tiktok-india-google-play-block-apple-app-store-bytedance
http://money.com/money/5497929/how-tiktok-makes-money-tiktok-owner/
https://fourweekmba.com/tiktok-business-model/
https://www.marketing-interactive.com/uniqlo-jumps-on-tiktok-platform-to-promote-utplayyourworld-
campaign/
https://digiday.com/marketing/tiktok-tells-advertisers-interest-based-targeting-is-coming-soon/
http://www.brainworkindia.net/blog/how-tiktok-and-spotify-could-win-through-location-based-marketing/
https://www.fbicgroup.com/sites/default/files/CNE_Douyin.pdf

29. Thank You!
DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
Julian Tedja
29
julian@rthree.com