Black Friday signals the start of the holiday ad frenzy, and TikTok wants to get a hefty chunk of ad dollars this year, according to materials the short-form video app sent to prospective advertisers that were reviewed.
TikTok’s plan centers around custom audience packages — dubbed “Hashtag Audiences” — or bundles of people who are most likely to buy that brand’s product. They’re curated for advertisers by TikTok based on a number of signals, including whether they’ve already shown interest in the brand, industry, or similar product, according to an email sent to a U.S. advertising agency last month.
With this program, TikTok is targeting marketers who can move quickly: the deadline to create a campaign is Oct. 25. Advertisers will have to spend at least $1,000 per day on incremental spending toward the custom audiences for at least a week long period in the fourth quarter, leading up to and, or after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to the email.
The problem, as ever with less established platforms, is the price, if you take them up on their recommended investment costs. TikTok didn’t immediately return a request for comment on this story.
TikTok is recommending that advertisers spend a minimum of $250,000 during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period across all placements, which includes Top Feed, TopView, Brand + Performance Auction In-Feed Video).
Sources who spoke to Digiday varied on whether this pricing was obtainable.
Amy Rumpler, SVP of search and social media services at Basis Technologies said she thinks the pricing is reasonable, and not outside the range of what other platforms look for during key seasonal moments or when debuting new product features.