TikTok Debuts Creative Exchange to Help Advertisers Create Platform-Specific Content

TikTok has launched a pilot for its new Creative Exchange portal, aimed at helping brands develop TikTok-specific ads that will resonate with the platform’s users. The portal expands on a host of new advertising formats that TikTok rolled out in late September 2021.

Because of the unique style of the TikTok platform — both in terms of technique and substance — the company is not shy about the fact that success relies on creating content that’s tailor-made for TikTok. “Showing up on TikTok doesn’t mean plugging in creative that brands have made for other places,” said Yvonne Cheng, Global Creative Lead at TikTok during the recent virtual event for business partners. “In order to really succeed, brands need to make content that’s built specifically for this platform.”

Of course, that can be time-intensive for brands — so enter the TikTok Creative Exchange. Described by the company as a “one-stop platform to make the entire creative production process simple and seamless,” the portal will allow advertisers to manage all aspects of a project, including sourcing, contracts, briefs, feedback, approvals and insights.

“Our users value authenticity, which means that brands don’t need big production budgets to see big results, but we know that finding the right creative vendor to partner with can be challenging, and that creative collaborations aren’t always straightforward,” reads a company blog post announcing the pilot. “Through this new platform, we aim to equip advertisers with a suite of tools to speed up the creation of high-performing creative.”

Here’s how it works:

1. Advertisers submit their brief through a form in the Creative Exchange portal;
2. They receive a curated list of creative partners suited to their needs and select one to work on their project;
3. The project is managed through the portal — advertisers can invite collaborators, provide feedback, launch their campaign and view performance insights;
4. Once creative is final, advertisers load it into TikTok Ads Manager and launch their campaign.

The first phase of TikTok Creative Exchange is available now to a limited set of advertisers. TikTok is currently accepting applications for brands based in North America and Europe that would like to participate and that plan to launch campaigns in November-December 2021.