In 2025 it’s not just about the what and the why of long and short term marketing goals. Now more than ever, it’s also about the form. That is according to insights from Sysyem1 and TikTok revealed yesterday showing marketers to harness the magic of short form videos on TikTok.
The media landscape has entirely transformed. Entire categories now lean heavily on short form video. The way ads are being produced has changed too. Brands are no longer only commissioning polished television slots, but creators too are stepping up and delivering campaigns.
Creators are having their moment on social media and specifically TikTok, and brands need to jump on board.
Consumers are experiencing this transformation in an environment where attention is skippable, where you must earn every single second and not assume it.
But an entertaining ad created by content creators is not enough, according to Mehra Jehangir, VP, business development and partnerships, APAC System1.
On Tuesday morning TikTok hosted more than 500 marketers at the Home Night Club, on Sydney’s pristine Darling harbour to present and explain the findings from the global study The Long and Short (form) of it, launched at Cannes Lions.
To harness the magic of TikTok, marketers can’t just rely on an entertaining brand, they also need distinctive brand recognition.
Jehangir explained this “magic zone” is especially vital for challenger brands.
“There is a massive opportunity, because when they [challenger brands] start to brand early, there is almost triple the impact if they’ve done it properly. And that makes it a level playing field for category leaders as well as challenger brands,” she said.
But Jehangir reinforced this opportunity only arises when creative assets are branded really well to become successful.
Josh Fruttiger, Strategy VP of global partnerships, System 1 went on to explain how the findings challenged outdated assumptions of how the average consumer doesn’t necessarily watch for that long, and therefore, brands must place their logo within the ad in the first two seconds.
“I think it was correct advice. But what ended up happening is brands started to do the same thing. It was this playbook of put your logo in the first few seconds and be done with it. And consumers became conditioned to ignore that. It was lazy branding and it wasn’t providing any sort of hook and as a result consumers quickly recognised it was an ad, and kept scrolling,” he said.
According to the study a good way to capture attention whilst still getting your brand across in the first two seconds is by placing logos in context.
“Logos on a product or in packaging makes a difference, because it goes from being this after thought to something that’s actually integrated into the story, giving consumers a reason to keep watching,” commented Fruttiger.
@doordash_ausThe Bags have seen it all – late-night nuggets, Friday night noodles – but now they’re hauling @aldiaustralia🥕🥫🥦♬ original sound – DoorDash Australia
Other examples spotlighted in the study is mogos (40 per cent increase in brand awareness), spoken brand names (14 per cent increase), fluent characters (67 per cent increase) and sonic assets (191 per cent increase).
So why are we seeing a gradual shift away from entertaining ads, and moving towards salesmanship?
As Josh Fruttiger put it, “Essentially, ads have become less entertaining over the years.”
As explained by System1, showmanship advertising exists to capture the broad-beam attention of the brain’s right hemisphere. The right hemisphere is interested in the living, in social context, in novelty, it appreciates metaphor, humour and music, and is much better attuned to the expression and understanding of emotion.
In short, showmanship utilise storytelling to entertain consumers.
Attached below is work created by Hearts & Science and was the example Fruttiger utilised to explain showmanship ads.
@maddy_macrae_ When your eyes are bigger than your stomach 🍕🍔🍜 Buscopan to the rescue! Buscopan® works differently to common pain relievers by relaxing the cramping stomach muscles to relieve the pain in as little as 15 minutes*. This is a paid dramatic re-enactment and not a testimonial. Always read the label and follow the directions for use. *Based on 20mg formulation for adults 18+ #Buscopan #welovebellies #bellypainisdifferent ♬ original sound – Maddy
The reason we have seen this shift towards salesmanship ads, is because the top quartile of salesmanship ads drive an 88 per cent increase in conversion compared to the bottom quartile, according to System1’s study.
But it comes at a cost, because the classic salesman ad saw an eight per cent decrease in memory lift, 50 per cent decrease in brand awareness and 23 per cent decrease in brand image lift.
Compare that to the conversion of showmanship ads which the top quartile saw a 50 per cent increase in conversion compared to the bottom quartile, as well as 39 per cent increase in memory, 200 per cent increase in brand awareness and 280 per cent increase in brand image.
Which begs the question. Do advertisers need to choose between entertaining their audiences or selling?
The Long and Short (form) of it
Tiktok partnered with System1 to conduct the global study titled The Long and Short (form) of it. The whitepaper demonstrates how brands can grow with short form video and how marketers can maximise creative effectiveness in a short form video led digital landscape.
This paper harnesses primary research collated by System1. The researcher took 350 TikTok brand and conversion lift studies from eight global markets. It took all the ads from most studies, 847 to be exact, and tested all of them with 92,788 Tiktok users.
All the testing was done via System1’s Test Your Ad Social platform, which is a measurement testing tool that allowed the creative effectiveness platform to understand which creative metrics and features are responsible for driving brand and business growth in short form.
