TikTok recently hosted its first-ever consumer-packaged goods (CPG) event, bringing together the industry’s brand leaders and marketing practitioners. With more than 200 CPG marketers in attendance, the event showcased TikTok’s effectiveness and efficiency as a marketing platform, revealing its new research highlighting the platform’s benefits for CPG brands in Australia.
Rory Dolan, TikTok’s head of marketing science for Australia, Japan, and Korea, presented the research, explaining how effective TikTok advertising is for CPG brands. The research, ‘TikTok AUNZ MMX CPG Meta, conducted by Nielsen, 2023’ showed:
• TikTok is efficient: TikTok delivers 22 per cent higher ROI for CPG brands compared to any other media measured. This significant advantage positions TikTok as a go-to platform for brands looking to maximise their marketing investments.
• TikTok is effective: TikTok drives twice the sales effectiveness for CPG brands, demonstrating the platform’s powerful influence on consumer purchasing decisions.
Further research conducted by Kantar (n+53), ‘TikTok Marketing Science, Cross Media Meta-analysis, APAC, 2024’, showed:
• TikTok drives cross-media value: Across the APAC region, TikTok is recognised as the number one digital platform for cross-channel motivation. TikTok excels at enhancing brand equity through key metrics such as ‘meets needs’, ‘affinity’, ‘sets trends’, and ‘brand difference’.
Hayley Saddleton, head of marketing solutions at TikTok AUNZ, explained how the platform’s effectiveness for advertisers is supported by the research presented, whilst revealing the ‘magic’ behind leveraging trending moments, ‘trend signals and ‘trend forces’. “Our research shows why TikTok’s ‘magic’, like its trending moments, and engaged community of users, as well as the ‘logic’ based strategies which drive meaningful and measurable impact, are so important for brands who rely on TikTok for advertising effectiveness,” explained Saddleton.
During the industry leader panel discussion, Chris Colter from Initiative, Fern Shannon from Unilever, and Tracy Hardwick from PepsiCo shared their invaluable insights, offered key advice to other CPG leaders, and discussed how they’ve combined the ‘logic’ and ‘magic’ of TikTok in their successful campaigns.
“TikTok is crucial for CPG marketers because it taps directly into current consumer behaviours. Trends like product reviews and user-generated content drive consumer trust and engagement. The platform’s recommendation engine amplifies these authentic voices, making it a powerful tool for influencing purchasing decisions. For CPG brands, this means our products can be seen, discussed, and recommended by real users, creating a ripple effect that significantly boosts brand awareness and sales,” explained Fern Shannon, director of digital marketing, media, and commerce at Unilever.
