Dive Brief:

• Coca-Cola is out with its first TikTok challenge called #ShareTheMagic, which aims to give Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) creators more visibility and recognition, according to a press release. Through Dec. 21, TikTok users will be able to apply a #SharetheMagic lens to their videos when they use specific gestures and movements.
• The beverage behemoth is partnering with Khalid, the multi-platinum singer whose newly released "Open" is the soundtrack to the challenge, and with the creator of viral dance "Renegade," Jalaiah Harmon, who choreographed the challenge dance.
• Coca-Cola will contract a diverse group of influencers to promote the challenge and elevate their content to inspire interpretations of its ongoing campaign "Real Magic." It will compensate all contracted creators as part of a commitment to provide the TikTok community with visibility and recognition.

Dive Insight:

Coke's first foray into the TikTok community is a "test-and-learn" experiment that will help shape how the brand partners with creators going forward, it said in a press release. Looking ahead to 2022, the brand is promising to provide real opportunities to elevate BIPOC creators while positioning #ShareTheMagic as more than just a brief appearance on TikTok.

In just three years, TikTok has evolved from an app for teens into a cultural powerhouse. It's also become a place where people buy lots of things, with the platform pitching itself as a place for "community-based commerce." Coke is the most recent CPG looking for its place on TikTok, whose users put a premium on authenticity. Starburst this year found success by tapping into interest around one of its old ads that went viral on the platform, while Mattel in October worked with Attn to launch TikTok profiles for Barbie and Uno. 

This is Coke's most recent effort to connect with youthful shoppers and a continuation of the "Real Magic" campaign that debuted in September, the first major brand overhaul for Coca-Cola in five years. In November, the brand's first holiday campaign under "Real Magic" launched with an activation on Cameo to deliver personalized messages from Santa. The TikTok challenge will culminate with a "best of" mash-up of the top expressions of "Real Magic," which will be selected by Jalaiah Harmon and the brand. 

"We want to be inclusive of all passion points and groups by elevating creatives who love our brand – from multi-platinum global superstars like Khalid, to emerging talent like Jalaiah – and giving them a stage to connect with our fans," a brandspokesperson said in the press release. "We see this as a bottoms-up approach: We are not here to tell our fans what's cool. We are shining a light on what they've told us is cool."

Coke has announced plans to double its media spend with minority-owned companies over the next three years, pledging that no less than 8% of its media budget will be directed to Black-, Hispanic- and Asian American-owned platforms and their partners by 2024. Coca-Cola awarded WPP most of its marketing activities in November after a global creative and media review.