Dive Brief:

• Lamps Plus on June 23 announced a TikTok campaign powered by 26 creators, generating millions of views and strong viewer engagement, according to a press release.
• The creators each featured a Color Plus lamp in a video that is unique to their style and regular content, spanning interest areas like comedy, dance, parenting advice and home improvement tips. In one video, a hot dog restaurant owner from California roller-skated around her lamp that doubled as a hat holder. There were no requirements for the lamp use, dialogue or music as long as the product appeared in creators' videos, per the announcement.
• By highlighting creators who are popular among women over age 35, Lamps Plus' campaign demonstrates how the platform favored by Gen Z is becoming increasingly embraced by brands that appeal to older consumers interested in home decor.

Dive Insight:

Though still a favorite platform of younger generations, TikTok is expanding in popularity among older audiences as more people create and share videos about parenting, family life and home improvement tips. Thirty percent of people in the 30-64 age bracket tune in to TikTok, according to Pew Research Center, suggesting a growing audience for brands looking to engage older consumers on mobile platforms.

"TikTok is not just for dancing teens. It is growing rapidly among 30-something and older viewers and creators," Angela Hsu, Lamps Plus senior vice president of marketing and e-commerce, said in the announcement. "We like how each creator displayed their individual creative ideas and personalities."

Selecting creators who resonate with audiences of women over age 35 — a key demographic for Lamps Plus — shows how TikTok can be used by brands to reach consumers who are interested in creative topics like interior design that don't necessarily resonate as well with the Gen Z age group that dominates the platform's user base.

TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2020, per App Annie, and continues to be a popular platform for marketers looking to reach consumers via entertaining videos, creators or highly shareable, user-generated content. Nearly half of TikTok users (47%) say they've purchased a product based on a TikTok creator's recommendation, according to The Harris Poll. This suggests why Lamps Plus and other brands are increasingly adding TikTok to their marketing mix.

"TikTok is a different approach for home furnishing brands like ours because a beautiful interior image doesn't work on TikTok like it does on Instagram. A TikTok video must immediately garner the viewer's attention, offer an entertaining or informative story or takeaway and a satisfying conclusion to capture and retain the viewer's attention for the video's duration," Hsu said in the announcement. "We reminded creators in our campaign that TikTok's motto is 'Don't make ads; make TikToks.' The right approach to TikTok for brands is to allow some creative freedom for creators."

This TikTok campaign isn't Lamps Plus' first foray into mobile-focused platforms. Last summer, the brand sponsored three Twitch livestreams from a popular streamer of cooking shows, demonstrating its lighting products in the streamer's kitchen. The move was a departure from its traditional marketing as Lamps Plus sought to reach an audience that's more likely to consume digital media.