TikTok ties AR content sharing to charitable giving in celebrity-filled campaign

Brief:

TikTok, the social media app for sharing short lip-sync videos, will give $2 million to charity as its users post videos using holiday-themed augmented reality (AR) filters along with the #CreateforaCause hashtag. With each tagged post, TikTok will donate money to DoSomething.org, Best Friends Animal Society and Oceana, according to an announcement.
Khloe Kardashian, Nick Jonas, Nina Dobrev, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Serayah are among the celebrities who have partnered with TikTok to raise awareness for the campaign. The AR filters include Santa Claus popping out of a chimney, snow globe effects, elf faces and reindeer horns for dogs with the newly launched dog filters.
#CreateforaCause starts today and run through Dec. 26 on the TikTok platform. The app will announce donations raised after the program ends.

Insight:

The cause-marketing campaign is the latest example showcasing how TikTok ramping up its push to be a major player in the social media app space as mobile-savvy consumers show a penchant for creating and sharing fun content. TikTok surpassed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube in downloads in September, according to data compiled by researcher SensorTower. TikTok's campaign has the potential to go viral because users can collaborate on lip-syncing in split-screen "duets" that fuel more user-generated content. Additionally, younger consumers, who presumably are among the biggest users of the platform, want brands to show a purpose.

TikTok's giving campaign follows its first major marketing push in the United Kingdom. Its holiday-themed campaign will include a series of hashtags and challenges related to Christmas and New Year's celebrations. The campaign includes out-of-home (OOH) promotions at London's Piccadilly Street and Oxford Circus that started Dec. 17 and will run though New Year's Eve.

TikTok is among the social media apps that are urging users to participate in charitable giving. Facebook partnered with payment processor PayPal to match as much as $7 million in gifts on Giving Tuesday, the charitable movement started in 2012 as a response to the consumerism of the holiday season. Facebook also hosted a #GivingTuesday event on its Facebook page to share updates and fundraiser stories. Amazon, T-Mobile, Citi, United Airlines and Pizza Hut also hosted charity events for the annual occasion.