TikTok concludes hunt for global media partner

TikTok has picked PHD to manage media planning and buying duties across all channels for the platform in international markets outside of China. Effective immediately, the agency will facilitate duties across the globe and work closely with TikTok’s global leadership team in Beijing.The company looks to leverage PHD’s global media expertise to drive further growth. In February this year, the short-form video content app owned by parent company ByteDance hit one billion downloads globally. Launched in September 2016, TikTok currently has offices in Singapore, Jakarta, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai, Seoul, and Tokyo within Asia, and five others globally.TikTok declined to comment further on Marketing‘s queries. Meanwhile, Marketing has reached out to PHD for additional comment.Philippa Brown, worldwide CEO of PHD said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with TikTok at this exciting stage in the platform’s growth journey. The global assignment utilises PHD’s key network capabilities and expertise in areas such as technology, data and digital content.”PHD China CEO Anna Chitty said that as a “challenger brand at scale”, the agency shares common values and thinking with TikTok, which has “broken records” in the social media landscape to become one of the fastest-growing platforms.Omnicom Media Group China COO Claudine Kwek added: “This is yet another validation of our brand-led, group-powered approach in delivering market-leading solutions for our clients. It is also a testament to all the transformation efforts we have undertaken as a Group in China, attracting a new breed of clients with our agile systems and highly focused Centres of Excellence.”Closer to home, TikTok has forged a few partnerships with government bodies in Malaysia and Singapore of late. In June, Penang Global Tourism named TikTok as its co-branding partner in promoting the state as a key travel destination within Southeast Asia. As part of the partnership, a series of online initiatives, including online challenges, bespoke filters and stickers, will be launched to promote the state’s tourism offerings on the short video platform. More recently, TikTok launched a challenge to the youth in Singapore with the National Youth Council last week. Called #BuayPaiseh, the challenge aims to encourage youth in Singapore to display their passions and talents in public.TikTok also works with Clicks Communication, expanding the agency’s remit across Southeast Asia earlier in January to work closely with clients and creative agencies in sharing best practices and insights of the platform. It also provides a full suite of services to clients who are keen tapping onto the TikTok platform, including creative production, content strategy and web development.(Photo courtesy: 123RF)