In the one year since the inception of short-video app TikTok, several brands have tried (and failed) to advertise on Gen Z’s new favorite platform, whether through sponsored hashtag challenges, in-feed advertisements, or organic content.
Usual suspects such as Red Bull and Nike have quickly built up a follower count of 2.4 million and 150k respectively on the app. Some brands like Chipotle have run successful sponsored hashtag challenge campaigns, including the #ChipotleLidFlipChallenge and the #GuacDance challenge, which both garnered hundreds of millions of views each. Smaller brands like Sweatcoin have posted in-feed ads that have gained hundreds of thousands of likes. However, while all these brands have successfully tapped into the app, one brand “gets” TikTok better than anyone else, and that brand is Vineyard Vines.
If you open up Vineyard Vines’ TikTok page, you will immediately notice how different they are from other brands. Here are some examples of its content:
Your first reaction is probably something like “this is immature” or “how is this advertising content?”
Most marketers know Gen Z as the generation that champions individualism, expresses creativity, or grew up during times of economic crisis and political discord. However, they are also the “meme generation.” Teens and college students today have all grown up seeing and sharing memes and understand the quick-humor potential of the format. As a result, you could argue that there is a level of immaturity and silliness with Gen Z that has not been seen with teens of other generations. Vineyard Vines is appealing to that sentiment with these videos. The #timetraveler, #bottlecapchallenge, #thisisme, and #walkamile videos were all part of viral trends on TikTok that Vineyard Vines was effectively able to infiltrate.
Most brands still think they can reach Gen Z, at least at this point in time, by commenting on trends or trying to be funny. While this is effective to a certain extent, if you want the key to Gen Z’s heart, you have to take a risk and be willing to act like them, and what I mean by that is you have to be a little immature with your content.
By being immature, you are taking a risk with the professional image of the brand. Not all brands can pull it off. However, for some brands like Vineyard Vines, it has quickly paid off, gaining nearly 200k followers in two months of existence on TikTok, simply by putting out organic content that appeals to Gen Z. It is a choice that all brands must make in order to fully maximize their advertising opportunity with Gen Z on TikTok in 2019: play it safe and create advertising and organic content that Gen Z might like OR take that risk and produce content with “meme” potential. If you’re a brand trying to reach Gen Z on TikTok, you have to make that choice.
Still skeptical of whether this type of “immature” content appeals to Gen Z? Just read the comment section of Vineyard Vines TikToks. It is full of pure joy and love for Vineyard Vines and has high levels of engagement.