By Shruti Menon Seeboo
Introducing Philippa Dunjay, a distinguished TikTok Consultant who will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Brand Magic 2024 conference in Mauritius. With a wealth of experience in advising brands on leveraging the unique features of TikTok to connect with diverse audiences worldwide, Philippa brings invaluable insights into cultural branding and digital marketing strategies. As an industry thought leader, Philippa’s session promises to offer attendees actionable strategies for driving meaningful engagement and loyalty in today’s dynamic digital landscape. Excerpts:
1. How does cultural branding play a crucial role in navigating the complexities of a globalised world? What strategies do you recommend for brands to authentically connect with diverse audiences across different cultural contexts?
Cultural branding should tap into authentic human insights that span beyond borders and countries. The globalised nature of the internet has begun to flatten our shared experiences. The rise of social media with its trending songs, language and memes begin to merge it. While many memes begin in English language countries, it’s important to nuance and investigate local language trends. For instance, we see in Germany that ‘Denglish’ – merging English words with German language – is the way trends are communicated. And we see that TikTok videos with an Australian accent do better for local Australian viewers.
2. As a TikTok consultant, could you share insights into how brands can leverage the platform’s unique features and cultural trends to effectively communicate their brand message and resonate with audiences worldwide?
TikTok is a uniquely participatory platform – where ordinary people can shoot a video and a sound and hope of going viral, waking up to millions of views. The algorithm prioritises a content graph, not a social graph, so your experience is shaped by the content you view, not by who you’re connected to. This makes TikTok more of an entertainment platform and less of a social media platform. We’d always encourage brands to play and entertain on TikTok. Brands can find trends for their country very easily on the TikTok Creative Centre, including trends of the week, hashtags, videos and Creators.
3. In your experience, what are some key considerations for brands looking to establish a strong presence on TikTok, particularly in regions with diverse cultural landscapes such as Mauritius?
TikTok can be extremely tricky for brands to understand and grasp as a new platform. Firstly, I would recommend looking at your brand to understand what appeals to consumers. Users come to TikTok with four mindsets – for entertainment, discovery (learning), uplift (emotional effects) and participation. Your brand needs to think in a content-first way, centred around what appeals to users, rather than thinking about blasting out brand messaging. This is because most of the advertising units on TikTok are skippable – so people have to choose to spend time with your brand – which means delivering interesting content to them. Culturally diverse regions should draw in perspectives from those who understand each of those regions and which messages and themes appeal to those cultures.
4. How can brands ensure that their TikTok content remains culturally sensitive and relevant, while still maintaining a consistent brand identity and message?
I would always encourage brands to look into their unique local trends and analyse them carefully. We break trends down into the trend message, the narrative shape, the sonic identity and the hashtags associated with it. Brands should check if these trends are brand safe for them and if they could have any drawbacks. Brands should also not use copyrighted music. For brands to then own these trends in a consistent way, we analysed 100s of TikTok organic accounts to create what we called ‘brand lens.’ These are ownable distinctive viewpoints on the world that shapes a brand’s TikTok account, divided into four types. Product (with a hero product at centre stage); Character (using a human, Creator or mascot); Tonal (a distinctive visual aesthetic); and Category (making comments, tips and jokes around a high interest category.).
5. With the rise of TikTok influencers shaping cultural trends and consumer behaviours, how can brands effectively collaborate with creators to authentically integrate their brand into the platform’s cultural ecosystem?
Creators are the life blood of TikTok, originating the platform’s content and trends, but they work differently to influencers from other platforms. Rather than just picking someone with a big following, a brand needs to look at the kinds of content this Creator makes and how it aligns with their brand lens, tone of voice and business goals. So, you could pick a stand up comedian Creator to bring entertainment to your product, or pick the beloved Francis Bourgeois (a train spotter) to bring brand love. Francis has worked with brands from the obvious (Great Western Railways) to the less obvious (a Gucci x North Face collaboration), so Creators aren’t restricted to playing in their own lane and category. Creator Marketplace is a great place to start looking for Creators to work with.
6. Looking ahead, what do you envision as the future of cultural branding on TikTok, and how can brands stay ahead of the curve in leveraging cultural insights to drive meaningful engagement and loyalty among global audiences?
Looking to the future of TikTok, we see some new themes emerging. TikTok functioning as a search engine (as Google continues to struggle and AI is on the rise) will mean brands can place content along key search terms to capture organic traffic along keywords. The future is content. E-commerce will also certainly boom on TikTok, and brands need to work out if they wish to invest into a Shop strategy or not. I would encourage brands to think about their marketing efforts as content-first; to create a sonic brand identity; and to keep abreast of the platform and algorithm changes.
Secure your seat at the forefront of cultural branding innovation with Philippa Dunjay, live at the 9th Brand Magic 2024 conference at the InterContinental, Balaclava, on May 16th. Philippa’s session is an absolute must for businesses in Mauritius that are eager to elevate their branding game in the ever-evolving marketing landscape. Drawing from her extensive experience, Philippa will showcase how brands like Great Western Railways and Gucci x North Face have captivated global audiences on TikTok, paving the way for authentic engagement and lasting connections.
Dive deep into the world of cultural branding and discover actionable strategies for navigating diverse audiences with finesse. Don’t miss this opportunity to revolutionise your brand’s approach and secure success in today’s competitive marketplace. Reserve your spot now at www.brandmagic.mu
