Funny story… while brainstorming how to launch Chevrolet on TikTok in the region, we noticed that the most popular content creators didn’t seem to have very big budgets – or any budgets at all.

“They just have a cool idea and they go out and shoot it on their phone. It probably costs them like a dollar” was how one suit put it.

So, our client laid down a challenge: Launch Chevy on TikTok, for under a dollar.

We wanted our TikTok content to look like it could’ve been made by any good content creator. It should feel like it belonged, so people wouldn’t think ‘oh another car ad’ and scroll past.

To achieve this, we created three stop motion videos, each for an occasion we knew was relevant to our audience.

Video 1: Eid Al Fitr

This holiday celebration is a time for togetherness, often used to get away for a weekend staycation.

Video 2: Peak summer heat

Summers in the Middle East often top 50°C (122°F), so families flock to pools and beaches to keep their kids cool and entertained.

Video 3: Back to School

When term restarts, parents have to get their kids back into their morning school run routine after the long summer holidays.

This allowed us to integrate vehicles naturally, with a fun and popular technique we knew people would enjoy watching.

Since we hadn’t launched on TikTok yet, we obviously had no followers. And with our $1 budget, there was no paid media or targeting.

But… we know TikTok’s algorithm shows videos to non-followers based on previous searches and what they think you’ll like. So, our plan was to create fun content that tapped into relevant and timely regional interests, to maximize the algorithm’s pool of potential viewers.

To be authentic and look like we belonged on the platform, we knew we had to:

• Shoot vertically, on a phone

• Use cool effects and transitions

• Integrate sound

• Avoid cliché car advertising shots

Since our budget was low, we had to be thrifty. No paid talent, locations or props. We called in favors so we could maximize impact and minimize spend, working hard to hit that highly skilled sweet spot of low budget, but finely crafted and highly

As the occasions were all based around family, each video linked to the brand by featuring one of our family size SUVs.

The videos were posted organically on TikTok at the times when the occasions were most relevant to our audience.

-------------------------------------- Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 ----------------------------------

Followers when posting - 5 2,886

Views 571,000 6,100,000 53,700

Likes 2,186 28,600 251

Shares 66 611 11

Average TikTok View Rate* 28.78% 28.78% 20.58%

Achieved View Rate - 33,888,888% 618%

*Number of views as a percentage of followers.

28.78% = accounts with 0-5,000 followers

20.58% = accounts with 5,000-10,000 followers.

(Source: Social Insider, 2022)

Video 2 proved we could create cool content consistently, so followers jumped from 5 to 2,886 within hours – an increase of 57,620%.

A week after video 3, followers had risen to 8,800+.

For under $1, we became the region’s most-liked and most-engaging automotive brand on TikTok.

(Source: RivalIQ, 2022)

Given our small number of followers as a new account, these view counts prove our media strategy hit the mark in terms of watchability, authenticity and relevancy to the platform.