TikTok is an entirely new platform for entertainment; its community and their participation are the heart of everything. The old model of ‘create and distribute’ is simply inadequate. The #Levitating Campaign sought to completely reimagine how music videos are made and singles are released: by creating & launching them with the community. A truly innovative collaboration between artist, platform and community gave fans the kind of access that the past half-century of music marketing had told them was strictly off-limits, and in doing so, demonstrated the truth that It Starts on TikTok to millions of creators, and hundreds millions more.

TikTok is on a mission to inspire creativity and bring joy to people around the world. To achieve this, they’re committed to nurturing an environment where their creators' talent, and ideas can flourish, both on TikTok and beyond.

Music is a part of TikTok's DNA and a key driver of positive brand perception. They wanted to seize this opportunity to build on their position as a place of music discovery, and to give their creators and music lovers an opportunity to get involved in iconic music moments in 2020.

We were tasked with generating a big cultural idea with music at the core, to showcase the range of creativity on the platform, inspire people to get involved, and harness their brand line “It Starts On” TikTok.

In a first of its kind global partnership between Dua Lipa and TikTok we transformed the way singles are released and how music videos are created by inviting fans to co-create the official music video for her track Levitating.

User participation was at the heart of the campaign with Dua extending a social invitation to fans across the world to be part of a music moment that is usually off limits - the exclusive chance to feature alongside her.

We flipped the traditional use of a Hashtag Challenge, by turning it into a casting tool and inviting fans to audition by submitting videos that showcased their choreography, make-up and animation skills. 109,371 videos were submitted using #DuaVideo and Dua then selected the best to feature in the Levitating music video. The release of the video then triggered the #Levitating Hashtag Challenge on TikTok enabling millions more fans to get involved.

To deliver on the 'It Starts on TikTok' brand promise, we wanted to start a major music cultural moment that the community could be a part of, and that would prove the power of the TikTok platform to the music industry.

Dua Lipa was the perfect partner as the most relevant artist of 2020, with influence at scale. She has a large and engaged Instagram following (45M & 4-6% engagement rate) and made music video YouTube history as the youngest female artist to hit one billion views. However, her TikTok following was small (2M), and she had only posted once, so we seized the opportunity to officially launch Dua on TikTok and entice her fanbase onto the platform.

Through exclusive teasers, BTS content, and the chance for fans to help co-create and launch the video through hashtag challenges, we aimed to position TikTok at the heart of the music zeitgeist.

We crafted the narrative of the music video with Dua and director Warren Fu to seamlessly integrate the TikTok brand into the video’s aesthetic, incorporating the brand logo, app create button, TikTok creators and platform trends into the film.

TikTok is at the centre of the story acting as the portal to hyperspace and transporting Dua to an out-of-this-world experience. The branded Levitator lift dial stops on different floors revealing new characters and TikTok moments that lean into platform trends - dancing, roller skating, animation and makeup. These trends were used as themes for the auditions for people to get involved. This not only elevated the talents of TikTok creators, as makers and entertainers, but proved they are talented enough to appear alongside one of the world’s biggest pop stars.

After the release of the music video fans created reaction videos, commenting on the partnership and calling out the collaboration.

DUA LIPA CHART SUCCESS

· Best performing single since album release

DUA LIPA INCREASED FAN BASE ON TIKTOK

· Post campaign, Dua Lipa gained 1.6 million followers on TikTok

TIKTOK IN-APP ENGAGEMENT

Across pre-launch, launch and post-launch tactics, in-app engagement skyrocketed.

· 4.3 billion Hashtag Challenge views (3.8 billion #Levitating, 502m #DuaVideo)

· 1.4 million global video creations using the Levitating and Levitating ft DaBaby

audio tracks on TikTok with 1.2bn video views

TIKTOK MARKETING PERFORMANCE

The advertising campaign drove high impressions & deep audience engagement.

· 330m impressions delivered by the marketing campaign across UK, US and

DE

· 213.7m video views across campaign content across TikTok & competitor

social channels

PRESS COVERAGE

· 30+ top tier press mentions reaching 108m+ people

LEVITATING X TIKTOK MUSIC VIDEO

· 123 million YouTube views and 14.4M on TikTok

· TikTok UGC edition 2.2M YouTube views