Situation:

Now more than ever, consumers are looking for a place to escape the mundanity and anxiety of adulting. TikTok was purpose built to give users a break from reality in a way that inspires them to express themselves in a real, raw, and authentic way.

Brief:

As the #1 global app, TikTok wanted to lean into their core values of fun and self-expression to engage existing users and attract new ones on April Fool’s Day. While tapping into the spirit of “prank marketing,” is a trending tactic, this campaign needed to hold its core values true while engaging and reaching users in a way that was culturally relevant.

Objectives:

Generate positive brand impressions

Drive new user acquisition

Drive user retention (through in-app participation)

As a leading social platform known for inspirational self-expression, you don’t pull a prank on April Fools’ Day. You keep doing you - only bigger. So we “hired” global icon, hip hop tastemaker, DJ, CEO, producer and #FatherOfAsahd, DJ Khaled. Appointing him as “Chief Motivational Officer” of TikTok. We amplified the power of the TikTok platform by leaning into DJ Khaled's personal brand, natural charisma, and legendary inspirational soundbites in a content series with digital and social amplification.

To appeal and engage the primary target audience of Millennial and Gen-Zers for the campaign and tap into the trend of “prank marketing” for April Fools’ Day, TikTok identified and aligned with a known talent that would resonate with the audience and also align with TikTok’s brand values of fun, authenticity, and self-expression.TikTok hired cultural icon DJ Khaled who easily plays himself as a super motivator, DJ, producer, father, and entrepreneur. He is highly active on social media (14.1M IG, 4.35M Twitter) and is known for being super authentic with inspirational quips he plants everywhere.

Implementation: The campaign came to life through a series of mediums to reach TikTok’s target audience of existing and new users. This included: a landing page, teaser video, launch video, video vignettes, in-app experiences/takeovers, Giphy extensions, hashtag challenges, an “Ask Me Anything” on Twitter and a motivational hotline.

Timeline:

Concepting - 1 week

Pre-Production - 1 week

Filming - 1 day

Post Production - 2 weeks

In-Market Tease - 5 days (March 27 - 31, 2019)

In-Market Reveal - 1 day (April 1, 2019)

Placement:

Influencer Channels

DJ Khaled’s Instagram Stories & Grid

DJ Khaled Twitter

DJ Khaled TikTok

Paid Channels

IMGUR

9GAG

Complex

Owned Channels

TikTok In-App Experiences / Takeovers

Tiktok Social Channels (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter)

TikTok Giphy Channel

Campaign Microsite

Campaign Hotline (1-844-4KHALED)

Earned

Fortune

Washington Post

A.list

The New York Post

Truth or Fiction

Scale: US/National

Reach:

19,716,792 total campaign video views

Engagement:

The campaign generated 2,931,161 likes

407,563 new followers on DJ Khaled’s TikTok

Impact:

TikTok and DJ Khaled inspired the most motivational Monday in TikTok’s history, generating more than 19 million campaign video views and nearly 3 million likes, not to mention more than 407,000 new followers on DJ Khaled’s TikTok, making the Internet a much more inspiring place on the single day. The campaign exceeded all of the objectives in generating positive brand impressions, driving new user acquisition, and driving user retention through in-app participation, also opening the door to future partnership opportunities for the brand with DJ Khaled as TikTok continues to bolster its roster of celebrity talent and cultural relevance.