A Study on TikTok’s Marketing Project – Audience, Offerings, GTM, and Brand Immersion

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis examines TikTok’s marketing ecosystem, focusing on its target audience, core marketing offerings, go-to-market (GTM) strategies, and brand immersion. With 1.7 billion monthly active users (as of 2024) and an average daily usage of 52 minutes per user, TikTok has evolved from a short-form video platform to a critical marketing hub. The research combines primary data (semi-structured interviews with 18 TikTok users aged 18–34 across 8 countries) and secondary data (industry reports, peer-reviewed studies, and brand case studies) to achieve three objectives: analyze TikTok’s marketing components, evaluate its competitive position in short-form video marketing, and derive actionable recommendations. Key findings reveal that TikTok’s success stems from algorithm-driven personalization, user-generated content (UGC) culture, and audience-centric tools (e.g., branded challenges, TikTok Shop). Primary research highlights that authenticity (e.g., real user content, KOC recommendations) and interactivity are core drivers of brand immersion, while “hard sell” content undermines engagement. The study also identifies gaps, such as limited data transparency on TikTok’s part. Recommendations include brands prioritizing KOC partnerships and localized content, and TikTok enhancing transparency and reducing ad fatigue. This research fills a gap in existing literature by integrating user perspectives on brand immersion, which most prior studies (focused on performance metrics like click-through rates) have overlooked.