For The Coca-Cola Company’s introduction to the TikTok platform, it was of utmost importance to use TikTok in a way that was natural to the space and its users. Meaning, it was our goal to ultimately inspire creators to make original content that in turn can inspire another creator to do the same. The twist? We found a way to promote social good at the same time. A leading insight that immediately moved the Coca-Cola brand to action was the fact that BIPOC creators across TikTok are often the originators of viral trends and content, but are rarely recognized or compensated accordingly. BIPOC creators typically receive approximately 1/10th the compensation of their non-BIPOC counterparts. In 2021, we found this to be especially relevant on TikTok, a platform of fans that are oftentimes the originators and facilitators in actions against injustice, making its way beyond social media to the mainstream media masses. This problem was something we hoped to take a meaningful step in correcting while inspiring millions of TikTok users to get in on the fun of creating their own content.
BIPOC Creators do not have the visibility across TikTok (and social media as a whole) that they deserve. Despite being cultural tastemakers, they make 1/10th the compensation of their non-BIPOC counterparts. Even when they create viral trends, non-BIPOC creators are credited, compensated, and given the deals and platform for their work. This is on advertisers, marketers, and brands to fight. Using this relevant insight, Coca-Cola launched the #ShareTheMagic campaign—an initiative specifically designed to inspire millions of TikTok users to create original content that boosts the viewership of the BIPOC creators we tapped to help launch and sustain our campaign across a variety of audiences and talents. We used this ownable hashtag as an instant CTA for all TikTok’ers to come together and share their expression of Real Magic through dance, language, art…anything that feels magical to them. We also worked with TikTok to create an original Branded Effect that we could pair with the challenge, encouraging even more users to play with, create, and have fun with their own content.
To help the campaign garner maximum attention and promote our creators even further, we enlisted celebrity talent. We partnered with Grammy-nominated musical artist Khalid, as well as creator of the viral Renegade TikTok dance challenge, Jalaiah Harmon, to launch the challenge with an original dance by Jalaiah and Khalid’s newest single, “Open,” that acted as the soundtrack of our campaign. This was our first nod to leveling the playing field, as Jalaiah was previously largely overlooked by brands and media when her dance first went viral. Both Jaliaiah and Khalid promoted #ShareTheMagic across their own TikTok and Instagram channels, driving viewers and creators to engage.
We then contracted 20 BIPOC TikTok creators to amplify our campaign to their various audiences and to center the platform around the creators we were there to champion. They were pinned to the top of the hashtag challenge page and flighted in whitelisted paid media campaigns to grow their own following, and of course, paid fairly for their work. It was this combination of using TikTok as a creator platform authentically, working to promote BIPOC creators, and amplifying the campaign with celebrity talent that led to the outstanding levels of UGC and participation we saw at the end of the campaign.
To date, #ShareTheMagic has over 11.9B views (9B over TikTok’s benchmark), received 1.7MM original videos created by nearly 1MM creators, and grew Coca-Cola’s TikTok handle by 71%.
Leveraging Khalid’s new song “Open” led to above-average performance—The Official Music garnered +86.9MM views, (exceeding the 5MM benchmark by +17x). Video Creations and Creators using the sound surpassed benchmarks by 60% and 40% respectively.
Our original Branded Effect received 104MM impressions and 69MM views (+34x benchmark). Khalid’s video kicking off the campaign through Tik Tok’s One Day Max promotion placement allowed the brand to receive 53MM impressions and had a click-through rate of 71% above average. Jalaiah’s video promoting the campaign received 3.4B views, 43.5% above benchmark, and 464MM engagements.
Part of our campaign goal was being a brand that was enjoyable to work with as a BIPOC creator. We sent creators a survey that asked them to weigh in on what it was like working with Coca-Cola on #ShareTheMagic, and we received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Creators rated their experience and perception of Coca-Cola an average of 4.8 out of 5 - Represents what I stand for (4.8 out of 5) - Developing a long-term relationship (4.8 out of 5) - Relevant to my audience/following (4.9 out of 5) - Experience working with Coca-Cola (4.8 out of 5).
Our campaign received 51 PR placements and 951.7MM earned PR impressions from publications like People Magazine, Buzzfeed, Billboard Music, AdWeek, AdAge, and Yahoo.
