The launch campaign for Pixar’s TikTok was rooted in Pixar’s four brand pillars: culture,
technology, art, and emotion. These core values, paired with the desire to provide a new
and younger audience exciting sneak peaks of what’s to come from Pixar, expanded
viewership in a big way. The goals we set out to achieve during this launch period were
follower acquisition, strong overall engagement, representing the brand in a new light to
a younger audience, and celebrating diverse voices and stories. Since the launch in
March of 2022, Pixar TikTok has seen rapid growth in every sense, from engagement to
video views to completion rates.
Pixar TikTok had a unique social strategy driving the launch effort. We wanted to make
sure the channel felt populated at launch, so we released 4 videos that represented
each content pillar–a mix of wholly original and high performing content we had seen
pop across the platform. The first TikTok posted was a fun video with Pixar director Pete
Doctor that humanized the brand and showed that we see and hear the TikTok
community. The video even featured a hidden easter egg to keep fans engaged with a
classic Pixar touch–a secret message that said, “HI PIXAR FANS”. A challenge for us was
creating a playful and relatable voice, while remaining brand-safe and mindful of legal
restrictions and guidelines. We crafted a voice that stayed true to the Pixar brand and
balanced a TikTok-first mindset, which can be seen in the following top performing
videos and series: short engagement play videos utilizing the in-app voice over feature, a
couples cosplay series, Pixar film scene recreations with relevant TikTok talent, behind
the scenes studio stories, and TikTok storytime throwbacks about awkward teen
moments. Under Pixar’s technology pillar, fans discovered the steps to the animation
process with our animation progressions series, which built a community for fans of
Pixar that admire the brand for pushing the boundaries of the medium. Art is at the
heart of Pixar, so we jumped on a trending story spotlighting one talented fan–we
invited this Pixar fan chalk artist to create an original piece on Pixar’s campus! We also
developed a range of art process videos like this satisfying painting video, paper film
environment recreation, and a fantastic AR art piece. Our Mental Health Checkpoint
series encouraged viewers to be mindful and empowered. We frequently showcase the
powerful stories behind the creators at Pixar, and spotlight Pixar’s commitment to
authentic storytelling and inclusion, like showing how films are translated for APIHM and
spotlighting a diverse range of Pixar talent.
The launch of Pixar’s TikTok has been a huge success since its launch last year:
- 1.9M New Followers
- 18.5M Engagements
- 134M Video Views with an astonishing 17% average completion rate
- 238 Total Videos
Following our pillars as a guiding light for our launch, we’ve been able to develop a
vibrant community on TikTok that is fully engaged and excited to see our content when it
hits their FYP. As we move into 2023, we’ll continue to create our TikTok first fan favorite
formats, jump on relevant trends, and continue to experiment with new formats that
resonate with this new audience.
