The Pixar TikTok account shares Pixar Animation Studios’ iconic and beloved brand with fans through the unprecedented access of social media. Over the course of 2023, we set out to build upon the strong fan community we’d already fostered and take the Pixar TikTok account to the next level - pushing the boundaries of what the brand had previously done to reach new, younger audiences through engaging, funny, unexpected, and relatable content.
The Pixar TikTok strategy is completely unique from the rest of Pixar’s social platform strategies. Our goal on this platform is to be plugged into how fans are using TikTok themselves and to stay up-to-date on trending content, both featuring Pixar IP as well as general trends. In 2023, vertical video became our top priority as we ideated and produced content specifically with TikTok and its community in mind, ultimately posting just under 200 videos. Many of these videos were part of the historic D100 TikTok Hub, which has since shifted our posting strategy and cadence even further with the addition of new audiences seeking out Pixar content. We recognized the need to sustain the huge spikes in followers with a higher cadence of posts per week, while also experimenting with content formats and IP to identify what resonates with this new audience.
As part of an iconic brand like Pixar, we have to prioritize experimentation and growth, just like the trailblazing animation we market. While we do look back at performance and past analytics to base strategy on, we also continually look forward toward the next opportunity for change and iteration. For the first time, we were able to take Pixar characters outside of their film world and create relatable meme content. This set a new precedent and has opened doors to a whole new segment of content that we’re thrilled to explore further in 2024.
A major part of our TikTok strategy has shifted to focus on centering the needs of our fans and the trends in IP that they love and feel nostalgia for. We learned directly from the TikTok community that Gen Z is deeply passionate about Cars and Lightning McQueen. With this information top of mind as we built our slate of custom content throughout the year, we aimed our efforts on videos ranging from Cars-focused trends to bringing fans movie Easter Eggs like Lightning McQueen’s real name. In 2023, Cars content received over 15M views on the Pixar TikTok, and fan sentiment was overwhelmingly positive!
Over the course of 2023, Pixar TikTok grew from 3M to 10M followers (233% increase). We reached new audiences through incredible growth, and created trending and relatable content that previously felt out of reach. We published our highest-performing organic video to date, this mesmerizing side by side that brings Pixar into real life, which received over 28M views and a retention rate of 69%. We produced a series of scene clips from iconic Pixar films with TikTok-native captions and creative use of emojis that both drew on the nostalgia of fans and brought Pixar’s humor and wit to new audiences. We’re excited to continue this growth and brand evolution into 2024 and beyond!
