2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

Being relatively new to the MENAT market, at a time where global conversation around TikTok was reaching a fever pitch we were keen to introduce ourselves in a big way. But in the midst of a lockdown and global pandemic, most of us were struggling to get our foot out our own doors, not to mention getting our foot in anywhere else. We needed a way to meet and engage with our audience, generate new leads, and educate them about the value and opportunities that TikTok could provide for their brands. The objective was to do it in a way that was unquestionably TikTok-esque; fun, creative, interactive, disruptive, unique, and relatable. And as a digital platform hosting a virtual event, we knew that we had to provide a seamless and superior experience to do us and our guests justice.

Describe the strategy

- SMBs - Marketeers - Agencies - CXOs 2020 took us all by surprise. In a year where we would have been regularly hosting physical events and workshops to develop our business and ramp up our presence in MENAT - we found ourselves stuck at home. With venues around the country and the world closed off, we needed a virtual venue - one that could mirror the experience of attending a physical event, at a time that people were missing that the most. We found our venue and began building and decorating. But events are more than the spaces that host them; open days have always been an effective tool in the physical world - so we set about replicating that concept virtually, by allowing attendees to seamlessly and freely roam, choosing their own adventures from live chats with our team to networking opportunities, breakout rooms, talks, entertainment, and more.

Describe the execution

We knew that we needed a highly customizable platform to be able to craft a venue and experience that was intuitive, easy, and interactive. We chose Connex6 as our platform, and began building the structure, design, and user journey. Once the venue was fitted out, we began to populate it with curated talks, chat functionalities (to chat with us or with other attendees), dynamic displays across the venue walls, downloadable materials and a digital goodie bag for guests, as well as the DJ set for entertainment - spread across a total of 18 rooms. And we pulled it off, from concept to execution, in 30 days - including recording, editing, and curating the content, allocating the resources and support for the chat, and of course, building and designing the venue. Concurrently, we began spreading the word via EDMs, targeted LinkedIn and Twitter posts, and media coverage courtesy of Campaign Magazine.

List the results

Nearly 1,500 qualified leads from 51 countries and over 700 organizations attended the event - spending an average of 5 hours and viewing the talks a combined total of 4,000 times. The attendees were highly engaged with the content and overall experienced as evidenced by the amount of time spent, but also in the chat - asking over 400 valuable questions, as well as networking with each other and our team. Over 10% of the attendees have since gone on to advertise with us. Beyond this, the event's core purpose - to introduce TikTok For Business to the region and to introduce them to us - was well-served; anyone in attendance left the event knowing more about TikTok and the opportunities it provides. The addition of media coverage and word of mouth also helped cement our top of mind presence amongst brands and marketers in the region.