You vs the Ad She Told You Not to Worry About: Why Distinctive Creator Ads Win on TikTok

Allow me to set the scene: a teenager, among many alike them, opens up TikTok after school. They start scrolling past video after video, watching their favorite  creators post ‘Get Ready with Me’s’ and ‘Outfit of the Day’s’.

When they stumble upon an ad, it takes just two seconds on average to continue scrolling until they find another video to enjoy – because why waste precious procrastination time watching ads when Alix Earle, Jake Shane and Addison Rae are creating more relatable and familiar content?

This is the reality of advertising with short-form video on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and beyond. The average ad gets just two seconds of watch time, because users are in control of their scroll. To stop the scroll and capture attention, brands need to think like a platform user, align with content that is popular and resonates: they need to entertain.

Paying Attention to the Power of Influencers

Enter the influencer effect. System1’s  report with TikTok, The Long and the Short (Form) of It, explains how short-form entertainment can build brands and convert sales. It found that creator-led ads have the highest average attention from viewers, at 7.5%, compared to other styles such as brand social native (ads created specifically for the platform) and TV cut downs/edits.

So why do creator-led ads perform so well on attention? Influencers add a human aspect to advertising, and this can help build trust for viewers – especially when the influencer is someone that tends to appear on their feed often. CreativeX’s report, Are Creators Really Effective, found a 38% lift in video view completion for humanized content, which just goes to show the importance of connecting with an audience.

This is what Orlando Wood describes as right-brain features; those features of ads embedded in creativity and ‘showmanship’, such as characters and storytelling, are the best at captivating an audience and driving attention through entertainment. Despite their effectiveness, showmanship features have declined in use over the last 30 years, at the same time that ‘salesmanship’ features pushing a sale have risen.

Authenticity is Key to Ads with Influencers

Further than this, creator-led ads have a format that fits well alongside the content viewers normally consume. Viewers that enjoy ‘Get Ready with Me’ videos are  very likely to watch and enjoy an ad for clothing brand Zara if an influencer posts it as a video entitled ‘Get Ready with Me and Zara’, because it is already in a format they enjoy. It removes abstraction, flatness and a lack of depth, which Wood’s work shows detracts from attention and engagement. It allows brands to show up authentically and seamlessly on a platform where attention can be fleeting.

And that’s not just true for the fashion-forward. A creator that specializes in restaurant and food reviews can take on a paid partnership with a food brand because it aligns with the content for which they’re known. By identifying creators who attract a specific group of followers, brands can use these paid partnerships to target their audience and put products in front of consumers that are likely to resonate with them.

Attention ≠ Brand Recognition

However, it’s not an immediate win-win for brands and creators. While creators excel at grabbing attention, they are significantly lagging in average Fast Fluency (System1’s measure of how quickly audiences recognize the brand).

Creators on TikTok are not solely creating content for brand deals, and they all have their own unique content styles, so it’s no surprise that consumers often struggle to correctly identify brands in creator-led ads. Whether your product is only shown 10 seconds in, or your logo is barely visible, creators may increase the likelihood of attention, but this doesn’t mean all eyes will be on your brand.

Creator content is rapidly on the rise. Creative X found that investment in creator content as a share of total media jumped by 50% in an 18-month period , and brands such as Unilever are investing up to 75% of their media dollars into creator content. Clearly advertisers want in on the power of influencers, but there is a risk that the influencer outshines the brand and diminishes the opportunity for short-term and long-term effects.

Maximizing the Impact of Influencer Partnerships

So, what’s the solution for advertisers that want to partner with creators and win both attention and brand recognition?

First, be distinctive, ensure your brand is featured early. System1 and TikTok’s report found that creator-led ads with exceptional early branding see 2.3x brand awareness lift and 3x brand image lift, significantly more than other creative styles.

Want to get the most out of creator content? Make sure your logo is featured in the first two seconds, mention the brand name early and get the product front and center from the get go. There’s more to paid partnerships beyond just showing up alongside a popular creator.

Ultimately, creator-led content is one of the most effective ways for unlocking viewer attention on social platforms. However, brands won’t reap the commercial impact of heightened attention unless they land their branding early. When they do, they can stop the scroll by entertaining and aligning well with the style of content that viewers want to see on short-form video platforms. After watching a distinctive creator ad, users will no doubt be thinking; “If Alix Earle likes Poppi sodas, why wouldn’t I?”. After all, we call them influencers for a reason.

Create with Confidence

Want to better understand how your social strategy is resonating with real consumers? System1’s Test Your Ad Social tool enables you to test your social assets, understand what’s connecting and resonating with consumers, and apply insights to your creative strategy to support long-term growth and short-term sales.