Meet TikTok's Culture Drivers of 2021

Meet TikTok's Culture Drivers of 2021

November 23, 2021

TikTok For Business

CultureAnnouncements

TikTok’s Culture Drivers of 2021 are here! The inaugural list is an end-of-year celebration of 14 trailblazing brand and creator partnerships on TikTok this year. Honoring brands ranging from CPG to auto, these marketing leaders engaged with this generation's storytellers to co-create at the speed of culture, inspire brand love, and sell out products in real time.

Check out the full campaign at TikTokCultureDrivers.com, which features the stories of fruitful and fun collaborations between some of the biggest brands in the world and the TikTok creators who turned their briefs into the leading edge of commerce and culture. The photography and interviews aim to shed light on what makes marketers on TikTok special: a tolerance for risk, the ability to act quickly, and an understanding of the collaborative nature of the platform.

This year’s honorees include eos, Aerie, Clinique, Jif, Goldfish, Volkswagen, T-Mobile, Tropicana, Comcast, KOHO, Amazon Alexa, Pizza Hut, Dove, and e.l.f. Cosmetics. Each brand-creator pair receives a yearbook-style Superlative award: Pizza Hut, for example, wins Biggest Personality for its partnership with @angryreactions to make his customized pie a reality—with cantankerous results.
 
The photo and video series features editorial, behind-the-scenes content and exclusive interviews with the marketers and TikTok creators who made these campaigns possible. Portraits were captured by a creative team led by celebrity director and photographer Carlos “Kaito” Araujo and in collaboration with Spring Studios. The dedicated microsite also features an A-Z glossary of TikTok terminology.
 
The campaign debuted with a Fast Company exclusive, including an interview with Sofia Hernandez, TikTok’s global head of business marketing. “They took chances, and they did it the right way, they trusted themselves, and they trusted us,” she said. “That’s what Culture Drivers is, because I think this is the future of CMOs and marketers, the people who see something new, aren’t sure how it can drive their business, but know they need to be there, and be there in a way that is authentic to that platform. We also wanted to create a bit of FOMO for the marketers who haven’t leaned in enough.”
 
Promotion continues with a two-week digital buy on the New York Times website, followed by a double-page spread in the print edition showcasing Kaito’s portraiture—a seamless composite of all the participants, created to adhere to Covid safety protocols.
 
Visit TikTokCultureDrivers.com to explore the partnerships and trends that drove culture in 2021.