Video sharing platform TikTok has appointed PHD as its global agency of record to manage media planning and buying duties across all channels in international markets outside of China.
The appointment is effective immediately and will see the global media network facilitate duties across the globe, working closely with the social platform’s global leadership team in Beijing.
PHD Australia confirmed that the agency would be working with the platform locally.
"We’re very excited to be working with TikTok both globally and locally, Australia is a key market for TikTok and we look forward to partnering them in both their brand & Adtech journey here in Australia," PHD Australia MD Mark Jarrett says.
As one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world, hitting one billion downloads globally in February 2019, the platform has also raised its profile in Australia over recent months.
While it doesn’t have an Australian-based team, although there are talks it’s looking at setting one up soon, representatives from China have been scouting the local market to drive creators to its platform, according to several industry insiders.
"As a ‘challenger brand at scale’, PHD shares common values and thinking with TikTok, which has broken records in the social media landscape to become the fastest-growing platform in history," PHD China CEO Anna Chitty says.
"We are honoured to partner with such an incredible success story and look forward to the challenge of accelerating their global momentum further.”
The app, which specialises in short-form video content, became the world’s most downloaded iOS app in the first half of 2018 and has remained among the top 4 global apps on all mobile operating systems ever since.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with TikTok at this exciting stage in the platform’s growth journey. The global assignment utilises PHD’s key network capabilities and expertise in areas such as technology, data and digital content," PHD global CEO Philippa Brown says.
Brands locally have already begun to work with the platform. Most recently Superdry tapped several Tiktok influencers when opening its latest store, as hundreds of fans queued to meet Caleb Finn, Rory Eliza and Ricky Chainz.
While the ByteDance-owned company isn’t releasing its user numbers, third-party sources estimate it has more than one billion monthly users and 500 million daily users.
“Australia is a key market for TikTok, and we’ll be exploring opportunities to establish a stronger presence in the market as our business continues to grow,” a TikTok spokesperson previously told AdNews.
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