Upfront about Upfronts challenges the traditional media agency viewpoint, offering a real look at upfront season and what publishers are bringing to the table.
Tim Collier, National Head of Strategy, cummins&partners
If I was to guess the biggest issue in the marketing industry, I’d say trust.
Not consumer trust in brands or communications, but marketing's trust within its own organisations. Since the 2012 Fournaise Track report revealed CMOs as the least trusted c-suite members, this has been a major concern, especially due to the elusive nature of brands and consumer desire.
Regaining trust requires two things: professionalism—creating a perception of seriousness—and impact—proving our value.
It would be delusional to ignore this trust issue, and we must address it in our industry gatherings, media, and awards. Anytime we are banded together as an industry.
So, I went to the TikTok upfront event…
Since leaving media and after years in creative agencies, I was excited to attend a media upfront again with cummins&partners, having both creative and media in my role.
As a strategist, I believe clients need every part of the process working together smoothly, including the media platforms, to drive growth.
If anyone in creative agencies is wondering where the glitz, glamour and showbiz of our industry has disappeared to, the answer is media upfronts. TikTok has spared no expense kitting out the Hordern Pavillion to host clients, media and the like to celebrate the year that was and talk about the year ahead.
I was struck immediately by three things in the introductory sequence. GM Brett Armstrong's self-confessed bad acting. How important good scripts are. And most importantly, TikTok's focus on proving it can drive business results.
‘Full funnel’ impact was a key theme, this emphasis on the value marking a key moment in TikTok's maturity. Mirroring what we have seen in other platforms like Meta with brand equity reports and agency partnerships.
James Hurman drove home this focus, showing how brand strength boosts performance advertising. This is exactly the kind of study platforms need to show clients and agencies to justify their investments—a gift for strategists like me. Though missing any mention of creative’s role in that work.
The report, along with the case studies shown, makes designing TikTok strategies easier and more impactful, giving its role beyond just reaching youth audiences — vital work for its growth as a serious business driver.
Except, the event wasn’t all like that.
While Armstrong claimed 'the foundations of great advertising haven't changed,' much of the event contradicted this statement.
TikTok’s unhealthy obsession with owning culture, central to its early identity, persists despite its pivot toward marketing maturity, and it’s holding them back.
Watching professionals debase themselves at the altar of youth culture lowers the credibility of everything of value delivered from stage. A CMO talking about their results as “very demure” had my body involuntarily recoiling. Another senior marketer proclaims they have taken strategic advice from their teenage offspring, as if it was revolutionary and not a blight on their expertise.
This cult of youth demands a sacrifice and its professionalism whose blood satisfies the malevolent lord of culture. These displays make it hard to see marketing and advertising relieving ourselves of the mantle of ‘colouring in department’ very soon.
It wasn’t just the cringe; the discourse itself was confused. Amidst earnest attempts at appealing to effectiveness, contradictions at the heart of TikTok’s discourse are revealed.
One moment, the presentation praised well crafted campaign assets that have been remixed to suit the channel, driving fantastic results. Then, suddenly the conversation turns to the need for ‘creators’. We are shown content with the faces of anonymous good looking TikTok users. Zero distinct brand cues. Supposedly driving results but for who? Audiences couldn’t know. Followed by statements that this content is simply “better”. Better at what? Or maybe more importantly ‘than what’?
The contradictions at TikTok’s upfronts reflect the core of a problem all social media platforms face as they evolve into companies that must feed the beast of investors. What starts as a fun thing for users, must mature into an advertising platform whose clients must justify their investments. TikTok’s bid for effectiveness, while clinging to user-centric culture, is ultimately about revenue.
But having your cake and eating it too isn’t sustainable for any social media platform.
Advertisers will spend more only if it works. Audiences want fewer ads. The solution for TikTok has been to tell the industry that effective comms didn’t need to be “ads”, they could mimic users and get results. But the penny is dropping - Brand is still the driver of performance, as Armstrong admitted: the foundations of advertising haven’t changed.
Indistinct creative that blends in will not build memories for brands. Brands need to stand out in audiences minds, not be smushed into transient trends and memes.
This is exactly what creative agencies are expert at. Making brands entertaining and memorable, worth paying attention to.
So how long until TikTok swallows the bitter pill and drops the teenage masquerade and embraces business? Maybe next year’s event?
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