TikTok ads are about to get a tad more disruptive | TechCrunch

TikTok announced on Tuesday that it’s introducing new ad formats, including one that displays another brand’s logo alongside TikTok’s on the launch page when users open the app.

The new “Logo Takeover” ad format allows companies to co-brand with TikTok in a way that captures users’ attention from the second they open the app. TikTok says that the ad format showcases partnership, credibility, and cultural relevance while giving advertisers a broad reach.

A new “Prime Time” ad format allows brands to show a series of ads at specific times, whether that’s during a live event or another engagement period. With this ad format, three sequential ads from one advertiser will be shown to the same user within a designated 15-minute time window. TikTok says brands can use this format to tell a continuous story during high-activity periods.

There’s also a new “Top Reach” ad format that combines two of TikTok’s current ad placements, TopView and TopFeed. TopView is the first ad users see when they open the app, and TopFeed is the first in-feed ad that appears in the For You feed. TikTok says that by combining these placements, brands can reach the maximum number of users for the day through high-visibility placements.

While TikTok says these new ad formats will allow brands to maximize reach, they are more disruptive than the current ad placements on the platform. For instance, seeing an ad within the first second of opening the app can be annoying, and users may not want to encounter three ads from the same brand within just 15 minutes. However, TikTok doesn’t see these as interruptions.

“TikTok is where people go to see what everyone is talking about right now,” said Khartoon Weiss, VP, GM, Global Business Solutions at TikTok, in a press release. “Big cultural moments show up on TikTok first, but so do the everyday things people share with each other. That means brands are not interrupting people — they are joining the conversation. What makes TikTok different is that ads live inside the content and products people already love. Whether it is a creator video, a search result, or a live shopping moment, brands can show up in ways that feel natural and useful.”

Additionally, the social network is expanding its TikTok Pulse suite with a new “Pulse Mentions” tool that places brands alongside moments when users are already discussing them and their category. The new “Pulse Tastemakers” offering allows brands to align their ads with a selection of eligible creators.