What was the last campaign you saw on Tiktok that went viral? What was it about it that caught your attention? Tiktok is the fastest-moving social media app and with the right strategy, brands can use TikTok to boost their marketing and grow their audiences. Check out how these four brands used TikTok to create viral marketing campaigns. 

 

Chipotle’s #GuacDance Challenge

Back in 2019, Chipotle did what no other food brand had done before. They made National Avocado Day cool with their #GuacDance challenge that set new Tiktok records and became a viral marketing campaign.

The challenge: To celebrate National Avocado Day, Chipotle challenged guacamole fans around the world to show off their best dance moves in exchange for free guacamole with one of their orders. The campaign received 430 million views in six days and 250,000 video submissions.

What made this campaign record-breaking?

1. Clear caption with a strong call-to-action with an obvious benefit. “Show us your guac dance and get free guac from Chipotle when you order online or in-app…”
2. High shareability. The challenge wasn’t hard and after completing it, what would people do? They would send it to their friends and challenge them to do it. And then their friends would challenge other friends, and so on.
3. Partnering with YouTubers to promote a dance-off on TikTok. Chipotle brought on YouTube stars like Brent Rivera and Loren Gray to join in on the fun and with each of their millions of followers they got their audiences to do the same. 

 

Chipotle’s #Boorito Challenge

Chipotle did it again, showing other brands that they know how to use TikTok marketing to their advantage. Chipotle’s annual #Boorito challenge also helped them make another viral campaign. 

The challenge: For Halloween, Chipotle offered a discount to customers who ordered wearing a Halloween costume. This campaign was viewed over 3.6 million times with the #Boorito tag. Taking the challenge one step further, Chipotle encouraged their customers to post their costumes on TikTok using the hashtag #Boorito and #Contest. For the top five posts with the most likes, Chipotle would give those customers free burritos for a whole year.

What helped make this another viral campaign? 

1. Well-known presence on TikTok. After their famous #GuacDance challenge, Chipotle followers were well aware of the company’s fun use of TikTok. If anything they were eager and ready for the next challenge.
2. Added benefit. On top of a discount on their order, customers had a chance to win free burritos for a year if they took the next step and shared their costumes online using the designated hashtags.
3. Use of influencers. Chipotle partnered with some well-known influencers in the social media space like @Montanatucker, @dreaknowsbest, @bdash_2, @kidrl, and @OurFire to take part in the challenge.

 

Kool-Aid #OhYEAHChristmas Challenge

Kool-Aid decided to join in on the viral TikTok fun with a campaign that had a simple ask and a grand prize.

The challenge: Kool-Aid promoted a Christmas campaign asking fans to post a video of themselves enjoying the holidays using the hashtag #OhYEAHChristmas. And with that, fans got a chance to win $10,000. Fittingly, over 10,000 videos were posted with the hashtag with 1.9 billion views on the app. 

Why did this campaign work?

1. Simplicity allows for creativity. Really, anyone could join in on this campaign and make it their own. That allowed for the target audience to really expand.
2. Famous partner. Kool-Aid partnered with rapper and record-producer Lil Jon for this campaign to really get people excited to participate.
3. Great incentive. Who wouldn’t want to post a 10-second video for the chance to win $10,000?

 

Guess #InMyDenim Challenge

Transitions and edits are a great part of what makes TikTok fun to use. So when Guess ran their #InMyDenim campaign, taking advantage of these editing options, it only made sense for this campaign to go viral.

The challenge: Guess asked people to post videos transitioning from old clothes to their favourite Guess outfit. The campaign ran for 6 days, getting over 5,500 user-generated videos which led to 10.5 million video views and over 52 million views for the #InMyDenim hashtag. 

How did Guess make this campaign viral?

1. Transitions. Allowing TikTok users to get creative and really make this challenge their own.
2. Working with influencers. Guess partnered with influencers that became the face of this campaign, famous duo @Ourfire who have over 5 million followers on TikTok.

 

TikTok isn’t a space just for the everyday social media lover. Brands can really use TikTok to expand their audience and have fun with them through campaign challenges. And by using the right tactics, brands can use TikTok to make viral marketing campaigns. Follow our founder @mariateresa.andreacchi to see how she is using TikTok. And if you’re brand is just getting started on TikTok, you can learn more about using TikTok to grow your brand here.