TikTok partners with top publishers on new premium, brand-safe ad slot 'Pulse Premiere'

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TikTok has partnered with major publishers such as NBCU, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, and BuzzFeed to capture more premium ad spend. This week on NewFronts, video entertainment companies feature lifestyle, sports, entertainment, education and more.

The ad slot, dubbed “Pulse Premiere,” provides a brand-safe space of sorts within TikTok's social video network, where ads run directly after what TikTok calls “proper TikTok” from premium publishers. guaranteed.

The move has disrupted YouTube's ad revenue over the past few years, as bands have had to freeze ads due to offensive and indecent content, ranging from hate speech to child safety issues. potentially address potential concerns about placing ads within user-generated content. more.

TikTok's new service ensures that content runs alongside trusted publishers only, giving marketers the confidence to secure a spot for it. In addition to NBCU, Condé Nast, DotDash Meredith and BuzzFeed, the company has partnered with Hearst Magazines, Major League Soccer, UFC, Vox Media and WWE on new programs.

In addition, marketers can use TikTok's advertising platform to connect campaigns to large-scale events through Pulse Premiere, the company said. Meanwhile, for publishers, the new ad slots will help them generate increased revenue from their investments in TikTok through revenue sharing agreements.

TikTok did not disclose the cost of the new Pulse Premiere inventory, only that it is “premium inventory.” Details about the revenue sharing for participating publishers were also not disclosed.

Pam Drucker Mann, Global Chief Revenue Officer and President, U.S. Revenue and APAC, Condé Nast, said: In a statement. “TikTok has become one of our most valued partners, providing us with a variety of tools to ensure our brands drive these conversations on the platform. Our Advertising We recognize that culture is the new KPI, and with our Pulse Premiere solution, our clients can finally improve media buying and the way consumers consume our brands like Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair on TikTok. Now we can match,” she added.

Pulse Premiere builds on TikTok's initial Pulse service launched last year, which allowed marketers to place ads next to the top 4% of content on the platform. TikTok noted at the time that the program was the first advertising product to offer revenue sharing to content creators. The company said its data shows TikTok users are 2.6 times more likely to interact with a Pulse ad compared to an equivalent ad on another video platform. They also noted that Pulse campaigns increased brand recall by +9.8% and awareness by +6.8% on average.

However, in follow-up reports from Fortune and Insider, creators reported extremely low returns from Pulse, in some cases earning no more than $5. Among creators interviewed by Insider, revenue per 1,000 video views on Pulse (RPM) ranged from just $6 to $8. Some likened it to just a small bonus for a video going viral, but it's clear that creators aren't going to rely on ad revenue share to drive their business.

Instead, TikTok offers other monetization tools for creators, such as livestream gifts, subscriptions, and Creator Funds, the latter of which also have lower payment obligations. Many creators currently earn money through branded ad deals and sponsored content rather than the platform's own monetization tools.

The advertising product will be rolled out to US advertisers in the second half of this year, followed by other markets.