TikTok’s launching a “university” that gives creative agencies the inside scoop

TikTok is cozying up to creative agencies with its latest endeavor: CAP (Creative Agency Partnerships) University, a five-week program it bills as “a curriculum that will teach you everything you need to know to get started on TikTok—without the midterms or tuition.”

The platform already offers an educational hub for its creator population as a whole, plus runs knowledge-sharing incubator programs for Black and Latinx creators. With CAP University, TikTok is turning its attention to another source of the seemingly endless flow of content filling its billion-user-strong app—the agencies and freelancers producing things like ad spots, branded videos, and creator sponsorships.

“You know something about traditional marketing is no longer working,” it posits in CAP University’s intro. “[W]e know you want a better understanding of how to plan and concept specifically for our platform.”

CAP University graduates “will be able to lead conversations with their clients, concept and create for the platform, and continue driving their clients’ business forward,” TikTok says.

The first “semester” at CAP University will take enrollees through five courses (descriptions provided by TikTok):

• TikTok 101–CAP University starts with the numbers. This lesson is packed with foundational statistics and data that all creative agencies should be familiar with to lead their clients with confidence and authority. It also includes examples of best-in-class creative work to inspire enrollees to imagine what’s possible.
• TikTok: From Briefing to Pitching–A TikTok-first mindset requires a different strategy from other marketing channels, and that begins at the briefing stage. From Briefing to Pitching will explain how to think about and communicate ideas made specifically for the platform.
• Concepting & Creating for TikTok–This course takes all the trends, patterns, and learnings from the past year and distills them down to platform best practices to inform concepting and creating. We’ll share how big ideas manifest on the platform through the core principles of TikTok.
• Trends and Music Licensing–While we can’t predict the next trend, this class will dissect the anatomy of a trend, explain how to lean into these trends, and how to respond to them with agility. This class will also answer our most commonly asked questions about music licensing.
• Collaborating with Creators–Creators are the lifeblood of the platform. They participate in and create trends, hold a tremendous amount of influence, and continue to push the boundaries of creativity and joy on TikTok. This course will teach the basics of working with creators and highlight our native tool, the TikTok Creator Marketplace.

Each course consists of a live webinar session followed by live “office hours” with TikTok’s newly formed CAP team. During office hours, enrollees will be able to directly ask the CAP team “individual questions about the platform, your agency’s strategies, trends, and more,” TikTok says.

Courses kick off April 19, and enrollees will attend one course per week for five weeks.

TikTok didn’t say exactly how many places are available in the first semester, but its CAP University landing page nudges agencies and freelancers to “enroll before spots fill up.”