TikTok’s new ad product offers placements next to “premium publisher content”

Ahead of the 2022 NewFronts, TikTok unveiled Pulse, an advertising option that bundles the top 4% of TikTok videos into themed packages. One year later, Pulse is expanding in a big way. The product at the center of TikTok’s 2023 NewFronts pitch is Pulse Premiere, which will give advertisers the opportunity to put their branded videos next to “premium publisher content.”

The list of launch partners for Pulse Premiere includes several major media companies, including BuzzFeed, Conde Nast, DotDash Meredith, Hearst Magazines, Major League Soccer, NBCUniversal, UFC, Vox Media, and WWE. Videos from those publishers will be separated into categories like lifestyle, sports, education, and entertainment, which will allow advertisers to target specific audiences and communities.

“TikTok has become one of our most valuable partners, providing us with a variety of tools to ensure that our brands are driving these conversations on their platform,” said Pam Drucker Mann, Conde Nast’s Global CRO and President, in a statement. “Our advertisers know that culture is the new KPI, and the Pulse Premiere solution finally enables clients to match media buying with how consumers are consuming our brands, like Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, on TikTok.”

Like the original TikTok Pulse program, Premiere will inevitably draw comparisons to YouTube Select (formerly Google Preferred), which also creates category-specific packages of top content to sell to advertisers. Though Pulse is still in its early stages, TikTok is touting strong returns from its approach to premium programming. It has claimed that Pulse ads increase brand recall by 9.8% and boost awareness by 6.8%.

Going forward, TikTok will find new ways to arrange its Pulse library. It is planning to launch packages based around specific tentpoles and events. For advertisers that don’t care so much about specific categories and just want to hit that top 4% of videos, the Max Pulse product will be an appealing option.

While TikTok continues to rope off its top-performing videos, its rivals are finding new ways to get advertisers next to widely-seen content. Both YouTube and Snapchat have used the 2023 NewFronts to announce ad products that will put brand placements next to the first videos users watch in any given session.