In recent years, Ramadan traditions have been evolving in response to the unique circumstances we are all experiencing. TikTok has become part of, and is embedded in, the celebration of Ramadan with families sharing their joy and well wishes with others through content creation of challenges or even scenes of their daily lives. During Ramadan, the Indonesian TikTok community is ever more active and engaged, with the platform seeing a 29% increase in engagement during Ramadan last year. On top of that, more than 96% of our survey respondents said they would likely upload content on online sharing platforms during the festive season.

So how are brands able to tap into this opportunity on TikTok? Here are three tips for advertisers to consider when planning their Ramadan campaigns on the platform:

Tip #1: Identify the right audience for your brand

LinkAja was the first mover to introduce a Syariah e-wallet to Indonesia and needed a way to get the attention of potential users, especially those who do not have access to banks and financial solutions. The brand saw TikTok as an opportunity to build awareness and reach its targeted users with resonant messaging.

LinkAja launched a Brand Takeover to start the campaign and to tap into the Ramadan moment. Concurrently, it released a series of narrative campaigns portraying four different "slices of life" with an overarching theme: gratitude. Each story encouraged viewers to learn about how LinkAja was a reliable digital payment solution across all situations of life. The creatives ranged from a daily commuter paying for gas, a married couple paying for electricity, a young woman paying for food delivery, and a male gamer paying for items in the digital world, all using LinkAja. One week before the Eid celebration, the brand released its final set of ads with a stronger call-to-action to drive engagement and conversion.

The strategy to launch an ad placement through Brand Takeover effectively served the ad campaign upon opening the TikTok app, optimizing the brand's target cost per engagement. All ads combined, the campaign drove 2.6 times higher user growth than the previous quarter - showing the relevance and effectiveness of TikTok in connecting LinkAja to the right audience. In addition to that, they were able to see more than 93 million in video views with a VTR (view-through-rate) double the industry benchmark.

Tip #2: Amplify your brand's purpose

AQUA, a leading mineral water brand, understood the importance of drinking water to stay hydrated during this time and leaned back on their lifelong purpose: "to protect Indonesian family's health through healthy hydration". To ensure their message was received across age groups, AQUA focused their efforts on the highly engaged communities on TikTok.

In order to roll out their message in a way that would stick, the brand tapped into aspirations Indonesians had during this time, which was to experience Ramadan the way they normally would in the form of "bukber, takbiran, and mudik".

To accomplish this, AQUA ran a Hashtag Challenge campaign throughout the holy month and launched it with TikTok's Brand Takeovers and Top View followed by In-Feed ads that would allow their message to be seen by users as they continued to scroll through the app. The challenge stuck with users as they added a Ramadan twist to their iconic AQUA jingle.

The campaign surpassed their expectations by resulting in >10% increase in sales compared to their last Ramadan, driving more than 50 million views and generating over 10,000 user generated videos. Not only did the campaign drive business results, it also drove positive brand affinity as each video submitted with the hashtag #RamadanBersamaAqua translated into donations for those in need.

Tip #3: Tap into the power of consumers' stories

Lazada, one of Southeast Asia's leading e-commerce platforms, sought to build awareness as a preferred shopping destination during Ramadan. The brand took the Ramadan package that included seasonal features on TikTok for Business to amplify their "Ramadan Lebih Berarti (A More Meaningful Ramadan)" campaign, which focused on viewers seeking inspiration during the gift-giving season.

The brand collaborated with TikTok Creators to share stories about items that were meaningful to them, driving their followers to the Lazada marketplace. A combination of official videos from Creators were promoted through Top View, One Day Max Ads, and In-Feed ads during THR bonus period - one week before the religious holiday.

To further drive traffic and encourage participation, Lazada employed TikTok Bonus to launch a 7-day coupon program that allowed users to redeem their coupons by visiting the Hashtag Challenge that Lazada sponsored. The brand was also highlighted on TikTok's H5 Landing Page, a first-of-its-kind interactive page for brand exposure, providing an immersive experience for viewers.

As a result, the campaign garnered over 265 million video views and drove 13 times more users creating a variety of creative videos that were based off of user generated content. By the end of the campaign, 100% of the coupons provided in their TikTok Bonus feature had been redeemed – a success indicator to the engagement and interest from users on TikTok. The key to the success of the campaign was Lazada's strategy to harness consumer-led storytelling combined with TikTok's powerful sharing community that ensured engagement from the right audience.

Bringing you more meaningful ways to connect in Ramadan 2021

TikTok has become the source of igniting joy for many, creating a larger opportunity than before for advertisers to reach consumers. Not only are users discovering new products, they are also engaging and purchasing goods for themselves and their loved ones. To connect with Indonesians on TikTok during this time, brands need to know which audiences they want to engage with, their brand's core purpose, and how they can tap into the power of consumer stories to create messaging that is both meaningful and impactful.

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