Finally! From summer 2024, TikTok advertising for alcohol brands is here. For brands whose target audiences are on the platform and might see organic success, this is an excellent opportunity to augment their organic content with paid ads. Here’s why drink brands should take advantage of a new ad platform and how to start.
In September 2024, TikTok was the second most downloaded mobile app worldwide, with 45m downloads, just behind Instagram. Historically, TikTok’s reputation was for being popular with teenagers – the most significant demographic is 18-34 years old, but this has dropped from 35% of users in 2022 to 25% in 2024. Meanwhile, users aged 35 years and older are growing, with almost 4% of users aged 55 years and older all looking for entertainment rather than a traditional social media platform.
Even with a potential ban on TikTok in the USA coming in 2025, both users and brands continue to invest in the platform. Brands spent nearly $4 billion on TikTok ads in 2023. Alcohol brands can join them, getting their products in front of new consumers.
Why TikTok advertising for alcohol brands?
As younger demographics reach the legal drinking age, TikTok opens up opportunities for alcohol brands. The average active worldwide user spends 32 hours a month on TikTok, and organic engagement is 3.8%, far higher than organic engagement on Instagram (average 0.6% or Facebook (0.05%), as the algorithm helps people discover brands that might interest them. Want to get in front of your overseas markets? The top markets for active TikTok users are Indonesia, the USA, Brazil, Mexico, and Vietnam, all worth experimenting with.
How to start advertising on TikTok
Alcohol advertising on TikTok is still in its beta phase, and several steps need to be taken before running an ad. Brands must go through a thorough approval process on the platform before they can advertise and comply with market-specific requirements.
Firstly, brands must have an active TikTok account and post organic content for at least 90 days before applying to advertise. Those 90 days allow TikTok to ensure that brands comply with its community guidelines, such as respecting others and preventing harm.
Once the 90-day period is over, brands must apply to be approved for advertising, submit documentation, and get a review of the TikTok account’s organic content.
Finally, wait for approval, which can take time, so plan for this before launching advertising campaigns.
What does a TikTok ad for alcohol look like?
Once approved for advertising, TikTok outlines several overarching, as well as country-specific, requirements for ads.
Ads must only target consumers aged 25 and older, even though the legal drinking age may vary from country to country. They cannot feature people under 25.
Ads also cannot feature pregnant women nor portray excessive drinking or reckless behaviour. Alcohol also cannot be promoted as a prize or reward, and discounts on alcoholic products are forbidden. Finally, TikTok currently does not allow advertising for retail or e-commerce sales of alcoholic products.
Where TikTok differs from advertising on Meta platforms such as Instagram is that ads must include the alcoholic strength of the advertised product, and clearly state a responsible drinking disclaimer prominently at the beginning of the caption or ad copy not at the end.
Best practice for TikTok ad content
As a relatively new option on the platform, brands are still finding their way to what works best, but there are a few best practices learnt from organic content that some brands might feel will work well with ads and are worth testing out. Brand education or the production process portrayed in a fun way to try out and capture people’s attention.
Authentic and less polished organic content resonates best, such as behind-the-scenes clips or cocktail recipes. So, test out this type of content in ads and make them engaging yet with clear calls to action and product promotion to get people to take the required action.
Advertising on TikTok for alcohol is still very new, but if your target audience is on the platform, it may be worth dipping your toe in the water and testing out an ad budget to see what resonates with them.
Reference: TikTok advertising policy for alcohol
Related content: Are you social-ads ready?
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