TikTok vs. Snapchat, the AR rivalry is on

TikTok is making its way to the top of the advertising game and not planning for retirement anytime soon. They now have plans to launch a new augmented reality ad format called “AR Brand Effect” (watch your back Snapchat).

TikTok’ers will soon be able to add interactive visual effects from advertisers to their TikTok videos allowing for integrations and interaction into a user’s environment. This will lead to undeniable growth with creativity for advertising products. Anything is possible, you could be sitting down at your living room table and see a new gaming console ad that can make the console appear right in front of your face or in your hands. The sky’s the limit. Now, has this been tried before? Absolutely, and Snapchat has a similar AR feature but there’s always room for improvement.

TikTok will allow users to be able to interact with the ad as if it’s right in front of their faces. The visual stimulation will become unreal for this digital platform as it integrates the best of AR technology, adding layers of digital information into our real world. TikTok is really bringing a personality to ads and making it a fun experience for users. This will give the advertiser and user a less invasive and more enjoyable ad experience.

If users like what they see or interact with, they can click on the ad right from inside the app. This new ad feature is projected for Q3 of this year.

While others have dipped their toes into the world of AR, TikTok is following suit. Snapchat was thought of as a pioneer in the space of augmented reality at one point but we don’t think TikTok is scared to test how far their creativity can go. TikTok has innovated and grown faster than any other social media company ever (in terms of user growth over time), which means Snapchat will have to keep up with how quickly their team moves. Forget the olympics, let the AR games begin! *popcorn, please*

TikTok already has “Branded Effect”, which lets its users add 2D lenses to their videos, an AR effect that can be brought on by face and hand movements through face recognition technology. I mean, how cool is that?!

This isn’t their only advertising option either. TikTok gives its users many alternatives to choose from: also including their In-Feed Video Ads, Branded Takeover Ads, Topview ads, and Hashtag Challenges ads. All of these have different features depending on what type of ad you are looking to make. The creativity and ability to create ads that are unique and different are what makes TikTok the ideal business platform.

TikTok gets it. Our attention span is short and TikTok isn’t wasting time. They grew from their short, creative, personalizable videos and have skyrocketed their platform since. So… a little advice to advertisers: “keep it simple, stupid.” Less IS in fact, more. If you don’t want to lose consumer interest, keep your videos short. That is what TikTok is all about. Short, fast, and easy. Advertising is also an ever-changing game. Keep up on the trends and keep your head in the game. To grow, you can’t slow down. That’s what makes ads like the hashtag challenge so popular, as long as you can keep up, kids.

TikTok grew at a rapid pace and saw the potential to keep growing. Unlike other platforms that go through their high and lows of digital expansion, they plan to keep exciting their users with new features. How fast they are moving is certifiable and it’s also a lesson for all digital platforms; you can’t stop or lose your creative momentum. Users want the ability to explore avenues of creative freedom and expression.

We’re excited to see this augmented reality feature, along with their upcoming call-to-action ads that will link advertisers to influencers. Stay on your toes now Snapchat because TikTok may have just upped the ante.

Originally published at https://www.l1neupdigital.com on May 11, 2020.