Vol. 83: Hilton: The longest TikTok possible

It can easily feel like content just keeps getting shorter and shorter. But there are a handful of campaigns that break this rule.

Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches short was over six and a half minutes long and it got over 50 million views within 12 days of its release. Netflix partnered with The New York Times’ T-Studio on a highly praised long-form branded content piece about women inmates that promoted Orange is the New Black. And Hilton ventured into the long-form category on a platform where short-n-sweet is usually the name of the game: TikTok. 

This week, Case Studied explores how Hilton generated record viewership on a 10-minute TikTok. 

The Brief:

Hilton is one of the world’s largest and most recognizable hotel chains. Its history dates back to 1919, and today, it has over 7,500 properties in 126 countries. 

Aiming to capitalize on pent up travel demand following the pandemic, Hilton launched a new brand platform called “For the Stay” in 2022. And in tandem, it launched a campaign titled “It Matters Where You Stay”, which focused on the role hotels play within travel experiences. 

After that brand launch, Hilton was looking to continue telling stories about “The Stay” and generate more reach and buzz around the idea. So to do that, they set out to “pioneer a new type of social format that rewards people for staying.”

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The Execution:

Hilton partnered with TBWA to execute its The Ad You Stay In campaign. Together, they created the first 10-minute TikTok by any brand on the platform. 

To get people to stick around for all that time, they brought in star and influencer power. Paris Hilton started the video off asking, “Would you watch a 10 minute TikTok?” She then explains what viewers would get in return if they watched the entire video: Hilton Honors points, experiences, swag, and more. 

From there, seven popular content creators have their own segment in the video, including Chris Olsen, Robyn DelMonte, and Boman Martinez Reid. Some made brief appearances, while others acted out full skits that were over two minutes long. Along the way, they continuously challenged viewers to stay with the video until the end and shared information about Hilton.

Hilton divided the launch of the video into three segments:

1. Teasing with a video featuring Paris Hilton that primed the audience and built intrigue 24 hours before launch. The brand also leveraged a TikTok feature called Top Feed, which ensured that the teaser was the first in-feed video users saw during a viewing session. 

2. Launching and securing the Top Feed placement again to make sure the video reached people when they were tuned in. 

3. Sustaining with supplemental creator videos that talked about the 10-minute video and had CTAs driving folks to watch it. 

@hilton

Unexpected & amazing things can happen when you stay, and we want you to stay with us for 10 minutes. Yup, we made a 10-minute TikTok AND ... See more

The Results:

TikTok users did, in fact, stay with the 10-minute video. Total video completions reached 128,837. The average watch time was 18 minutes and 2 seconds and the video garnered 86x more views than the average brand on TikTok. 

The Ad You Stay In racked up 6 million minutes watched and 28,000 comments. Hilton got 78,000 new followers on TikTok  (good for a 35% increase) and saw 21% lift in ad recall (one of the highest TikTok has seen in the travel category). 

And though the campaign was upper funnel, the video’s 0.81% CTR notched it 145% higher than TikTok’s benchmark. Plus, the brand saw 55,000 new Hilton Honors members sign up and brand association increased by 5%. 

Key Takeaways:

1) Leverage suspense and reward.

A big part of this ad’s success was the gamification of it. Viewers were told up front that if they stuck around for the full 10 minutes, they could win Hilton Honors Points and other rewards. The brand created clear motivation with a simple, straightforward CTA.

Even if it seems like an odd match for your industry, try exploring ways you can gamify your marketing. Offer rewards and play into curiosity, challenges, or the chance to win. You can start with some tests to see what motivates your audience and from there, explore how you can effectively factor these elements into your campaigns. 

2) Think platform-native, not platform-adapted.

With The Ad You Stay In, Hilton embraced TikTok’s native cuts, voiceovers, and POV angles. Each creator it featured was shown using their typical style and tone of voice. And, in true TikTok form, the video was clearly made to not feel overly polished or branded. 

Making your marketing feel native can do a lot of legwork when it comes to building trust and avoiding resistance. Be intentional about learning the language of the platforms you’re on and speak it fluently in your content. And if you need support getting nailing that voice, creators can be a key resource.

3) Sequence your roll-out strategically.

Hilton’s three-phases of content rolled out in a clear arc. There was the teaser, the launch, and the continuation of the conversation. This eased the pressure off the launch and helped lock in maximum engagement across a longer time frame. 

Even if you only have one main centerpiece of content to launch, consider how you can treat it like a series. How can you build anticipation? What reminders can you send? What angles could help more people stay engaged? A well-sequenced roll-out extends the life of a campaign and helps you capture more audience attention across the funnel.

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