In July 2024, the social media platform TikTok announced it would start beta-testing advertisements featuring alcoholic brands, which were previously banned from engaging in any paid advertising on the platform. For an industry that has been facing headwinds, this could prove advantageous.
TikTok gained widespread popularity in the U.S. in 2018, when it surpassed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube in downloads. Today, it’s estimated there are 1.6 billion TikTok users, and of those, 170 million are American, according to TikTok CEO Shou Chew. While TikTok had a reputation for being popular with teenagers when it first launched, demographics are shifting: in 2022, 35 percent of users were between the ages of 18 and 24, but, in 2024, that age range had dropped to 25 percent. Meanwhile, users aged 35 and older are getting turned on to the app.
Even though the U.S. government has passed legislation banning TikTok in the country—which could go into effect by January 2025, should its parent company ByteDance decline to sell it to a government-approved company—users and brands alike continue to invest in the platform. Companies are devoting large amounts of ad dollars to TikTok, with brands spending nearly $4 billion on TikTok ads in 2023.
By allowing alcohol brands to advertise, will TikTok help attract new consumers to the drinks space? SevenFifty Daily explores the platform and what brands need to know about advertising on TikTok.
Why advertise on TikTok?
As these younger demographics come of legal drinking age, it opens up opportunities for alcohol brands. According to YouGov’s 2024 U.S. TikTok report, 64 percent of TikTok users agree that advertising helps them choose what to buy.
Brands currently posting organically on TikTok say its biggest virtue is that it gets their product in front of new eyes. “TikTok is amazing because you can reach a larger audience,” says George Walker, the brand ambassador for Wade Cellars, a California-based brand owned by former basketball star Dwayne Wade. The winery started posting on TikTok in 2022. “It’s very different as far as platforms go; the algorithm is different and things can go viral randomly,” says Walker. TikTok’s algorithm does a great job of helping people discover the brand and puts the winery in the feed of people who may not be familiar with Wade Cellars, he adds.
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