5 TikTok Trend Tools For Sports Marketing

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From fitness brands to professional sports teams, TikTok is rapidly becoming the social platform of choice for sports marketers to showcase their products, services, and activities. 73% of TikTok users agree that it is the most entertaining platform¹, and it’s this penchant for fun that makes TikTok the ideal channel for brands that position themselves as active and high-energy.

The frequent emergence of new TikTok trends – the current popular features, special effects, hashtags, or challenges circulating the platform – are a big part of what makes TikTok so endlessly dynamic and entertaining.

In fact, 83% of sports fans say they like to see fitness and sports brands or professionals taking part in TikTok trends and challenges, and 47% have confessed to buying something new after watching TikTok sports and fitness content¹.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular TikTok trend tools harnessed by the sports and fitness brands, and why they serve this industry so well.

5 TikTok trend tools

The most successful sports brands on TikTok aren’t just making use of existing trends – they’re trendsetting themselves. TikTok provides businesses with all the tools they need to create unique branded hashtags, challenges, giveaways, and short dance routines that have the legs to go viral.

1. AR Branded Effect

First and foremost a short video platform, TikTok’s dedication to enhancing user experience with the latest photo and video technology means sports brands can easily tap into the AR (Augmented Reality) revolution with their ‘Branded Effect’² tool.

This is a great way to engage sports fans and let them feel part of the action, such as with AR keepie uppies, but it can also be used in many other ways to sell products and services.

Example: JD and Nike – AR shoe try-on

In 2021, sports retailer JD partnered with Nike to launch their new trainer in the #JDVaporMaxShuffle campaign on TikTok – a 3D AR Branded Effect shoe try-on that allowed users to try on the shoe in different colours without having to step inside a store.

2. Branded Hashtag Challenges

‘Branded Hashtag Challenges’³ are a TikTok ad format that seamlessly blends paid and earned media. It involves inviting TikTok users to co-create content to a particular brief and tagging a brand’s custom hashtag. The more fun participants have taking part, the more likely these hashtags are to go viral and spark organic visibility, and the scope for reaching a new audience is huge – with a median engagement rate of 17.5%^4.

As well as delivering strong brand awareness, TikTok’s ‘Hashtag Challenge Plus’ function also makes this a highly shoppable experience with five additional, highly customisable sections to the challenge page, including a product carousel and interactive survey.

Example: PUMA and Sports Direct – #FlashOfFuture

To hype up a new PUMA football boot, Sports Direct challenged TikTok users to film a short football skill and a unique celebration, submitting their attempts using the #FlashForFuture hashtag. Tapping into football fans’ passion as well as TikTok users’ enjoyment of content creation, 49,000 users participated, and Sports Direct’s followers increased by 280%^5.

3. In-Feed Ads

When it comes to social media ads, users consider TikTok to be 21% more trendsetting compared to other platforms, and a whopping 83% find TikTok ads more enjoyable⁶. TikTok’s ‘In-Feed Ads’ are sound-on, vertical ads in users’ ‘For You’ feed that can be enhanced with interactive ad-ons, such as Countdown Stickers. This immersive ad format encourages users to lean in rather than tune out.

Example: Karate Combat

Professional Karate league Karate Combat targeted In-Feed Ads at males 25 years and older using TikTok’s targeting recommendation. The league got creative, not only featuring fights but also fighting tips from world-renowned fighters and behind-the-scenes footage. These ads were a hit with their desired audience: video views reached 179,000 and the engagement campaign led to 36,000 new followers⁷.

4. TopView

TopView⁸ is another attention-grabbing ad format, that unlike In-Feed Ads is long-form (up to 60 seconds), full-screen, and presented to users within the first three seconds of them opening the app (thought to be the time when they are most receptive). One study found that 71% of users say TopView grabs their attention⁹. This ad format also ranks well in terms of low skip rates and low annoyance levels.

Example: Kayo Sports

Kayo Sports, an Australian sports streaming service, promoted first-hand footage of car race Bathurst 1000 using a mix of TopView and In-Feed Ads. The engaging content wasn’t just targeted at motor fans, and Kayo Spirts were able to increase brand awareness and reach new audiences, their ads achieving a 2,760% lift in engagement compared to organic, non-boosted Bathurst 1000 posts¹⁰.

5. Powerful insights

Finally, it’s important to remember that the biggest trendsetters rely on TikTok’s measurement tools to optimise the performance of their campaigns. As well as innovative user-facing functions, TikTok offers powerful artificial intelligence insights to help optimise performance. They also help to protect brand reputation, ensuring campaigns reach people in fraud-free environments.

Example: Adidas

Adidas ran a brand auction campaign with views of In-Feed Ads as their core objective. It was very important to Adidas that their ads reached the right audience – people aged between 18 and 34 who are interested in sports – and also to practise brand safety. TikTok’s Inventory Filter allowed Adidas to gather powerful insights that measured media effectiveness, and they achieved a rating of 99.9% rating for both brand suitability and brand safety¹¹.

H2 Sources and references

5 TikTok trend tools for sports marketing

The ultimate entertainment destination