TikTok and Unilever leverage #CleanTok trend to create global marketing category

TikTok is partnering with Unilever to launch dedicated content series’ and programme activations to be housed in a #CleanTok content hub.

With over 78bn views, TikTok’s #CleanTok community has taken the often mundane activity and turned it into one of the most loved entertainment genres on the platform, sharing cleaning-hacks, product recommendations, turning the activity into an ASMR experience and more.

The partnership with Unilever will feature co-created content targeted towards cleaning fans across the globe. Each activation puts creator-led and creator-generated content at the forefront and will be housed in the official in-app #CleanTok hub.

Alongside agencies Gravity Road and Mindshare, and sponsored by Unilever’s Cleanipedia website – a digital home for all things cleanliness – TikTok will release a variety of dedicated #CleanTok content series’ and programme activations, including Sunday Reset, Cleaning Conundrum, Festival of Cleaning, The #CleanTok Awards, and more.

Eduardo Campanella, Home Care Chief Marketing Officer at Unilever, said: “There is a huge amount of emotion attached to our homes. So, while cleaning products have been traditionally seen as functional and the act of cleaning as a chore, the results that come from using the right products in the right way can bring a huge amount of satisfaction and peace.

“The rise of #CleanTok – since the start of the pandemic and beyond – shows just how attached we are to making our homes look, feel and smell good. We want to continue to inspire and educate people and by working with TikTok’s creative teams to develop new and engaging content, we hope to gain valuable insights into a growing audience of young people who are just as passionate about cleaning as we are.”

“The scale and diversity of a TikTok trend can become a platform for an entire global marketing category”

For marketers, this partnership highlights the potential that social media platforms have for creating new communities. Leveraging these communities brings about a litany of potential benefits, not only to market to new audiences, but also to view them as tools for generating more specific, cookieless targeting methods.

Jacinta Faul, Managing Director of Gravity Road, commented: "The exciting thing here is how the scale and diversity of a TikTok trend can become a platform for an entire global marketing category. #CleanTok is a diverse community of joyful, useful and entertaining voices. So we’re proud to bring all our expertise to shape and deliver this genuinely game-changing partnership.”

Khartoon Weiss, Head of Global Agencies and Accounts at TikTok, added: "The #CleanTok community on TikTok is among the most engaged on the platform, and in working alongside Unilever, we are excited to create a space to celebrate them and facilitate content that entertains and educates.”

The initiative will run for 40 weeks across 10 markets across EMEA and APAC.