Photo Credit: TikTok Tickets
TikTok is launching its first live event ticketing effort in Thailand — TikTok Tickets. ByteDance is looking to expand TikTok’s scope beyond just social media.
TikTok Tickets offers deals and discounts on tickets to concerts, movies, and other events. The company has struck a strategic partnership with several entertainment brands in the Thai market.
The video streaming app has become the most popular app in the world, reaching 1.5 billion downloads.
TikTok Tickets has partnered with BEC Tero, Major Cineplex, Neon Festivals, and Ticketmelon. The service will offer 500 tickets to popular movies and upcoming concerts.
Tickets are available for Mumford & Sons, Green Day, and Neon Countdown. The TikTok Tickets experiment is only available in Thailand — from November 19 to December 31.
Head of Music at TikTok, Suppawat Berananda says the test offers engagement with a dynamic format.
“TikTok provides brands with the opportunity to engage with target audiences in a dynamic format. TikTok, in turn, benefits from enhanced entertainment content on our platform, and collaboration is a stepping stone that can lead to uplifting the Thai entertainment content industry moving forward.”
The ByteDance-owned app has an estimated 680 million monthly active users. It’s estimated that nine out of ten companies are using TikTok as part of their marketing. Analysts believe that by 2022, video will make up 82% of most internet consumer traffic.
Tests in small markets like Thailand will help ByteDance build its case for TikTok’s broader value. Right now, the Chinese-owned company is looking to expand the app beyond just social media as a marketing platform for artists.
Focusing on music streaming and a deal with rights holders could help launch a new multi-purpose platform — much to Mark Zuckerberg’s chagrin. TikTok could become a platform for Gen Z in the same way Facebook enraptured the world in 2004. The U.S. government seems to agree, since TikTok is currently under investigation.