• by Colin Kirkland , October 17, 2023

Building upon its previous out-of-home content offerings, TikTok is inviting brands and creators to present their in-app content on screens beyond mobile.

With partners like ReachTV, GSTV and Vevo, “Out of Phone” is intended to bring TikTok videos to screens on billboards, kiosks, cinemas, bars, restaurants, cars, airports, gas stations, retail stores and more -- almost anywhere consumers are looking.

“Our goal is to make TikTok ubiquitous,” Dan Page, head of TikTok’s New Screens Team, told MediaPost. “There are over two billion ‘New Screens’ outside of mobile and our goal is to be on all of them.”

Relevant images provided by the ByteDance-owned company show TikTok dance moves displayed on gas station fuel tanks, gardening tips on Redbox movie-rental machines, cooking content on a flatscreen behind the counter at a hot sauce seller's brick-and-mortar, and most notably, CeraVe-sponsored creator tutorials and testimonials on the brand's digital billboards.

“Out of Phone: Billboard” is a major focus in TikTok's push for content in the physical world, allowing brands to begin a campaign on TikTok's mobile app, attract interested creators and communities to a product and brand, and then amplify their native contributions on digital billboards in well-populated public areas.

Another primary focus for TikTok is movie screens. While moviegoers wait in their seats for a film to start, brands can advertise alongside top-performing content segments taken directly from the app. Brands can choose to show their content depending on which films are showing, giving them the ability to target specific audiences.

TikTok's initial foray into investing in out-of-home content took place in January 2022, when the company partnered with Atmosphere, a startup provider of licensed and curated video content for commercial venues like Taco Bell, Texas Roadhouse, and Westin hotels.

When asked about how TikTok’s new launch builds upon its partnership with Atmosphere, the company told MediaPost that Atmosphere is no longer a current partner of out-of-home content offerings.

Partners who have activated the Out of Phone solution currently include Adomni, Dive, GSTV, Loop TV, Raydiant, ReachTV, Redbox, Screenvision, Vevo and more, a TikTok spokesperson said.

With each platform we partner with, we work to deliver the most relevant content for those audiences,” added Page, who described TikTok’s relationship with ReachTV, a television network with screens across 90 airports.

“We work with them to curate an Out of Phone program exclusively for those on their travel journey, featuring top trending travel, food, and lifestyle content from creators on the platform,” Page said, adding that TikTok is attempting to make mundane tasks -- such as filling a car with gas and waiting for a plane during an unexpected delay -- “a little more enjoyable.”