The immensely popular social media app calls Spotlight a promotional solution that drives community engagement and makes it easier for studios to harness around upcoming releases and library content. It had an early run with Warner Bros. Dune: Part Two.

TikTok Spotlight first identifies applicable videos on the platform and attributes an anchor link. The link directs audiences to a dedicated landing page with details like synopsis, cast, official accounts, and a collection of other creator content linked to the same title — allowing fans to explore the fandom and conversation around a title.

Directly from the landing page, users can watch content on streaming platforms or purchase movie tickets.

TikTok acknowledged in the announcement that while it’s a thriving place and top source of discovery for entertainment fans, there has never been a reliable way for marketers to tap it.

Spotlight helps to identify the right creators and corresponding incentives to encourage authentic creation around their favorite films and shows. Best-in-class TikToks are then amplified across the platform.

A comprehensive analytics dashboard offers marketers insights into their fandoms so they can more effectively activate around a title. It’s able to look at the platform, identify title content, and track how its performing and who is engaging. It spots developing trends and the conversations in real-time, TikTok said, “ensuring studios will never miss another opportunity to meaningfully engage with their fandoms.” They can see how their IP is being used and decide which content to protect and which to offer copyright cooperation.

With Dune: Part Two earlier this year, Warner Bros. leveraged the platform to promote the film with a curated search hub, movie anchor and detail page, and a gamified call-to-action to the creator community to create related TikTok videos in order to unlock custom Dune profile frames to decorate their avatars. TikTok becoming the top driver of traffic to the ticketing hub during opening weekend and the leading share-of-voice in promotion markets within entertainment.

“As we navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape, TikTok Spotlight has become an invaluable tool in our marketing arsenal,” said Cameron Curtis, EVP Global Digital Marketing, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. “By leveraging TikTok Spotlight, we’ve been able to organically amplify our reach, engage with a diverse audience, and create authentic connections around our films, generating dynamic conversations and user-generated content that elevate the social buzz around our movies.”

TikTok also partnered with Max for HBO’s House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones to activate TikTok Spotlight.

“With TikTok Spotlight, we are harnessing the ‘water cooler effect’, offering a full-service marketing platform that is supercharging our organic ecosystem, driving community and business results for entertainment marketers,” said James Stafford, TikTok’s Global Head of Publishers.