Top 5 Best TikTok Ad Formats to Optimize Your Advertising Budget

TikTok has emerged as a powerhouse for advertising, connecting with millions of users globally. In 2025, numerous brands have leveraged TikTok’s popularity to create groundbreaking ad campaigns. This article, QT Agency highlights the top 5 TikTok ad campaigns that have made significant impacts this year, capturing attention from both the online community and media, and delivering remarkable business results.

Why Choose TikTok for Advertising?

• Wide Reach: TikTok is available in over 150 countries, attracting a global user base, including Gen Z and Millennials.
• High Engagement Rates: TikTok users are highly engaged, frequently interacting with content through likes, comments, and shares.
• Unique Ad Features: TikTok offers various unique advertising features, such as In-Feed Ads, Branded Hashtag Challenges,

TikTok Ad Formats to Optimize Your Advertising Budget

In-Feed Ads

In-Feed Ads are a popular and versatile component of TikTok ad formats. These short videos appear natively in users’ feeds as they scroll through content, seamlessly blending in with organic posts. This integration makes In-Feed Ads feel more like part of the overall TikTok experience rather than traditional advertisements, enhancing their effectiveness for engaging users.

Key Features and Benefits:

1. Seamless Integration: Among TikTok ad formats, In-Feed Ads are designed to blend in with user-generated content, making them less intrusive and more engaging. Since they appear just like any other TikTok video, they don’t disrupt the user experience, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
2. Flexible Formats: In-Feed Ads offer flexibility in format, including 9:16 (vertical video) or 1:1 (square video), allowing advertisers to tailor their content to match user preferences and optimize for different viewing devices.
3. Creative Freedom: These ads provide significant creative freedom, allowing brands to leverage TikTok-specific features like music, effects, and filters. This creativity is vital for capturing the attention of TikTok’s young and trend-savvy audience, making In-Feed Ads one of the most dynamic TikTok ad formats.
4. Direct Interaction: In-Feed Ads can include clickable elements such as Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons, driving users to download an app, visit a website, or shop for products. This feature makes them a crucial element of TikTok ad formats, facilitating direct engagement and conversions.
5. Performance Metrics: TikTok provides detailed analytics for In-Feed Ads, enabling brands to track key performance indicators like views, clicks, and conversion rates. This data is essential for refining ad strategies and optimizing future campaigns within various TikTok ad formats.
6. Audience Targeting: In-Feed Ads can be targeted based on demographics, interests, and user behavior. This precision targeting ensures that ads reach the most relevant audiences, enhancing engagement and conversion rates across different TikTok ad formats.

Strategies for Effective In-Feed Ads:

1. Storytelling: Leveraging storytelling can make In-Feed Ads more engaging and memorable. Narrating a short story that resonates with the audience can increase the impact of these TikTok ad formats.
2. Use of Influencers: Collaborating with popular TikTok influencers can amplify the reach and credibility of In-Feed Ads. Influencers can create content that feels authentic and relatable, boosting engagement within this ad format.
3. Engaging Visuals and Sounds: TikTok’s visual nature means that vibrant visuals and catchy audio are critical for making In-Feed Ads stand out. Utilizing trending music or sound effects can enhance the appeal of these TikTok ad formats.
4. Short and Concise Messaging: Given the platform’s fast-paced nature, conveying the core message quickly and clearly is essential. In-Feed Ads should capture attention within the first few seconds and deliver key points effectively.

Brand Takeover Ads

Brand Takeover Ads are one of the most prominent TikTok ad formats, appearing as soon as a user opens the app. These ads can take the form of static images, GIFs, or short videos, immediately capturing the user’s attention. The full-screen nature of Brand Takeover Ads ensures that they are impossible to miss, making them highly effective for delivering impactful messages quickly.

Key Features and Benefits:

1. Immediate Impact: Brand Takeover Ads are displayed as soon as the app is launched, ensuring maximum visibility and immediate engagement. This placement makes them ideal for launching new products, announcing major sales, or creating brand awareness.
2. Versatile Formats: Brands can choose from various formats, including static images, GIFs, or videos. This versatility allows for creative expression, whether through eye-catching visuals, engaging animations, or dynamic videos.
3. Exclusive Placement: Only one advertiser per day can use the Brand Takeover ad format, ensuring that the brand’s message is not competing with others for the user’s attention. This exclusivity enhances the impact and memorability of the ad.
4. High Engagement Rates: Due to their prominent placement and eye-catching nature, Brand Takeover Ads often achieve high engagement rates. Users are more likely to interact with these ads, especially if they feature compelling content or incentives like discounts or special offers.
5. Integration with Other Ad Formats: Brand Takeover Ads can seamlessly integrate with other TikTok ad formats, such as Hashtag Challenges or In-Feed Ads, providing a cohesive and comprehensive advertising strategy.

Considerations and Best Practices:

1. Cost: Brand Takeover Ads can be costly due to their exclusive nature and prime placement. Therefore, they are best suited for major campaigns where the brand needs to make a significant impact quickly.
2. Creative Design: Given the limited time to capture attention, the creative design of Brand Takeover Ads should be striking and immediately convey the core message. High-quality visuals and clear, concise text are crucial.
3. Call-to-Action (CTA): Including a strong CTA can encourage users to take immediate action, such as visiting a website, participating in a challenge, or making a purchase. The CTA should be prominently displayed and easy to understand.

Hashtag Challenge Ads

Hashtag Challenge Ads are one of the most engaging TikTok ad formats, encouraging users to participate in themed challenges using a branded hashtag. This format taps into the interactive nature of TikTok, fostering user-generated content and amplifying brand reach.

Key Features and Benefits:

1. User Engagement: Hashtag Challenges invite users to create and share their content based on a specific theme or activity. This user involvement not only increases engagement but also allows users to express their creativity, making the brand more relatable and memorable.
2. Viral Potential: A successful Hashtag Challenge can go viral, with thousands or even millions of users participating. This viral effect significantly boosts brand visibility and awareness, reaching a wide audience beyond the brand’s immediate followers.
3. Community Building: By encouraging users to participate in challenges, brands can build a community around their products or services. This community engagement fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty among users.
4. Creative Control: Brands can design the challenge theme, set the rules, and even provide specific creative elements, such as music or effects, to guide user-generated content. This control ensures that the content aligns with the brand’s image and messaging.

Strategies for Success:

1. Compelling Concept: The challenge theme should be fun, relatable, and easy to participate in. The more accessible and enjoyable the challenge, the more likely users will join in.
2. Incentives: Offering incentives, such as prizes or featuring the best entries on the brand’s official page, can motivate users to participate. These incentives add an extra layer of excitement and competition to the challenge.
3. Promotion: Promote the Hashtag Challenge across other social media platforms, and consider collaborating with influencers to kickstart participation. Influencers can help spread the challenge to a broader audience and add credibility to the campaign.
4. Follow-Up: Engage with participants by liking, commenting, or sharing their content. This interaction shows appreciation and encourages more users to join the challenge.

Branded Effects

Branded Effects are interactive elements, such as custom filters, stickers, and special effects, that brands can create for TikTok users to apply to their videos. This ad format allows for creative expression and enhances brand visibility as users incorporate these effects into their content.

Key Features and Benefits:

1. Interactivity: Branded Effects encourage users to engage with the brand in a playful and creative way. Users can personalize their videos using the brand’s custom elements, making the content more engaging and fun.
2. Brand Awareness: As users apply Branded Effects in their videos, the brand’s presence spreads organically across the platform. Each shared video becomes a promotion for the brand, increasing exposure and awareness.
3. User-Generated Content: Branded Effects can inspire a wave of user-generated content, as users enjoy experimenting with the new tools. This content not only promotes the brand but also adds to the platform’s diversity of creative expressions.
4. Versatility: Brands can create a wide range of effects, from simple stickers and filters to more complex augmented reality (AR) experiences. This versatility allows for varied and innovative campaigns that can capture users’ attention.

Best Practices:

1. Align with Brand Identity: The design of Branded Effects should reflect the brand’s identity and message. Whether fun, elegant, or innovative, the effects should enhance the brand’s image.
2. Ease of Use: Effects should be easy to find and use. Complicated or hard-to-access effects may deter users from incorporating them into their videos.
3. Promotion and Collaboration: Promote the availability of Branded Effects through official channels and consider collaborations with influencers or popular creators to demonstrate their use. This can help kickstart adoption and encourage widespread usage.
4. Monitor and Engage: Track the usage of Branded Effects and engage with users who create content using them. Highlighting user videos on the brand’s official account can further encourage participation and build a sense of community.

Branded Effects Ads

Branded Effects are special effects within the TikTok ad formats that users can apply to their videos. This unique and creative advertising format allows brands to engage with users through interactive and visual experiences. These effects can include filters, stickers, and augmented reality (AR) effects, helping users create fun and eye-catching videos.

Key Features and Benefits:

1. High Interactivity: Branded Effects, a standout among TikTok ad formats, encourage users to engage with the brand creatively. Users can personalize their videos using these custom effects, making the content more interesting and engaging.
2. Enhanced Brand Recognition: As users apply Branded Effects to their videos, the brand is naturally promoted on the platform. Each shared video with these effects contributes to increased brand recognition and visibility.
3. User-Generated Content: Branded Effects can motivate users to create creative content, thereby promoting the brand naturally. This content not only promotes the brand but also contributes to the diversity of creative expression on the platform.
4. Versatility: Brands can design a variety of effects, from simple stickers to complex AR experiences. This flexibility within TikTok ad formats allows brands to deploy diverse and creative advertising campaigns to attract user attention.

Best Practices:

1. Align with Brand Identity: The design of Branded Effects should reflect the brand’s identity and message. Whether the style is playful, elegant, or innovative, the effects should complement the brand’s image.
2. Ease of Use: The effects should be easy to find and use. Complicated or hard-to-access effects may deter users from incorporating them into their videos.
3. Promotion and Collaboration: Promote the availability of Branded Effects through official channels and collaborate with influencers or popular creators to demonstrate their use. This can help encourage widespread adoption and usage.
4. Monitor and Engage: Track the usage of Branded Effects and engage with users who create content using them. Highlighting user videos on the brand’s official account can further encourage participation and build a sense of community.

TopView Ads

TopView Ads are a prominent ad format on TikTok, appearing as soon as the user opens the app. As one of the most visible TikTok ad formats, TopView Ads offer longer duration and are typically videos ranging from 5 to 60 seconds. This allows brands to deliver their message in a more detailed and engaging manner.

Key Features and Benefits:

1. Immediate Reach: TopView Ads ensure that users see the ad as soon as they open the TikTok app. This prime placement within the TikTok ad formats maximizes visibility and reach, making it a powerful tool for capturing immediate attention.
2. Flexible Duration: With a longer display time, TopView Ads allow brands to tell their stories in a more complete and in-depth manner. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase products, services, or brand messages in detail.
3. High Engagement: Thanks to their prominent placement and ability to capture users’ attention right from the start, TopView Ads often achieve high engagement rates. Users can easily click on the ads to learn more or take actions like downloading an app or purchasing a product.
4. Seamless Integration with Other Content: TopView Ads can seamlessly integrate with other content on TikTok, allowing users to transition naturally from the ad to related videos or pages.

Effective Strategies:

1. Engaging Content: With a longer display time, brands need to ensure that their ad content is engaging enough to hold viewers’ attention. Use compelling stories, catchy music, and high-quality visuals to attract and retain interest.
2. Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): A clear and compelling CTA will help convert attention into action. Ensure that viewers know exactly what to do next, such as visiting a website, downloading an app, or making a purchase.
3. Integration with Other Campaigns: TopView Ads should be part of a larger advertising campaign on TikTok, including other TikTok ad formats like In-Feed Ads, Hashtag Challenges, and Branded Effects. This combination will help maximize campaign effectiveness and enhance brand recognition.