TikTok’s head of marketing came out due to viral stunts

The marketing leadership behind some of TikTok’s craziest ideas – from NFT to ghost kitchens and more – was suddenly kicked out of the company, according to numerous reports. The information was first report that head of marketing Nick Tran abruptly left the company yesterday, followed by confirmation from New York Post.

Citing a call from an anonymous senior CEO at the company and “nearly 200 people” from TikTok’s marketing team, the Post report claims that Tran was launched because of constant disagreements over what the CEO called “stunt marketing.” While TikTok has always been a haven for social media primarily for teens and teenagers, Tran has pushed more ideas that have taken the social media app to somewhat unexplored territory. That includes TikTok continues, a program where people could use short clips of the application to apply for jobs directly on the platform, and NFT cooperation with celebrities like Lil Nas X and Bella Poarch.

Tran’s latest idea was TikTok Kitchens, which was planned as a collaboration with restaurants to deliver dishes and recipes that went viral on the platform directly to the people who use them. The home page for the TikTok Kitchen website is already live, promising that the “delivery only” experience will be introduced “soon”.

“The menu is inspired by the hottest food trends on TikTok,” wrote Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC), a company used by Tran to launch a food delivery service, in Statement. “TikTok, with more than a billion subscribers, provides space for a wide range of creators to publish videos with recipes and food tricks. These culinary trends have led to an explosion of food space, and VDC has a menu that allows restaurants across the country to get involved and become a market partner. ”

Although the company has planned to launch countless “ghost kitchens” through partnerships with restaurants by the end of this year, there is a good chance that Tran’s eviction has put those plans on hold. As a source who was on the mentioned executive summons told the Post, they were told that TikTok “[is] not in the restaurant business and [it] you shouldn’t pretend to be. ”

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That executive allegedly added that some of the other stunts, including TikTok Resumes, were “side-shows” that distracted people from what the app really was: a social platform. Another senior executive “gave the impression TikTok had parted ways after ongoing disagreements about his use of ‘stunt-marketing,’ the Post explained.

TikTok hasn’t yet responded to Gizmodo’s request for comment, though a spokesperson confirmed to Ad Age that Tran was out. “We wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” a spokesman said.