TikTok’s Ex Head of Marketing Reveals The Playbook for Viral Content

2025-11-19

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The brands everyone talks about are not the safest ones. They are the bold ones.And few people understand that better than Nick Tran.The former TikTok Global Head of Marketing and current Diageo President and CMO joins Marketing Trends to break down how he built momentum inside fast moving environments, rebuilt brands under pressure, and helped TikTok become a cultural engine instead of just another app.Nick explains why the traditional marketing playbook is obsolete, how to create ideas that move culture instead of reacting...

The brands everyone talks about are not the safest ones. They are the bold ones.

And few people understand that better than Nick Tran.

The former TikTok Global Head of Marketing and current Diageo President and CMO joins Marketing Trends to break down how he built momentum inside fast moving environments, rebuilt brands under pressure, and helped TikTok become a cultural engine instead of just another app.

Nick explains why the traditional marketing playbook is obsolete, how to create ideas that move culture instead of reacting to it, and what today’s fastest moving teams get wrong about attention, creativity, and risk.

CHAPTERS / KEY MOMENTS

00:00 Engineering a Viral Influencer

02:20 What Bold Marketing Looks Like in 2026

04:20 Crisis Marketing at Taco Bell

07:05 Lessons From Stance and Samsung

09:30 Reinventing Hulu With Culture Marketing

11:00 Why the Old Marketing Playbook Is Dead

13:40 Inside TikTok’s Project Cheetah

16:45 Making Creators Culturally Famous on Purpose

19:35 Five Marketing Behaviors Leaders Must Unlearn

22:20 The ROI Trap and Bad Marketing Metrics

25:00 Why Modern CMOs Should Become CEOs

26:00 The Ocean Spray x DogFace420 Breakout Moment

29:10 The Rise of AI Influencers and Virtual Icons

30:00 Worldbuilding: The Future of Brand Marketing

33:00 Reinventing Ciroc Through Lifestyle Experiences

37:00 Pickleball, Pop-Ups, and The New Experiential Playbook

43:00 Out-of-Home Creative, Simplicity, and Cultural Signals

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