TikTok's advertising pitch reveals new data about the app

Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for September 14. I'm Lauren Johnson, a senior advertising reporter at Business Insider. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. Send me feedback or tips at ljohnson@businessinsider.com.

Today's news: TikTok's ad pitch reveals new data, Pornhub's mysterious marketing executives, and how much influencers charge for sponsored Instagram Reels.

Inside TikTok's latest big pitch to advertisers with new numbers showing time spent on the app and engagement metrics

• TikTok pitched its ad business during a digital event to Middle East and North Africa advertisers last week, reports Chris Stokel-Walker.
• A pitch deck presented at the event included new data about time spent and engagement rates within TikTok. Per the deck, Top View ads – which guarantee placement at the top of the For You feed – are engaged with six times more than the average in-feed ad.
• TikTok's pitch comes as the app faces a possible closure of its US business. TikTok has been in talks with Oracle, Microsoft and Walmart after President Trump's administration threatened to ban the app.

Read the full story here.

Pornhub has been widely covered for its marketing savvy. But its most-quoted executives are nearly invisible, and it's unclear if they actually exist.

• Pornbhub has accumulated lots of news coverage over the years for its savvy marketing but Business Insider could not verify whether one of its most-quoted executives exists, reports Patrick Coffee.
• Online searches for key employees led to dead ends, while contact information for Pornhub's director of communications led to an employee of the company's PR firm, 5W Public Relations.
• 5W said Pornhub guards employees' identities for "safety reasons." Parent company Mindgeek, which like many big porn sites flies under the radar, did not respond to a request for comment.

Read the full story here.

Instagram Reels copied TikTok's format. But influencers are already seeing clear differences between the two, especially in making money from brands.

• Sydney Bradley reports that creators are experimenting with sponsored content on Instagram Reels, the app's month-old video feature that is similar to TikTok.
• Reesa Lake, partner and executive vice president of brand partnerships at the talent agency Digital Brand Architects, said that creators with 100,000 or more followers charge between $5,000 and $40,000 for sponsored Reels. Fashion and lifestyle influencer Britney Turner with 27,000 Instagram followers prices her sponsored Reels rates at $2,000.
• "Brands are more aware of the returns of investment on Instagram," said an influencer who used both Instagram and TikTok, and asked not to be identified to speak more freely about brand deals. "It's very easy to convince a brand to do a Reel in addition to another package."

Read the full story here.

More stories we're reading:

• Insiders reveal how former McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook went from the chain's savior to its worst nightmare as sex-scandal accusations threaten to envelop the fast-food giant (Business Insider)
• Facebook will limit ad volume to take more control of campaign management (Business Insider)
• Entertainment digital ad spend will drop 6.9% this year, but gaming and SVOD growth will offset losses (Insider Intelligence)
• TikTok teams up with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent to livestream runway shows from fashion weeks around the globe (Business Insider)
• Facebook to continue IDFA collection after Apple's stay of execution (Adweek)
• How Walmart is advertising its new loyalty program, Walmart+ (Digiday)

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow! You can reach me in the meantime at ljohnson@businessinsider.com and subscribe to this daily email here.

— Lauren