Copyright e27
At the inaugural TikTok Apps Summit Southeast Asia in Hanoi, the social media giant signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to advance the country’s digital transformation agenda. The MoU, signed with the Centre of Digital Transformation under the Ministry, signals TikTok’s regional commitment to supporting local businesses, promoting cultural exchange, and accelerating digital ecosystem development. The partnership with Vietnam’s cultural ministry is part of a broader strategy to anchor TikTok deeper into national digital agendas across the region. As Nikhil Rolla, Head of Strategic Accounts for Southeast Asia, emphasised, “This scale represents more than just exponential growth opportunities for developers, app publishers and businesses. It reflects our vision for Southeast Asia as a key driver of the region’s digital economy.” At the same event, TikTok showcased its impact in the regional ecosystem, starting with how Vietnamese game studio Hypermonk Games leveraged TikTok’s Smart+ Day 0 Target ROAS (tROAS) solution for their title Highway Overtake, resulting in a 20 per cent higher return on ad spend and a 50 per cent reduction in cost per install compared to manual bidding. TikTok also introduced Symphony, its generative AI creative suite, to further support brands and creators. Symphony offers end-to-end creative support—from generating scripts and dubbing in multiple languages to producing AI avatars—enabling faster content deployment. Combined with Smart+, TikTok’s intelligent ad performance engine, the platform allows real-time optimisation of campaigns without manual intervention. With over 160 million users in Indonesia, 70 million in Vietnam, and 50 million in Thailand, TikTok’s penetration in Southeast Asia reflects a massive consumer base and an increasingly digital-savvy population. The remaining 180 million users are distributed across the region’s other markets. According to TikTok’s internal data, two-thirds of app discoveries on the platform are intentional, and nearly half of users continue exploring content after discovery. These metrics suggest TikTok has evolved beyond entertainment into a powerful decision-making engine influencing commerce, culture, and consumer behaviour.
