Can we talk about the time I ran a TikTok ad with zero targeting?

I was setting up a campaign for a local skate shop and, honestly, I was in a rush. I accidentally left the audience targeting completely open, no age, no interests, nothing. I only had a $50 budget and figured it was a total waste. The ad was just a 15-second clip of someone landing a kickflip. To my shock, it got over 200,000 views and the shop's phone rang off the hook for two days. The owner said he got calls from people in their 60s asking if they sold 'those cool rolling boards.' I learned that sometimes a simple, strong visual can find its own audience better than my overthought targeting ever could. Has anyone else had a campaign blow up from what seemed like a mistake?

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3 Comments

grace_gonzalez466mo ago

So you accidentally unlocked the secret to advertising?

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reese1246mo ago

But what if you DO stumble onto something by accident? Does that count as real skill or just getting lucky?

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nora_walker576mo ago

Actually working in marketing for eight years taught me there's no real secret or accident. What looks like luck is usually just testing a lot of ideas and finally seeing what sticks with real people. It's more about paying close attention than stumbling onto something. The "secret" is just doing the boring work of listening and tweaking things over and over.

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