• by Colin Kirkland , May 6, 2025

Following last year's NewFronts presentation, during which TikTok announced a premium version of its “Pulse” ad suite, the social media company has taken this year’s big advertising event to unveil “Pulse Core” -- a new iteration to the Pulse suite – and other updates that it says will "put advertisers at the heart of cultural moments.”

With Pulse Core, TikTok will use generative AI to place advertisers next to the top 4% of user-generated content by category -- for example, areas such as Sports and Beauty as well as holidays and important events including Mother's Day, back to school, etc. -- and “custom-built content that works for their brand.”

TikTok says Pulse Core campaigns are 100+ times more likely to appear next to trending topics than other campaign types during the same time period, according to internal data.

The new feature builds on the company's Pulse Suite, which originally launched in 2022 as a way for advertisers to more easily tap into the fast-paced cycle of trends on the video platform's For You feed.

At this year's NewFronts event, TikTok also announced the addition of more publishing partners to its Pulse Premiere offering, which places branded videos alongside content posted by publishers like Buzzfeed, Inc., Conde Nast, Major League Soccer, NBCUniversal, UFC, the NHL, Paramount, Vox Media and more during tentpole events and cultural moments.

The roster of publishers will now include Formula 1, Red Bull Media, and Warner Bros Discovery.

Another means of placing brands alongside the most relevant content on the platform involves another new feature called “Sponsorship Solutions,” which allows brands to create tailored experiences on TikTok around specific searches, “hand-picking the content, interactive features, and storytelling that users will see when they look up certain words,” the company explains.

TikTok continues to expand its ad offerings despite a potential transfer in ownership in the U.S.

Recently, President Donald Trump said he would yet again extend the sell-off deadline, which is now June 19 -- but has not provided any further details.