TikTok’s marketing chief Nick Tran is no longer with the hit video-sharing app after “going rogue” with “stunt marketing” that stunned top management, trying to set up new business streams including NFTs and restaurants.
Having joined TikTok in 2020 from Hulu, where he was Vice President of brand and culture marketing, Tran’s increasingly bizarre campaigns were out of line with TikTok’s company goals.
One launch he tried to initiate was a “creator-led NFT collection” with celebrities such as Lil Nas X (below). The project was widely covered when launched in October, but Tran tried to look the other way after he failed to deliver.
Most recently, without confirming with upper management, Tran revealed plans to launch TikTok Kitchen, featuring food made popular on the platform.
The idea was to open as many as 1000 “ghost kitchens” across the US by the end of 2022. Reports say Tran planned to partner with delivery service Virtual Dining Concepts to deliver dishes that had gone viral on TikTok, such as baked feta pasta.
The idea was the last straw with management and he was ousted shortly after.
“We’re not in the restaurant business and shouldn’t pretend to be,” an executive is reported to have told nearly 200 people from the marketing team on a call.
One person on the call tells the New York Post, “There were just too many side shows – he was getting ahead of the business.”
Still, Tran has an impressive CV, having worked in digital marketing at Samsung and Taco Bell. He also has awards from Forbes, Fortune, Adweek and AdAge.
“We can confirm that Nick Tran is no longer with TikTok and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” a spokesperson tells the Post.
