Spec work has come to the creator economy. 

“Spec work,” or speculative work, is any kind of creative work executed before the client agrees to buy. It's based on the idea that the client will like the speculative work and choose to purchase it. It's a practice seen all too often in the ad agency world, where brands will ask several agencies to come up with a campaign, then only pay the one they select. 

Now, the controversial practice is making its way to influencers.

TikTok today introduced a way for creators to make ads for brands… but they'll only get paid if a brand uses their content.

The new monetization feature, called ‘Creative Challenge,' lets brands pick from a selection of video ads submitted by creators. 

💡 How it Works

Creators can browse through the list of challenges, read the challenge's brief which displays the reward pool and details rules and requirements, and submit their video ad. If selected, creators earn money based on video performance, such as: 

• Views
• Clicks
• Conversions

The program gives creators full creative control over their ads, but there is no guarantee of their returns. Payouts depend on video performance and competition from other submissions to that specific ad campaign. 

To participate, creators must be at least 18 years old with a U.S.-based account, and have a minimum of 50,000 followers. Submissions should be high-quality, well-edited, original content. 

Once a creator submits content to a challenge, they’ll be notified if a brand wants revisions, which they can accept or appeal. If a video submission is approved, it will not be displayed on the creator’s profile. Instead, it will run as an ad on the app’s For You Feed.

Creative Challenge is currently being tested with select brands.

Image: TikTok