TikTok attracts brands despite controversy - and shows its economic impact

Companies from Poland advertising on TikTok generated an estimated EUR 920m in economic value in 2025–the first time the platform’s owner, ByteDance, has disclosed country-level data for Poland. According to a study commissioned from the consultancy Public First, the corresponding figure for the European Union as a whole reached EUR 31bn (including EUR 7.2bn in Germany and EUR 5.2bn in France).

The estimates suggest that more than 6.5m EU-based companies used TikTok to support international expansion. Exposure for European brands on the platform translated into EUR 2bn in cross-border sales for businesses, EUR 1.2bn of which was generated within the EU. Advertising on TikTok delivered a combined EUR 13bn in economic growth for small and medium-sized enterprises.

“Central and Eastern Europe and Poland in particular are still relatively young markets within TikTok’s global operations,” says Rafał Drzewiecki, TikTok’s director for Central and Eastern Europe. “But the data we’ve published point to growing maturity. When we compare our local contribution to the European economy with similar reports elsewhere, the growth potential is clear. Our own analyses confirm that Central and Eastern Europe is the fastest-growing region in Europe, with Poland playing a leading role. For TikTok, it is also a market of high internal priority.”

Across the Western world, however, TikTok remains under scrutiny–primarily because of the company’s origins, concerns over potential data flows to China, and issues around the safety of the platform for minors.

“Paradoxically, being a young platform–and even our origins–work in our favor, because they force us to try harder,” Drzewiecki argues. “Initiatives such as Project Clover, backed by an investment of EUR 12bn over ten years, as well as age-verification solutions, show that we are acting proactively not only on the business front, but also in terms of brand safety.”

Marketer’s view

Komputronik on social-media platforms

Komputronik, like other large brands, has been active on social-media platforms for several years, including TikTok. Our priority is to build brand awareness. Video content allows for a more precise presentation of products than text or images, and creates space for quick reviews. The brand operates on two tracks: through its own profile and original content, and through collaboration with influencers, which increases reach among new customer groups. Paid campaigns are also part of the mix.

TikTok is, of course, dominated by younger users, interested for example in computer hardware or gaming accessories, but we also see the presence of somewhat older audiences – users aged 25–34 and 35-plus – who are looking for information on smartphones, electronic gadgets or devices from the ‘beauty’ segment.

For us, TikTok primarily serves as a tool for building brand awareness and shaping brand image. Subsequent stages of communication with customers are shifted to other social-media platforms, which are better suited to guiding consumers toward purchasing decisions – particularly in the electronics category, where buying choices tend to be more deliberate and considered.

Within Komputronik’s social-media marketing budget, the largest share goes to Facebook and Instagram. The cost of reaching users on those platforms is also lower than on TikTok.

Paulina Pytel

Head of Marketing at Komputronik

Between regulatory awareness and business imperatives

Katarzyna Grabowa, Influencer Relations Manager at Enyo Agency, notes that social-media platforms–from Facebook to TikTok–as well as online forums and streaming channels have become not merely communication tools, but core infrastructure for business promotion and the sale of products and services.

“Companies’ spending on social-media presence within the digital advertising market reached PLN 1.67bn (around EUR 390m) in 2024, and this figure is rising year by year,” Grabowa says. “In Poland, firms are particularly active on Meta platforms –Facebook and Instagram– but interest in ByteDance’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube continues to grow. Brands are building their own profiles with original content or partnering with leading creators–and, increasingly, with nano- and micro-influencers, who tend to offer greater transparency and credibility.”

She adds that companies remain open to activity on TikTok, even as regulatory awareness grows and a more responsible approach to data security and content quality takes hold.

“Businesses are not ruling out TikTok, because it offers access to a very broad and highly active audience – one they want to reach in an increasingly thoughtful way,” Grabowa says. “A stronger emphasis on the quality and safety of communication is being driven not only by brands themselves, but also by marketing agencies, including Enyo Agency, which support clients in strategically planning their social-media presence and in making informed choices about creators for campaigns. TikTok remains a platform – that thanks to the nature of its algorithms and the dynamics of content consumption – delivers very high user engagement, often exceeding that of other channels such as Instagram.”

How content is consumed on TikTok

Krzysztof Kozłowski, a communications and reputation consultant and a manager at Tailors Group, describes his approach to TikTok as a “love–hate relationship,” capturing both the platform’s bright and dark sides.

“TikTok, like other social-media platforms, has a significant impact on society and the economy, both positive and negative. From a business perspective, however, it is hard to ignore its marketing potential,” Kozłowski says. “The platform has become a genuine tool for promotion and for building market position, including for small and medium-sized businesses. In selected markets, it also offers the TikTok Shop sales module, which integrates content consumption with commerce. The Chinese-owned app is among the most engaging platforms: according to reports, the average time spent in the app exceeds that on other platforms, and the short-video consumption model more often leads to habitual scrolling.”

This, he notes, translates into a relatively high potential for organic reach, based on brands’ own content distributed without paid promotion.

“Demographics also matter here,” Kozłowski adds. “Although the core user base is still dominated by younger audiences, the share of older age groups has been rising markedly of late, increasing the platform’s appeal to advertisers. We are also seeing a greater propensity for impulsive purchasing decisions - especially in categories involving low- and medium-involvement products.”

Concerns over user data security

A representative of Tailors Group notes that an increasing number of large Polish brands – as well as smaller companies offering products across a range of segments – are moving onto TikTok. As a result, the platform is beginning to absorb portions of promotional budgets that were previously allocated to other digital channels.

“If the biggest brands are active on a given platform, it is reasonable to assume that they are responding to significant sales and marketing potential,” says Krzysztof Kozłowski. “At the same time, in Poland the dominant position in digital advertising is still held by the Meta ecosystem –Facebook and Instagram – as well as Google through YouTube. TikTok remains a fast-growing player, but one that complements rather than replaces these channels.”

Less transparent, on the other hand, are issues related to user data and its potential processing outside the European Union.

“The main concerns relate to how data are collected, stored and potentially transferred to entities linked to China,” Kozłowski says. “Although ByteDance consistently denies this, a growing body of analysis worldwide points to the possibility of such transfers. Of course, Meta and Google also collect user data - behavioral, theoretically anonymized, linked to activity within their platforms, as well as biometric identifiers from input devices such as cameras. What concerns me is that ByteDance collects such data at massive scale directly from users’ devices, often in the background and with less transparency.

“The effects of this data-collection model may not be immediately visible. But over the longer term – given the growing scale and sophistication of analytics – it could carry serious consequences, ranging from mass surveillance and behavioral–biometric profiling, through the risk of public-opinion manipulation, to potential geopolitical abuse,” Kozłowski warns.

Key Takeaways

1. TikTok has become an integral part of the advertising ecosystem and, in this capacity, is influencing business growth—including in Poland, where its importance is rising faster than anywhere else in Central and Eastern Europe.
2. Despite controversies surrounding data security and the platform’s broader social impact, companies—both large brands and small and medium-sized enterprises—increasingly regard TikTok as a key marketing tool. Its appeal lies in its reach, exceptionally high user engagement, and growing sales potential.
3. One of the brands active on TikTok is Komputronik. For the company, the platform primarily serves as a channel for building brand awareness and triggering purchase intent. Activities that support the finalization of consumer decisions are often shifted to other platforms. Electronics purchases, after all, tend to involve considered, deliberate choices rather than pure impulse buying. For Komputronik, the crucial factor is the complementarity of strategy and execution across different social-media platforms.