Candle Media to co-develop content with TikTok under strategic partnership

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ media company Candle Media is partnering with social media giant TikTok to jointly develop content and branded entertainment.

Kevin Mayer

Candle, which is backed by private equity firm Blackstone and owns companies including Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Moonbug Entertainment and Spanish-language producer Exile Content Studio, said it will use its various business units to launch new content.

Under the deal, it will also develop “custom creative opportunities” that it will then bring to brand advertisers through TikTok.

One aspect of the partnership will see Hello Sunshine working with TikTok to identify and uncover underrepresented authors and literary material from BookTok, the community of TikTok users focused on books and literature.

In addition, TikTok will sponsor the next chapter of Hello Sunshine’s LitUp Writer Fellowship Program, which gives funding, mentorship and marketing opportunities to underrepresented women storytellers.

Tom Staggs

The partnership sees former Disney exec Mayer reuniting with TikTok after spending a short spell as CEO of the social media platform in 2020.

“TikTok continues to experience explosive growth and has become a critical platform for storytelling and marketing,” said Mayer and Staggs in a statement.

“We are thrilled to work with the TikTok team to create compelling branded content, and for Hello Sunshine to shine a light on the thriving #BookTok community, which is home to a new generation of storytellers.”