The Objective
Seibu Railway is a major railway operator operating 12 lines across the northwestern region of Tokyo and the southwestern region of Saitama prefecture – connecting Ikebukuro to Seibu Chichibu Station in as little as 77 minutes. While Chichibu boasts numerous attractions in the region, conveying its charm as a sightseeing destination through static images alone was limiting its potential to attract potential visitors. Furthermore, conventional horizontal videos on common advertising platforms also struggle to capture the attention of younger demographics. Hence, Seibu Railway turned to collaborating with content creators online to produce "short dramas" that can simulate the experience of sightseeing while appealing to younger audiences on TikTok.
The Strategy
To execute this approach, Seibu Railway partnered with Studio 15, a marketing agency specialised in helping brands drive business results through TikTok and executing spot-campaigns through third-party creator accounts. Considering the continuous resources needed to maintain an official brand account, Studio 15 recommended an agile, highly targeted campaign using third-party creator accounts optimised for video views and overall impact. Their strategy focused on a few areas:
Producing TikTok-native creatives As TikTok is a platform built on entertainment, the agency produced a compelling 3-part series centered around romance among friends. This native storytelling seamlessly integrated train interiors, starry skies, and hidden local gems, naturally inspiring viewers to visit Chichibu without feeling like a traditional hard-sell.
Spark Ads amplification Studio 15 identified top-performing organic videos and boosted them using Spark Ads. This ensured that the ads integrated into the For You feed seamlessly, driving massive reach in a cost-efficient manner.
Paid and Organic Optimisation Studio 15 also maximised for total business impact by connecting organic engagement (follows, likes, comments, shares and profile visits) alongside paid delivery signals through Paid and Organic Optimisation. As a feature unique to TikTok Spark Ads, this ensures cost-effectiveness on video views across their audience pool.
The Results
Studio 15 demonstrated that pairing platform-native content with Spark Ads can consistently deliver cost-efficient returns for their clients without the need for heavy account management. The campaign generated over 2.7 million total video views* and sparked a flood of enthusiastic comments from users expressing a strong desire to visit Chichibu. It also reduced Seibu Railway’s Cost Per Mille (CPM) by 36%^ compared to benchmark on previous similar campaigns. Furthermore, the content proved to be highly captivating, maintaining a remarkable 6-second view rate of over 30%* rather than just a passive scroll from users.
*Spark Ads (Video Views) campaign from 1-22 Aug 2025. ^Based on comparison against previous campaign from 19-30 Nov 2024.
Sources:
Advertiser: Seibu Railway Co., Ltd.
Advertising company: Tokyu Agency Inc.
Planning, production and operation: studio 15 Co., Ltd.
“We launched a spot campaign for Seibu Railway that allowed them to feature on the accounts of TikTok creators. A key reason we recommend TikTok to our clients is that it is a platform where results are driven entirely by the quality of the video and content, completely independent of follower counts. By combining high-quality content with Spark Ads, we can reliably and consistently achieve large-scale reach and high cost efficiency."
- Takahiro Abe (阿部孝裕), President of Sales, Studio 15 (studio15株式会社 / 社長室兼セールス)