Paid
Organic
TikTok ads agency · UK
Castle is a UK TikTok ads agency that produces and runs advertising built for the platform: native short-form video, creator and UGC ads, Spark Ads through real accounts, and TikTok Shop campaigns that turn attention into orders.
A specialist TikTok ads agency
TikTok is the one channel where production value can actively hurt you. A polished brand film gets scrolled; a slightly rough demo with a strong first second sells. That inverts how most brands, and most agencies, are set up to make work.
Accounts stall because they cannot produce enough native video, not because the targeting was wrong. Fatigue arrives in weeks, not quarters, and most teams are not built to make short-form at that tempo.
Ads that admit they are ads, creators talking plainly to camera, imperfect footage: these outperform brand-safe polish. Getting sign-off on that internally is its own piece of work, and we help with it.
Much of TikTok’s effect shows up as branded search and direct traffic days later. Judge it on last click and the channel gets cut just as it starts working, so we set the measurement framework before launch.
What’s included
A managed TikTok programme: creative production and creator sourcing, campaign management, TikTok Shop and the testing cadence the platform demands, under one roof.
Vertical, sound-on video made for TikTok, not trimmed from something else.
Measured on hook rate and watch time
Briefed creators producing authentic content at volume.
Measured on cost per winning ad
Ads that run as real posts, so the social proof stays.
Measured on engagement and cost per acquisition
The distance between watching and buying, cut to a tap.
Measured on GMV and ROAS
New concepts every week, judged on numbers rather than likes.
Measured on cost per acquisition by concept
Buying set up so the algorithm learns from the right signal.
Measured on CPA and ROAS
Clean conversion data, because the algorithm optimises to what it sees.
Checked against tracked vs actual sales
TikTok judged on what it really contributes.
Reported on blended return, not platform claims
Every programme includes
Short-form proof
Castle has not yet published a TikTok case study, so we will not show you TikTok numbers we cannot stand behind. These are vertical, demo-style and creator-style videos we made for Meta and Instagram: the same production line that feeds TikTok.
A wholesale supplier of craft and cosmetic-making supplies. Short how-to videos showing the products in use were among the strongest ads in a Meta account averaging 10.41:1 ROAS.
A new appetite-control product in a restricted ad category. Policy-compliant how-to and testimonial videos explained the product within strict ad rules.
A heritage kitchen appliance brand. We grew its Instagram with user-generated and influencer content, alongside Facebook ads and an AWIN affiliate programme.
Client reviews
…the results have been outstanding. They’ve completely turned around our online performance — Google Ads are running more efficiently than ever, Meta campaigns are consistently profitable, and our Shopify sales have seen real, measurable growth month after month.
A really great team who fully engaged with our enterprise and brought us rapidly into a whole different level of positive and sustained engagement with our target audience. Very very pleased to be working with them. Brilliant communicators. They've made a huge difference.
Castle is a professional and knowledgeable company that has helped us so much- they’ve increased our overall outreach, assisted with the creation of polished, effective branding and documents, crafted quality content, and are very SM savvy.
I honestly can't say how good everyone is at Castle, they can't do enough for you and the work and numbers they produce out of this world. If I could leave 10 stars I would
…Smashing targets & 24/7 support which is a big bonus for us can’t thank them enough. Connor who’s trying different strategies & believe me they bring in the results!
The whole team at Castle International are an absolute asset to any business that needs a positive boost in their marketing strategy. Expertise, knowledge, patience and a friendly helpful attitude, aiming to give you a bespoke service throughout.
On camera
Trusted by
Creative anatomy
On TikTok the algorithm finds the audience from who responds to the video, so the creative does the targeting. Every ad we make is built in three parts, and each part is judged on its own number.
Most viewers decide in the first moments whether to keep watching, so the opening frame does the work a headline does elsewhere.
Judged on Hook rate (2-second views)
Once you have attention, prove the claim. One idea per video, shown rather than described, at the pace of the feed.
Judged on Average watch time
Tell people exactly what to do and why now, in the voice of the video rather than a bolted-on end card.
Judged on CTR, cost per acquisition, ROAS
Hook library
Every concept goes out with two or three different hooks on the same body, so we learn what stops the scroll separately from what sells. Examples are illustrative.
If your bath bombs crack in the mould, watch this.
This took my pan from this… to this, in one wipe.
POV: you finally found jeans that fit at the waist.
Replying to @sam: yes, it works on suede. Here’s proof.
Stop buying SPF that leaves a white cast. Do this instead.
Three things I’d never buy again, and what I use instead.
Split screen: day one on the left, day thirty on the right.
I started this in my kitchen. Here’s what we got wrong.
Ad formats
The formats are not interchangeable. Each suits a different point in the relationship with the viewer, and we only recommend the ones your product and budget justify.
Your video in the For You feed, between organic posts. It lives or dies on the first second, which is why we test hooks separately from the rest of the edit. Almost every account starts here, and most of the budget stays here.
Spark Ads run an existing post, from your account or a creator’s, as the ad. The profile, likes, comments and follows stay attached, so it reads as content and the engagement keeps working after the budget stops. We use Spark Ads wherever usage rights allow.
The first ad people see when they open the app: full screen, sound on. It is booked in advance at a fixed price rather than won in the auction, so it suits launches, drops and seasonal peaks, where reach on a single day matters more than cost per sale.
In-app checkout with three ways to sell: Video Shopping ads with a product attached, LIVE shopping sessions, and product cards in the Shop tab and search. For impulse-priced products it removes the journey to your site entirely.
TikTok’s AI campaign type automates targeting, bidding, budget and creative selection, and now lets you switch each part on or off. It is only as good as the creative and conversion data you feed it, so we run it against a manual control rather than switching it on blind.
Creator and UGC production
TikTok is a creative supply problem before it is a media problem. Creator-made ads usually outperform brand-made ones here, so our work is resourced as a production schedule with media buying attached, rather than the other way round.
One page per concept: audience, problem, three hook options, claims we can make and lines we cannot.
Creators chosen for the audience and the tone, not follower count. Usage rights and Spark Ads codes agreed up front.
Creators film on phones in their own voice; our video team shoots demos and founder pieces in-house.
Each shoot cut into several hooks, lengths and caption styles, so one day of filming feeds weeks of testing.
Variants go live in a testing structure, judged on hook rate, watch time and cost per acquisition, not likes.
Winners move to scaling campaigns and Spark Ads; what we learned writes the next brief before fatigue sets in.
The evidence
Nearly half of UK adults can now be reached with TikTok ads, and TikTok Shop has turned the feed into a shop. The research is just as clear about what decides results: the creative. Figures from TikTok-commissioned research are marked as such.
UK adults TikTok ads can reach, 48.4% of all UK adults. 61.5% of that audience is female.
DataReportal / Kepios · late 2025small businesses now sell on TikTok Shop in the UK.
TikTok UK report · TikTok-commissioned · Jul 2026TikTok Shop is now the UK’s fourth-largest beauty retailer, growing 60% a year.
TikTok UK report · TikTok’s claim · Jul 2026higher net-sales ROI for Mars TikTok campaigns whose creative followed four or more creative guidelines.
Circana · May 2025 · 30 campaignsYear-on-year growth in each platform’s UK adult ad reach
Sources: DataReportal / Kepios, Digital 2026 United Kingdom (late-2025 data); TikTok UK economic impact report (Public First / EY, commissioned by TikTok), via FashionUnited (15 July 2026; commissioned by TikTok, so treat as TikTok’s own figures); Circana (formerly NCSolutions), Mars creative quality (27 May 2025; 30 Mars campaigns, 2023–24); TikTok Smart+ One Sheet (2025; TikTok’s own figure, which it describes as directional); TikTok for Business blog (13 May 2026).
Creative volume planner
TikTok creative tires fast. Set your monthly budget and CPM to see the reach it buys, and roughly how many new ads you need each month to keep every live ad fresh.
Why it matters: an ad that keeps spending after it has tired pushes your cost per acquisition up quietly. Planning production to the spend is what keeps a TikTok account efficient.
Fresh creative needed
Ads in rotation · bar shows age
About 0 ads retire and are replaced every week.Indicative only. The CPM is a placeholder, not a benchmark: use your own. The model assumes a month of 30.4 days, that each live ad can absorb the selected daily spend before returns fall, a minimum of three ads live for testing, that each ad is replaced when it reaches the selected age, and that each concept is cut into three hook variants. Real fatigue depends on audience size, frequency and the creative itself; we track it per ad and refresh on the data.
Why Castle
Most TikTok programmes fail at the hand-offs: the media buyer waits on a studio, the studio never sees the numbers, and nobody owns measurement. We keep production, buying and tracking in one team.
| Feature | Castle | Media-buying agency | Freelance creators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video and design team in-house | Yes | Outsourced | Yes |
| Creators sourced, briefed and contracted for you | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| Weekly creative drops planned against fatigue | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| Campaign management, bidding and Smart+ testing | Yes | Yes | No |
| Pixel, Events API and blended measurement | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| TikTok Shop setup and Shop ads | Yes | Extra cost | No |
| Same team runs Meta, Google and YouTube, so creative is reused | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| An honest no if TikTok is wrong for you | Yes | Not always | No |
| Contract terms | 30-day rolling | 3–12 months | Per video |
Comparison reflects how Castle works and common market practice; it is not a review of any named provider.
Category fit
TikTok suits some categories immediately and others only with the right angle. We are straight with you about which you are before spending anything, and we will tell you if your product is wrong for the platform.
Products you can show working in a few seconds, at an impulse or mid-range price. TikTok Shop often suits these too.
Considered purchases that need education-led content, creator explainers and a longer measurement window.
Narrow B2B, heavily regulated offers and audiences that sit mostly elsewhere. Meta or search may do the job better for the same budget.
The team
Castle’s video, design and paid social teams work in the same Liverpool studio, so short-form gets made at the cadence TikTok needs instead of waiting on an outside production company. We run TikTok alongside Meta, Google and YouTube, so it is planned as part of your mix rather than sold as a novelty.
Further reading
TikTok 101 – How marketers can harness the power of TikTokIn this post, Castle’s Digital Growth Manager Louis Melia discusses the rise of TikTok & its advertising power. Still think TikTok is just for dancing? With…Read article
Viral TikTok: Little Moons and TikTok MarketingOur Social Media Manager, Elena, discusses the art of viral TikTok marketing and how clever TikTok advertising can skyrocket your brand to fame and success…Read article
Paid social media in 2026: what actually works nowPaid social media in 2026 has shifted away from aggressive targeting and constant optimisation, towards credibility, creative clarity, and trust. This piece…Read article
How paid social media advertising works in 2026A clear, intelligent breakdown of how paid social media advertising really works in 2026, from AI-led targeting and creative strategy to attribution, rising…Read article
Why paid advertising is no longer optional in 2026, and what brands are getting wrongPaid advertising is now critical for growth in 2026. Learn how platforms, creative, and data-driven strategy are reshaping digital marketing results.Read article
Ecommerce is Changing Fast, and 2024 Proved ItA smart breakdown of the major ecommerce shifts seen in 2024, from changing customer behaviour and AI driven search to declining loyalty, faster checkouts…Read articleRelated services
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It suits products you can show, explain or demonstrate, and audiences who are on the platform, which now includes 26.8 million UK adults. It is harder for narrow B2B and heavily regulated offers, though education-led content can work there with a longer view. We give you an honest answer before you spend, including if the answer is no.
Enough to test several creative concepts properly rather than one, because creative is the variable that matters most. In practice that means a budget that can run multiple concepts to a clear result within a few weeks, plus the production to keep them fresh. Use the creative volume planner on this page for a first estimate; we size it properly from your product economics.
We do, with our in-house video and design team, plus briefed creators where a genuine outside voice performs better. You end up with a content library you can also use organically and on Reels and Shorts, rather than assets that only exist inside the ad account.
Spark Ads run your campaign as a real post from a real account, yours or a creator’s, so the ad keeps the profile, comments, likes and follows. They read as content rather than advertising, engagement builds on the post, and that social proof keeps working after the campaign ends. We agree creator authorisation codes in the contract so Spark Ads are always an option.
Weeks rather than months. Fatigue arrives much faster than on Meta, so we plan a continuous production schedule instead of a launch batch, and judge concepts on hook rate and watch time as well as cost per acquisition. The planner on this page shows roughly how many fresh ads a month your budget needs.
Increasingly, yes. TikTok’s UK ad audience is now 26.8 million adults, 48.4% of UK adults, and it is no longer a teenage platform. That said, it skews female (61.5% of the UK adult ad audience), and we would not make it your primary channel for an older demographic when the same budget on Meta or search would reach them more directly.
TikTok Pixel and Events API for the direct path, then view-through and assisted conversions, branded search lift and blended performance for the rest. Judging TikTok purely on last click undervalues it, and the channel gets cut just as it starts working, so we agree the measurement framework before launch.
Yes: Shop setup, catalogue and product listings, Video Shopping ads, GMV Max campaigns, LIVE shopping and affiliate creators. For impulse-priced products it is often the strongest way to run the channel, because it removes the journey to your site altogether.
Often, once the account has clean conversion data and a steady supply of creative. Smart+ automates targeting, bidding, budget and creative selection, and you can now switch each part on or off. TikTok reports higher returns from Smart+ than manual campaigns but calls that figure directional, so we run it against a manual control and keep whichever wins on your numbers.
Not published ones yet, so we do not quote TikTok results on this page. The short-form results we show are from vertical, demo-style and creator-style video we made and ran on Meta and Instagram, such as a how-to video for Fizzy Whiz at 16.86:1 ROAS. It is the same production line, and we are happy to talk you through current TikTok work on a call.
Free creative teardown
Send us your product and we will come back with three concepts we would test first, and an honest view on whether the platform suits you.
