# Oinky TikTok slideshow research spike

Research date: 27 August 2026

## Decision

Produce 50 seven-slide stories at 1080 x 1920. Each sequence follows one connected argument:

1. Hook
2. Tension
3. Household moment
4. Oinky reveal
5. Product mechanism
6. Family payoff
7. Call to action

Seven slides is the production default because TikTok's own Carousel Ads Playbook recommends either 3 or 7 to 9 images. TikTok says those image counts generally see better click-through and conversion rates than other counts, while still recommending continued testing.

## Verified platform facts

- TikTok distinguishes organic Photo Mode posts from paid Carousel Ads. Both are swipeable image stories, but publishing controls, placements, music, captioning, and measurement differ.
- TikTok's current English paid specification, updated January 2026, allows 2 to 35 images in a Standard Carousel. Vertical images are 720 x 1280, with JPG, JPEG, and PNG supported. A file size of 100 KB or less is suggested. Music is required for a paid carousel.
- Standard Carousel supports App Promotion campaigns. It supports both Spark and Non-Spark Ads.
- TikTok recommends 720p or higher, keeping important content within the safe zone, concise and readable messages, scenario-based product benefits, a compelling first image, a continuous story, a CTA after the benefits, and consistent colors, fonts, and logos.
- TikTok reports that Photo Mode publishing grew five-fold from June 2023 to July 2024. It also reports 19 percent more conversions in campaigns that combine video and images. These are TikTok internal findings, not Oinky results.
- TikTok's Soli app case study reports that its Carousel Ad campaign reduced CPI by 38 percent, increased CTR by 1.78 times, and increased conversions by 1,055.56 percent. Soli adapted successful organic carousels for paid use. This is a single advertiser case study, not a forecast for Oinky.

## What the slideshow method is

The useful unit is not a set of disconnected posters. It is a short story that makes the viewer choose the next swipe.

- Slide one earns the swipe with one recognisable household tension or desired outcome.
- Slides two and three make the moment concrete without overexplaining it.
- Slide four introduces Oinky after attention has been earned. Product-led demo variants can reveal it on slide three.
- Slides five and six show the real loop rather than making a generic promise: assign chore, submit proof, get an approval decision, earn coins, request a family reward.
- Slide seven asks for one action. The production CTA is "Search Oinky on the App Store" until a verified public listing URL is available.

This structure combines TikTok's verified hook, continuous-story, benefit, and CTA guidance with a current app-marketing pattern: organic-looking stories first, product evidence in the middle, and one clear next step.

## Oinky creative rules

- Lead with less repeated reminding. Do not claim child independence.
- Show ordinary chores and emotionally believable family moments.
- Use exact product screens only when the relevant action is legible.
- Keep Oinky Focus tied to chores: selected apps can open after the chore condition is met.
- Qualify Oinky Focus by age: app controls are for ages 9+. Ages 6 to 8 use reminder-only mode, and setup is required on the child's iPhone.
- Do not say free or imply a trial. Oinky currently has a hard membership paywall.
- The "Search Oinky on the App Store" CTA is a production placeholder. Apple's public lookup returned no listing for `com.oinky.app` in Australia or the United States on 27 August 2026. Do not publish it until the listing is searchable, or replace it with a verified live destination.
- Do not invent testimonials, user counts, time savings, or performance claims.
- Keep text to one idea per slide, usually 3 to 11 words.
- Use the same type placement, palette, and image treatment across a sequence.
- Keep children and key actions inside the central safe area. Keep important copy away from TikTok interface edges.
- Before spend, inspect the hook, mechanism, and CTA frames in TikTok Ads Manager's placement preview. TikTok says the live safe zone varies with creative dimensions, caption length, and additional formats, so the automated layout audit can verify canvas bounds but cannot reproduce every delivery surface.
- Use current Commercial Music Library audio or licensed uploaded audio at publishing time. Audio is not baked into these still-image exports.
- These hero photographs are fully AI-generated. For non-Spark paid ads, turn on TikTok Ads Manager's "This ad contains AI-generated content" disclosure. Organic Photo Mode posts and Spark Ads follow TikTok's separate in-app disclosure flow.

## Creative families in the 50-set

| Family | Count | Job |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Parent pain and relatable stories | 12 | Make repeated reminders recognisable |
| Demo and mechanism | 10 | Prove how the chore loop works |
| Reward and payoff | 8 | Show what effort earns inside a family |
| Chores plus Oinky Focus | 8 | Connect selected app access to completed chores |
| Child or mascot perspective | 6 | Make the routine feel positive and kid-readable |
| Educational, list, or contrarian | 6 | Earn saves and test problem-aware audiences |

## Visual system

- Master canvas: 1080 x 1920, 9:16.
- Paid derivative: 720 x 1280 JPG, kept at or below TikTok's suggested 100 KB ceiling.
- Visual mix: candid smartphone-style family photography, exact Oinky screens, simple editorial brand frames, and the supplied Oinky character.
- Palette: warm cream, pale blue, dusty coral, deep navy, and restrained gold coin accents.
- Typography: Instrument Serif for emotional headlines and Inter for supporting copy.
- AI photography contains no generated copy, logos, or app screens. Exact words and product imagery are added deterministically in the slide renderer.

## Testing plan

The 50 concepts are a creative testing bank, not 50 presumed winners.

1. Launch 8 to 12 concepts across the six creative families.
2. Keep audience, offer, CTA, and destination stable.
3. Compare first-slide hold, swipe depth, outbound click-through rate, install rate, and paid conversion rate.
4. Promote the best story structures, then create two hook variants for each winner.
5. Adapt winning organic posts into Spark Ads where account and rights setup allow it.
6. Retire weak hooks quickly, but retain their middle-slide mechanism if it performs inside another sequence.

## Sources

- [TikTok Image Ads and Carousel Ads Playbook](https://ads.tiktok.com/business/library/Image_Ads_Carousel_Ads_Playbook.pdf)
- [TikTok Carousel Ads specifications, updated January 2026](https://ads.tiktok.com/resources/help/article/specifications-for-carousel-ads?lang=en)
- [TikTok Carousel Ads overview](https://ads.tiktok.com/resources/help/article/carousel-ads?lang=en-GB)
- [TikTok Carousel Ad creation guide, updated April 2026](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/how-to-create-a-carousel-ad-in-tiktok-ads-manager?lang=en)
- [TikTok Auction In-Feed Ads safe-zone guidance, updated June 2026](https://ads.tiktok.com/resources/help/article/tiktok-auction-in-feed-ads?lang=en)
- [TikTok Image Ads guide](https://ads.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/tiktok-image-ads-visual-marketing-guide)
- [TikTok AI-generated content disclosure instructions](https://ads.tiktok.com/resources/help/article/add-disclaimers-to-ads?lang=en)
- [Apple public app lookup, Australia](https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?bundleId=com.oinky.app&country=au)
- [Apple public app lookup, United States](https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?bundleId=com.oinky.app&country=us)
- [TikTok Soli Carousel Ads case study](https://ads.tiktok.com/business/en-US/inspiration/solicarouselads)
- [Shopify TikTok Photo Mode guide, March 2026](https://www.shopify.com/ca/blog/how-to-make-a-slideshow-on-tiktok)
- [Reels Farm app slideshow structures, updated August 2026](https://reelsfarm.com/blog/11-tiktok-slideshow-ideas-for-marketing-apps)
- [Local competitor-ad research report](../competitor-ad-research/REPORT.md)

## Evidence boundary

Verified observations above come from current TikTok documentation, TikTok's own playbook and case study, Oinky source and product assets, and the earlier competitor-ad capture in this repository. The seven-slide Oinky production structure and creative-family mix are informed recommendations. No Oinky campaign performance exists yet, so none of these concepts should be described as a winner until spend and funnel data prove it.