A strategic brief, not a cover letter. The case for why Mike Litman and TikTok's Head of Culture role are the right combination at the right moment.
The Argument
TikTok is the most important cultural accelerator of the last decade. No platform in history has compressed the trend cycle the way TikTok has — from 18 months to 18 days. Sounds, aesthetics, behaviours, slang: they don't just spread on TikTok, they originate there.
The Head of Culture role is the job of understanding what spreads, why it spreads, and what it means — translating the raw signal of the platform into something brands, marketing teams, and creative leads can actually act on. That is not a new brief for me. That is exactly what I have been doing for 15+ years, in progressively sharper contexts.
At Contagious, I tracked cultural and creative trends for 50+ global brand clients. At MediaMonks, I led TikTok-native campaign strategy for global brands including Nike, Google, and EA. Since 2025, I have been building AI-native tools that do cultural intelligence at scale — tracking, analysing, and briefing on what matters in real time. The tools I have built are the ones I wish I had when I was sitting in those strategy sessions.
The Fit
Built AI-native tools that track, analyse, and brief on culture across platforms. The System generates strategic outputs in under 90 seconds. Trove is a cultural briefing platform built for senior strategists. Both are live. Both are used.
Worked on TikTok strategy for global clients including Nike, Google, and EA across campaign strategy, creator strategy, and algorithm-aware content planning. Understands the platform's mechanics at a strategic level, not just as a user.
The gap between what is emerging on a platform and what a brand should actually do about it is where most strategy fails. 15+ years of bridging that gap, across Contagious, MediaMonks, and in the products built since. This is the core skill.
The Combination
The timing matters. TikTok EMEA is building a culture practice at the exact moment that AI-native tools are making cultural intelligence faster, sharper, and more scalable than it has ever been. Most people applying for this role will bring either platform expertise or strategy expertise. Very few will bring both — and fewer still will have already built the tools to operationalise cultural intelligence at the speed TikTok requires.
Mike brings 15+ years of trend translation at the highest level — C-suite clients, global brands, high-stakes briefs — combined with a practical, builder's fluency in AI that has produced 20+ live products. That is not a theoretical combination. It is a working one.
The world's most powerful culture engine deserves a Head of Culture who can move at platform speed. This is that combination.
Evidence
Available immediately, based in London. Ready to move at TikTok speed.
hello@mikelitman.me →