TikTok Ads success story · Heating and air conditioning company

How an HVAC company won more than 6.6k high-quality leads with creator-made TikTok ads.

Name: Overtop Media Digital Marketing
Address: 933 Louise Ave Suite 101-18, Charlotte, NC, 28204, US
Telephone: (704) 237-0707
Price range: $$

Topline Heating and Air needed leads, and leads on TikTok need a steady supply of fresh video. A simple brief, a stream of short ads made by vetted creators and a lead-focused campaign delivered more than 6.6k high-quality lead conversions.

Business: Topline Heating and Air
Market: Not stated by TikTok
Goal: More high-quality leads for a home service business

Hand pressing the dial of a modern wall thermostat in a bright home

The results.

TikTok did not publish a comparison period, a cost per lead or the campaign dates.

6.6k+high-quality lead conversions
30.3Mimpressions
59creator-made ads a week (65 received in all)

Reported in a TikTok case study published August 16, 2024, covering "the course of their campaign". TikTok did not state how a lead was judged high quality.

The challenge.

Topline Heating and Air sells heating and cooling work to homeowners, a business that lives on a steady flow of service calls and installation quotes. The goal on TikTok was simple: more leads, and leads worth calling back.

The obstacle was creative. TikTok ads tire quickly, and a home service company does not have a video team turning out new ads every week. Without fresh video, a lead campaign slows down and costs more.

Write a short briefShow the owner, text on screen, reference videos.
Collect creator ads59 usable ads a week from vetted creators.
Run for leadsLead Generation objective, measured with the Pixel.
Retarget warm viewersCustom Audiences reach people who already engaged.

What they did.

Lead Generation objective · Creator-made video ads · TikTok Pixel · Custom Audiences

A campaign built for leads: The ads ran under TikTok’s Lead Generation objective, so delivery was aimed at people likely to raise their hand, not at cheap views.
A short brief for creators: A one-page brief set the rules, such as showing the owner and putting text on screen, plus reference videos and product footage. Vetted creators then made ads to that brief, and TikTok covered the production cost.
Fresh ads every week: The brief produced 59 usable ads a week (65 received in all), so the campaign always had new video to rotate in before older ads wore out.
Tracking and warm audiences: The TikTok Pixel reported website actions back to TikTok, and Custom Audiences reached people who already knew the company or had engaged with it.

Why it worked.

Our read on the decisions behind the numbers, and what any business can take from them.

Volume beat polish: On TikTok, the account with more good videos to test usually wins. A weekly stream of ads let the campaign find the winners quickly and replace the ones that faded.
The owner on camera: Asking creators to show the owner made the ads feel like a local business talking, not a commercial. For a trade where trust decides the call, that matters.
The objective matched the goal: Because the campaign was told to find leads, TikTok’s system learned from people who filled in forms, not from people who just watched.
Warm audiences closed the loop: People who had already seen the company got a second and third ad, which is how a considered purchase like a new system usually gets made.

How we would run this play for your business.

You do not need a national budget to use the same ideas. This is how Overtop Media Digital Marketing puts them to work in our tiktok ads management.

Your own videos first: We start with what you already have: the owner on a job, a technician explaining a fix, a before and after. Phone footage is fine on TikTok, and it is the most believable video you own.
Local creators to fill the gaps: When you need more volume, we book the best local creators directly, with no agency markup, and give them a short brief like the one above. TikTok has since moved its creator programs into TikTok One, which we also use to find them. Stock footage only fills gaps.
Built and judged on leads: Our TikTok ads management sets up lead campaigns, tracking and warm audiences, and we judge them on booked calls and quotes, not on views.
One plan with search: Homeowners who see you on TikTok often search for you later. Our Google Ads management makes sure you are the company they find, in Charlotte or wherever you work.