Tran started his career as Unisap and originally foresaw himself following

an IT track. But early on, he switched to marketing. “It struck me that I was not in
the field I wanted to be in,” Tran told the podcast CMO Moves. “I wanted to be on
the other side.” 

Tran assumed a marketing title at Taco Bell after getting his MBA, at the University
of California, Irvine. After that, he took a role as VP of marketing at Stance Socks,
where he took a Gold Lion at Cannes for his website for its Star Wars Stance
collection. During his tenure there, Tran also partnered with Kia Motors for a Super
Bowl ad called “Walken Closet,” featuring Christopher Walken and a custom Stance
sock.

After that, Tran moved to Samsung and then Hulu, where he helped craft a Super
Bowl ad starring Tom Brady that teased the idea of his retirement to announce
“Hulu doesn’t just have live sports, according to the script they just gave me, Hulu
also has the greatest cable channels, shows, movies and originals of all time.” 

At TikTok, Tran arrived just before the platform surpassed 1 billion users in
September 2021, just five years after it was founded. The app has been
downloaded over 200 million times in the U.S.  

The app hasn’t been without its competitors. In August 2020, Instagram launched
Instagram Reels and in early 2021, Google launched YouTube Shorts. 

To help bolster its status, TikTok launched its “It starts on TikTok” campaign, which
featured real users in TikTok short films. 

But in the interview, Tran said that his messaging doesn’t necessarily hinge on big
statements, but little moments in which TikTok breaks through. When asked about
the Fleetwood Mac moment, Tran said,  That’s definitely a moment we love, but this
idea of bringing TikTok to people when they least expect it.”