TikTok’s explosive growth has left many brands scrambling to adapt, but Aidem Agency saw it coming. 

This Amsterdam-based marketing firm specializes in TikTok strategies, turning viral dances and trending sounds into measurable business results for major corporations.

Aidem’s data-heavy approach and “format thinking” have doubled follower counts for e-commerce giants and turned treasure hunts into social media phenomena. 

With a global team of nearly 30 spread from France to Indonesia, Aidem has become TikTok’s go-to partner for bringing brands into the creator economy. But the agency’s vision transcends today’s trending hashtags. 

Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Marwan Guedamsi reveals how Aidem is preparing for the next stage of influencer marketing, from creator-led shops to the potential challenges of platform bans, and why they believe the future of digital marketing is hiding in plain sight on your For You page.

Turning Skepticism into Social Media Success

Marwan’s background includes corporate roles at Dell Technologies and Salesforce. He began his journey into the creator economy after leaving the corporate world and traveling in Asia. 

Upon returning to Amsterdam, he joined forces with two younger partners running a YouTube-focused agency. The Dutch-based trio launched Aidem Agency to capitalize on emerging social media trends.

The turning point for Aidem came three years ago when TikTok approached the agency to test its business offerings. Despite initial skepticism about the platform, Marwan and his team saw potential. 

A successful campaign for beauty brand Bioré convinced Aidem of TikTok’s power. “The webshop was sold out,” Marwan says. “The CPMs were ten times lower than Facebook then.” 

This success led to a strategic pivot, with Aidem becoming one of Western Europe’s first full-service TikTok agencies.

Since then, the agency has grown from three to nearly 30 employees worldwide, including team members in France, India, and Indonesia. Aidem’s focus on TikTok has paid off, with the company now a tier-one agency partner. 

“We acquired [many] brands and brought them to TikTok [in our region],” Marwan states.

The entrepreneur sees Aidem’s niche positioning as key to its success in attracting major corporate clients.

Still, Marwan and his team remain focused on identifying “underpriced attention” in social media marketing. He believes TikTok has “the opportunity to democratize social media,” citing its emphasis on authentic and user-generated content.

Leading TikTok Marketing in Europe

Aidem’s early adoption of TikTok has given it a competitive edge in the European market. Marwan notes they possess “a lot of learnings, insights, predictability, and forecasting.”

TikTok itself has recognized Aidem’s expertise. The agency is a tier-one partner with two published case studies on TikTok’s website. “We got the second agency case study on the TikTok website of all of EMEA,” Marwan tells us.

What distinguishes Aidem is its well-rounded approach to the creator economy. The agency has developed its own global creator database to improve campaign creator matching. 

“It’s nice to have a nice concept on paper, but the creator brings it to life,” Marwan explains. “They’re one of the most crucial elements in this social game.”

Aidem collaborates with creators, including content creation for brand channels and influencer marketing campaigns. Additionally, the agency offers an academy to educate brands about TikTok marketing. 

Marwan reveals that many brands approach the company seeking assistance with TikTok but lack the knowledge. Hence, Aidem’s educational arm allows the agency to provide value beyond traditional agency services.

How Data Fuels Aidem’s Marketing Success

Aidem’s services, tailored to TikTok, are underpinned by a strong emphasis on data analytics. 

“Nothing in our agency is based on assumptions,” Marwan points out. “We use a scientific approach. We test out hypotheses, learn from them to start new ones, and keep learning and iterating and optimizing until we get what we call the golden nugget.”

The agency provides a full-service approach, including strategy and consultancy, conception, copywriting, in-house production, performance marketing, and creator and influencer marketing. 

Aidem has developed several frameworks to cater to different client needs, such as the “Big Bang” campaign for brands new to TikTok, the “TikTok Niche Dominator” for always-on campaigns, and the “Hyper-Testing Framework” for performance-focused initiatives.

The agency has invested in an AI tool for their Hypertesting Framework, which Marwan describes as providing “predictability for performance marketers” and helping to “forecast and create probabilities” for campaign success.

Image: Aidem Agency’s team

Aidem’s global creator database also uses data to match creators with brand campaigns based on skillsets and concept fit. The agency employs a data-centric methodology even for top-funnel campaigns focused on awareness and community building. 

“We like creative testing and scaling phases, and eventually, those winning concepts turn into formats,” Marwan explains.

Cracking the TikTok Code

Another aspect of Aidem’s strategies is its post-campaign reporting for clients, with Marwan stressing the importance of aligning marketing metrics with business objectives. 

“We always ask them to have clear expectations up front,” he says.

For performance-focused clients, Aidem’s reports highlight profitability, scalability, cost per acquisition, and return on ad spend. 

In recruitment campaigns, the agency goes beyond cost per lead to focus on the lead-to-hire ratio. For top-funnel campaigns, Aidem tracks views, reach, and engagement metrics, focusing on quality views. 

“We always advise clients never to run reach advertising campaigns on TikTok,” Marwan notes. “We always advise them to optimize on quality views, which are six-second video view campaigns.”

The Bol Campaign

A standout example of Aidem’s approach is their campaign for Bol.com, the Netherlands’ largest e-commerce platform. 

The agency developed a vertical-based strategy, creating separate TikTok accounts for product categories like “bol gaming” and “bol beauty.” This approach allowed bol.com to more effectively target specific sub-communities.

The campaign’s centerpiece was the “bol treasure hunt,” an innovative online-offline activation. Aidem hid treasures across the Netherlands, releasing daily TikTok riddles and puzzles for users to solve and find real-world prizes. 

“It blew up,” Marwan recalls. “We got people from DHL, from different delivery companies going south to north to get the treasure.”

According to the CCO, the treasure hunt’s success was measurable: Bol.com’s TikTok followers doubled from 26,000 to 52,000 in just one week.

Preparing for the Next Wave of Influencer Marketing

Marwan sees a bright future for influencer marketing, with creators playing an increasingly crucial role. 

“Creators and influencers will become more and more and more important by the years, even by months,” he predicts. “Influencers’ reach will become even more valuable for brands as platforms like TikTok become more saturated.”

Marwan anticipates significant growth in creator-led shops, particularly with the expansion of TikTok Shop and TikTok Live in Europe. 

Aidem plans to play a pivotal role in this shift, helping creators strategize, build backend systems, and monetize their content while focusing on what they do best – creating engaging content.

Despite potential challenges, such as the ongoing discussions about a TikTok ban in the United States and the company putting its European e-commerce expansion on hold, Aidem remains adaptable. 

Marwan notes, “We got a short-form video, right? We got [Instagram] Reels, we got [YouTube] Shorts. So even if TikTok will be banned for us, [we have] short-form feed.”

As for Aidem, the agency aims to maintain its foothold as a valuable partner for brands seeking to expand into the European market. 

“We got approached by many brands looking to expand into the European market and missing a local partner,” Marwan shares. 

The agency is also open to partnerships with other agencies, leveraging its expertise in the creator economy and European market dynamics.