Feelunique is one of Europe’s foremost beauty retailers, carrying over 30,000 premium products ranging from skincare and makeup to fragrances, since its launch in October 2005. Its selection of 500+ brands represents the vast spectrum that is beauty – classic scents from houses such as DIOR and Lancôme take stage alongside the latest viral sensations from celebs and influencers.
The beauty community and social media play an integral role in the industry. Feelunique already possess strong relationships with influencers and content creators but were looking to diversify its activity outside of the established platforms in order to engage and communicate with new audiences. TikTok proved to be the ideal avenue – although it has exploded in popularity over the past few years, its advertising potential is still relatively new. As Adam Walker, Feelunique’s Head of Performance Marketing, stated, “TikTok represented an area where retailers were still testing the water and so we saw an opportunity to carve out a voice that fit our brand and the platform’s format.”
Fitting the flow of TikTok
Via the Awin partnership, Sellers Alley provided a unique opportunity for Feelunique. The brand was able to test activity in a new space through its affiliate programme with an agency who were vetted experts on TikTok.
Sellers Alley’s knowledge and experience of the platform were integral. With a new audience of potential customers at stake, it was crucial the brand’s content resonated with TikTok’s users. Feelunique’s creative strategy, advised by Sellers Alley, was to develop ads that would imitate the user-generated content of the platform. These would then fit the rhythm of TikTok, instead of standing out by being overly produced. Given TikTok’s unique culture and format, having a specialised approach to content was essential to success – something that’s often overlooked by brands who expect their existing assets to work universally across different platforms and audiences.
By contrast, Feelunique’s campaign highlighted the brand’s USPs and message in a manner that fit the natural flow of the TikTok community and felt organic, rather than inauthentic and overly marketed.
Brand and performance goals combine
Working with Sellers Alley through the affiliate channel afforded several advantages. Whilst a budget of €15,000 was allocated, this was used to optimise the campaign against CPA, offsetting the risk of spend in an untested environment. With fixed spend in play, utilising the tracking and reporting capabilities of Awin’s platform alongside Sellers Alley’s own data also provided detailed insight into the campaign’s performance.
A variety of ad placements and formats were collaborated on between Feelunique and Sellers Alley. These ranged from specific product lines like Korean skincare brand Dr.Jart+, to sub-campaigns that targeted broader goals such as brand interaction with the community. Feelunique’s Beauty Box, a relatively new offering for the brand in a highly competitive space, was the major focus for the TikTok campaign, however. It coincided with a key promotional period for the product across the business and the affiliate activity was supported across multiple channels, playing a vital role in the overall marketing push that encompassed both owned and earned media.
Results
While many advertisers often rely on or relegate affiliate partners for sales conversions, siloed away from their other marketing activity, Feelunique’s cross-channel strategy demonstrated how a partner could help enhance branding KPIs that traditionally sit out outside the channel. Over the course of the campaign the brand saw a variety of KPIs spike as awareness grew and they effectively tapped into a completely new community:
Despite the campaign’s relative focus on TikTok, its benefits reached far beyond that single platform. Feelunique’s followers across multiple social platforms have grown since the campaign started, organic traffic figures have increased, and the products featured in the TikTok activity, 95 of which appeared in affiliate customers’ baskets, also saw increased searches on site.
“TikTok has shown its value to us from both a branding and demand driving perspective, we have plenty of plans for the future in running more activity on the platform as well as expanding our capabilities with Sellers Alley’s expertise.”
Adam Walker, Head of Performance Marketing - Feelunique
Feelunique’s campaign with Sellers Alley sets an example for brands looking to approach a new channel or audience. By consulting with knowledgeable experts and providing them with the necessary resources, all on a lower risk performance model, the brand ensured its first engagement with TikTok’s audience hit all the right notes. Integrating the campaign into the brand’s overall strategy around its Beauty Box product also showcased the channel as a generator of results outside of traditional affiliate KPIs – one that provides value to the brand across all of its marketing teams.
Want to test your affiliate activity on TikTok? Register your interest now and chat with our Influencer team to get started.
