The challenge

Deemaze first partnered with the team behind IAMPOP (later ShopPop) during the platform’s inception. With a vision to redefine how artists connect with their audiences, IAMPOP aimed to broadcast interactive messages directly through platforms like Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS. The founders brought a wealth of industry insight and entrepreneurial drive, but transforming this innovative concept into a scalable product required technical expertise and operational support.

In its early phases, IAMPOP quickly attracted high-profile clients in the music industry, including artists and brands like Maroon 5, Armin van Buuren and DJ Mag. As the platform gained traction, the team identified an opportunity to pivot into the e-commerce space, leveraging its core strengths to serve brands looking to enhance customer engagement. This shift introduced a new set of challenges: adapting the platform to meet the needs of e-commerce while maintaining the technical excellence and scalability required for long-term success.

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The solution

Deemaze became IAMPOP’s initial tech team, taking full responsibility for developing and scaling the platform during its earliest and most critical phases. Over eight years, we continuously supported the platform’s evolution, tackling significant engineering challenges such as building a real-time, high-volume messaging system that integrated with Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS. Our focus was on creating a scalable, low-latency architecture capable of handling high-profile clients with millions of followers, ensuring seamless interactions and robust system performance.

As the platform transitioned into ShopPop and pivoted to the e-commerce market, we adapted the architecture to meet new demands, including advanced conversational commerce features. This required integrating sophisticated messaging APIs, optimizing performance for high-traffic campaigns, and maintaining platform stability during rapid growth.

In parallel, we played a crucial role in establishing ShopPop’s internal technical team in Amsterdam. From the beginning, we supported their recruitment processes, including interviewing and hiring their first CTO, and helped lay the foundation for a strong, scalable in-house engineering team. This dual approach—delivering technical excellence while enabling long-term self-sufficiency—positioned ShopPop for sustainable growth.

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The results

Over its eight-year journey, ShopPop grew from its roots as IAMPOP—connecting world-class artists with massive fanbases—into a leading platform for e-commerce engagement. The platform consistently delivered exceptional results for its clients, unveiling impressive case studies such as a 26.7% conversion rate on WhatsApp back-in-stock alerts for Stieglitz, and €28,000 in revenue generated in a single month for Filling Pieces. Colourful Rebel also achieved a remarkable 49% conversion rate on similar campaigns, showcasing ShopPop’s ability to drive tangible business outcomes.

With tools designed to engage customers across WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and Instagram DM, ShopPop offered brands a direct line to high-intent audiences, achieving 90% open rates and significantly outperforming traditional marketing channels. By eliminating reliance on algorithms and third-party cookies, ShopPop enabled businesses to connect with their customers in a more personal and impactful way.

Throughout its journey, Deemaze provided the technical expertise and scalability required to support ShopPop’s evolution, from its origins in artist-fan engagement to its success as an innovative e-commerce solution. This collaboration underscores how thoughtful engineering and strategic partnership can transform ambitious ideas into platforms that deliver measurable impact.