Background
MARC O’POLO is one of Europe’s most established premium casual fashion brands, known for timeless design, sustainable production, and high-quality materials. With strong brand recognition and a loyal customer base, MARC O’POLO operates across both retail and e-commerce, serving a discerning audience that values authenticity and craftsmanship.
In an era of oversaturated digital marketing, the company faced the same challenge as many heritage brands: how to stay relevant and personal in the customer relationship without compromising on brand integrity. Traditional channels like email and print were reliable but lacked immediacy and emotional engagement.
Challenge
MARC O’POLO’s CRM team, led by Senior CRM Manager Linda Rudolph, wanted to explore a more personal, interactive form of communication that matched the brand’s premium positioning. The question was:
How can a high-end lifestyle brand use direct messaging without feeling intrusive—or worse, transactional?
When MARC O’POLO began its WhatsApp journey with Chatarmin, the goal was not to replicate email marketing. Instead, it aimed to develop a thoughtful, dialogue-based channel that deepened relationships and reflected the brand’s core value of casual sophistication.
Solution
MARC O’POLO launched WhatsApp as a selective, high-quality CRM channel, carefully balancing communication frequency and content personalization.
Key aspects of the approach included:
- Selective frequency: Only one to two messages per month, sent to highly targeted audiences.
- Personal relevance: No “spray and pray” newsletters. Messages were contextually aligned with each customer segment and designed to add value, not noise.
- Multi-format engagement: Using rich media such as PDFs (sustainability reports, care instructions), videos (collection previews, behind-the-scenes clips), and even voice notes from designers to humanize the brand experience.
- Omnichannel integration: WhatsApp was connected with MARC O’POLO’s customer service systems, enabling a smooth shift from marketing to 1:1 service interactions.
With Chatarmin’s infrastructure, MARC O’POLO was also able to integrate product data, automate conversations, and develop a hybrid AI-human service model. The brand’s in-house AI assistant, “Mika,” now handles initial inquiries, while human agents provide personalized follow-up through WhatsApp.
Results
Although WhatsApp was not intended as a pure performance channel, the results quickly proved its strategic value:
- Open rates far exceeding email benchmarks
- Significantly higher revenue per recipient than any other CRM channel
- 15,000 subscribers gained shortly after launch via an interactive giveaway campaign
- Automated service integration reduced manual handling time for inbound requests
- AI assistant “Mika” successfully handles the majority of customer questions in real time
By combining AI efficiency with human empathy, MARC O’POLO turned WhatsApp into a seamless bridge between commerce, service, and brand storytelling.
Strategic Shift: From Sales to Conversation
Unlike most brands using WhatsApp primarily for promotions, MARC O’POLO deliberately avoids discount-driven messaging. Instead, the brand coined the concept of “Conversational Excellence”—a strategy focused on creating meaningful dialogue rather than pushing immediate sales.
As Rudolph puts it:
> “We no longer ask how much revenue a campaign generates. We ask whether it creates a conversation that makes customers want to talk to us again.”
The goal is ambitious: to make customers feel so connected that they reach out to MARC O’POLO on WhatsApp as naturally as they would text a close friend.
Conclusion
With the guidance of Chatarmin, MARC O’POLO has established WhatsApp as a cornerstone of its modern CRM ecosystem—one that merges premium brand experience with conversational intimacy.
By combining technology, AI, and human touch, the brand demonstrates how luxury and digital innovation can coexist naturally.
MARC O’POLO’s journey illustrates a broader truth for premium retail: the future of customer relationships is not just personalized—it’s personal.