Social subtlety from Whistles

Whistles hosted a drinks reception with their CEO Jane Shepherdson at their Harrods concession earlier this month and continued their foray into the world of social media.

The event was advertised on the Whistles Facebook page and to be honest, when you read what was on offer – as well as Jane, there was macaroons and champagne, I was shocked to see I was only the seventh person to sign up and I didn’t actually have to ‘like’ their page to do so. As the evening drew nearer the numbers grew gradually but were somewhat underwhelming reaching 43, with only half of those actually turning out.

Jane was lovely to talk to, very down to earth and clearly as passionate as ever about the brand. I asked about the contrast between this comparatively very small concession in Harrods compared to their store in St Christopher’s place which has three floors, she explained how they had to choose very carefully what products to sell in this concession and how they merchandise it. “At the end of the day, it is Harrods so we go with our really premium end stuff with higher price points than you would generally find at our stand-alone stores”, she explained. They also produce items that are exclusive to Harrods, this season it is a beautiful fur paneled military coat.

Jane is also enjoying moving the brand forward by embracing social media. Part of the evening was the opportunity to be dressed by a Whistles stylist which you could only sign up for through the event page on Facebook, I presumed this would be snapped up so I didn’t end up ‘applying’ but it turns out they were not even able to fill the four places available and only three ladies ended up getting a full on Whistles make-over complete with hair and make-up and by all accounts had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon getting spoilt. Each entrant was then photographed and their picture was posted on Facebook where visitors to the page were invited to vote for their favourite look and the one who received the most ‘likes’ got to keep their outfit. All three outfits were fabulous and although Jane did pick a winner, they actually all got to go home in what they were wearing. Again, I was astonished at how small the numbers of people voting were, especially as the three contestants spent most of the evening drumming up support from their friends to vote for them.

I spoke to Tiffany Pearce, the Marketing Manager to find out more about their social media strategy. “We signed up to social media relatively late compared to many other retailers, we have been on twitter for a year now and launched our facebook page six months ago”, said Sarah, “To be honest, our appeal is quite broad in terms of age range so it is only our younger customers who are using our digital platforms, so number of users is not something we are worried about.” She went on to point out that Whistles has a niche and loyal customer base unlike more mainstream brands such as ASOS or TOPSHOP who’s facebook activity is a lot more aggressive and attracts hundreds of comments and votes everyday, “For us it is not about getting lots of votes or likes, or more followers, it is about communicating with our loyal customers and gauging their tastes.” A brave approach I thought, but credit to them for staying true to the brand.

In summary, Whistles’ social media presence, much like their clothing, is subtle and not in your face, a strategy they feel quite strongly is the correct one for their brand, but with the likes of ASOS continuing to record year on year profit increases even in challenging times, will Whistles eventually need to take the more mainstream approach?