Ellamilla: Activating Cold Email Segments with WhatsApp and SMS Across BENELUX and DACH

Ellamilla partnered with Zefir to strengthen direct communication with customer segments that were no longer engaging via email.

Operating across BENELUX and DACH markets, the brand identified a growing portion of its database that had stopped opening or clicking email campaigns. Instead of increasing ad spend, Ellamilla implemented WhatsApp and SMS to reconnect with these cold and low-engagement segments in a more direct and personal way.

The result was a significant reactivation of dormant audiences and over €500,000 in additional sales driven by WhatsApp and SMS communication.

About the brand

Ellamilla is a founder-led clothing brand based in Belgium, focused on building a strong and loyal community around its collections.

The brand operates across two core regions:

• BENELUX

• DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

Because fashion purchasing is driven by emotional connection and timely communication, Ellamilla’s growth strategy focused on:

• Personal customer relationships

• Localized communication

• Seasonal campaign timing

• Structured new collection launches

Instead of relying solely on email and social media algorithms, the brand wanted direct access to its audience.

1. Reaching email unopeners through WhatsApp

Zefir helped Ellamilla identify and segment:

• Email non-openers

• Low-engagement subscribers

• Cold segments inactive for extended periods

These segments were introduced to WhatsApp with:

• Personal founder-style messaging

• Local-language communication

• Exclusive collection previews

• Seasonal announcements

• Drop notifications

Because WhatsApp delivers significantly higher visibility than email, the brand was able to re-engage customers who had not interacted with campaigns for months.

WhatsApp became a second chance channel for unreachable email audiences.

2. Localised communication across two markets

Segmentation was structured around:

• BENELUX customers

• DACH customers

Each market received:

• Native language campaigns

• Region-specific promotions

• Localised seasonal messaging

• Tailored collection announcements

This ensured communication felt relevant and personal rather than generic.

Localisation significantly improved engagement among previously inactive segments.

3. SMS activation during peak periods

While WhatsApp was used for relationship-building and newsletters, SMS was deployed strategically for:

• BFCM campaigns

• Time-sensitive sales

• Last-chance reminders

• High-intensity seasonal promotions

SMS proved particularly effective at reactivating cold segments during urgent campaign windows.

Together, WhatsApp and SMS formed a layered reactivation strategy.

Below is one of the SMS campaigns that generated €10.1K from cold audience that didn't engage with Email and WhatsApp

4. Campaigns and seasonal engagement

Ellamilla used conversational marketing to support:

• New collection drops

• Valentine’s Day promotions

• Christmas campaigns

• Holiday sales

• Limited-time discounts

Because the brand focused on cold and unresponsive segments, much of the revenue generated represented incremental growth rather than cannibalisation of existing email performance.

Over time, WhatsApp and SMS campaigns generated well over €500,000 in additional sales.

Measurable impact

Since implementing Zefir, Ellamilla achieved:

• Reactivation of previously cold segments

• Higher visibility compared to email

• Strong BFCM performance via SMS

• Improved engagement across both BENELUX and DACH

• Over €500K in additional sales from messaging

WhatsApp became a reliable channel for audiences who no longer responded to email.