Traditional marketing wisdom dictates that any communication with customers has to carry value for them, otherwise it can be seen as pestering and turn opinion against the brand.

However, San Francisco-based clothing brand Chubbies has been experimenting with sending push notifications through its app that are closer to the sort of messages youd receive from friends, and been seeing great results.

“One of our most well-received messages was three letters: Hey,” said Preston Rutherford, co-founder of Chubbies, speaking to Digiday. “We have a good feeling of who our customer is, so were trying to brighten their day in the best way we can.

“Our customers know we sell shorts and shirts for the weekend, so we dont have to constantly say that. We just want to make them laugh and remind them were there. Were not standoffish.”

Customers who received the notifications began screenshotting and sharing the messages on social media, spreading awareness to new customers and keeping existing customers and app users involved.

“Push notifications, done right, are so effective,” said Adam Marchick, CEO of marketing platform Kahuna, who partnered with Chubbies for its marketing efforts. “When Kahuna entered the market, it was all generic spam messages, but when you get them right, you can see a 60 per cent opt-in rate and a 30 to 40 per cent re-engagement rate. But theyre tricky.”

The success of Chubbies approach lies in maintaining a strong brand identity and playful tone with its messaging. Despite only referring directly to its products when there is a new product launch, the company sends out between one and three notifications a week, and typically sees engagement with the app boosted by 16 per cent each time.