Case Study: Running Paid Search & WhatsApp Commerce for a Large-Format Retail Chain

Role: Product and Marketing Officer, Avenue Supermarts Ltd (DMart / DMart Ready) — Apr 2022 to Feb 2023 Scope: Google Ads campaign management, WhatsApp Business API (Gupshup/CPaaS) customer engagement, OOH vendor management, store-level promotional marketing

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Context

DMart (Avenue Supermarts) is one of India’s largest large-format retail chains, operating both physical stores and the DMart Ready e-commerce and grocery delivery service. My role sat at the intersection of paid acquisition and direct customer engagement — running Google Ads campaigns to drive awareness and store/app traffic, while managing WhatsApp Business API campaigns to convert and retain customers directly.

This wasn’t a small-brand, single-channel setup. Campaigns had to work across a large, geographically distributed store network, coordinate with vendor and store operations teams, and speak to a customer base ranging from first-time app users to repeat grocery shoppers.

This is one of several case studies in my performance marketing portfolio — see also my ongoing Google Ads practice work with the Still Hours brand simulation.

The Numbers

Working at DMart’s scale meant managing budgets and volumes well beyond a typical small-business setup:

• Google Ads: managed a verified monthly spend of ₹25,45,345.73 (~€27,000) in October 2022 alone, covering Search, App, and digital acquisition campaigns for DMart Ready, the company’s e-commerce platform.
• WhatsApp Business API (via Gupshup): operated and monitored 6 simultaneous accounts for high-volume omnichannel messaging, dispatching over 6.1 million messages in a single month (October 2022), with total 8-month Gupshup spend of approximately ₹54.8 lakh (~€60,000).
• Combined digital budget: produced and maintained monthly expense reporting across Gupshup, SMS/OTP, and Google Ads — total October 2022 digital budget of ₹36,36,437 (~€39,000) in a single month.
• OOH (Out-of-Home): coordinated procurement and budget tracking for 14+ advertising vendors across 8+ Indian cities (Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhopal), managing campaigns from creative sign-off through physical installation.

My Approach

Google Ads I managed Google Ads Search campaigns, App campaigns, and digital acquisition campaigns for DMart Ready, structuring spend around store footprint, format launches (including DMart’s “miniMAX” convenience format store launches in Hyderabad), and regional demand rather than running one blanket national campaign. I used UTM tracking alongside SQL, Power BI, and Excel to analyze performance and report results to stakeholders.

WhatsApp Business API I used the WhatsApp Business API (via Gupshup/CPaaS) to run high-volume, targeted omnichannel messaging — operating 6 simultaneous accounts and dispatching over 6.1 million messages in a single month. This wasn’t mass broadcasting: campaigns were structured to reach relevant, defined audiences, including direct outreach announcing DMart Ready’s home delivery service to specific residential communities.

OOH & Vendor Management Beyond digital, I strategised and managed media plans across traditional channels — billboards, hoardings, standees, leaflets, and in-store media kits — coordinating 14+ vendors across 8 Indian cities, including vendor onboarding compliance (registration, PAN/GST documentation, bank verification) and budget reconciliation with the accounts team.

Cross-functional coordination Campaigns were tied to real store activity, so a meaningful part of the role involved coordinating with Area Managers, Store Managers, and category teams to align marketing with new product launches and store openings, as well as partnering with developers and UX designers on website and app improvements.

Cross-functional coordination Because campaigns were tied to real-world store activity, a meaningful part of the role involved coordinating with vendor management and store operations — making sure marketing promises (delivery availability, store launches, promotional pricing) matched operational reality on the ground.

Outcome

This role meant operating with a budget and message volume significantly larger than typical small-business or single-store marketing — this was large-format national retail, with real operational stakes behind every campaign. The Google Ads and WhatsApp channels worked in tandem: paid search and app campaigns drove awareness and acquisition, while WhatsApp’s direct, high-volume messaging drove conversion and retention at a scale (6M+ messages/month) that most performance marketers never get to operate at directly.

What I’d Take Into a Performance Marketing Role Today

This experience is why I think about paid acquisition and lifecycle/retention channels together rather than in isolation — a Google Ads campaign that drives someone to install an app is only half the job if there’s no direct channel (WhatsApp, email, SMS) doing the work of converting and retaining them afterward. It’s also why I care about GA4 and attribution now: DMart gave me scale and budget ownership; I want to pair that with the modern measurement tooling I’ve since built through my GA4 certification and Still Hours practice work.

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Interested in working together? Get in touch or learn more about my background to see the full picture.