EXPERIENCE

Led the agency's digital marketing function from the ground up — pitching, building, and managing a team of 6 during a period when pandemic-driven offline shutdowns made digital revenue critical. Grew from a single flagship client to a multi-account operation spanning FMCG, education, and exhibition retail, while independently consulting for two FMCG brands in the final year. Left to pursue an MBA in the Netherlands.

• Built and led a team of 6 — 3 full-time (performance marketing, content, finance/ops) and 3 part-time specialists (design, UI/UX, SEO) — introducing Trello, Slack, and Google Workspace as the team's core workflow infrastructure
• Pitched and onboarded Areca Tea as the agency's first digital client, establishing brand accounts, Google Ads, Meta campaigns, and SEO from zero (see Areca Tea case study)
• Led a 2+ year digital mandate for an engineering college — admissions campaigns, social media, Google Ads, and UI/UX consulting — contributing to full admissions across 4 of 5 undergraduate departments (~480 seats)
• Managed 4 scheduled posts per week and 1–2 daily stories across Meta platforms, briefing designers and producing content directly depending on client
• Ran daily team standups, weekly client POC meetings, and monthly board-level presentations across accounts
• Independently consulted for 2 FMCG brands on performance marketing strategy and execution alongside primary role

Assisted in managing campaign operations across three client accounts at an SME advertising agency — Karnataka's leading electronics retailer, a regional Kannada production house, and a pre-university college. Coordinated vendors, tracked milestones, and contributed creative inputs while building foundational skills that led directly to leading the agency's social media department.

• Coordinated 10+ campaigns annually across newspapers, billboards, and SMS channels for a client operating on a ₹5Cr annual ad budget
• Managed quote sourcing and invoice reconciliation across ~15 vendor relationships spanning print, SMS broadcasting, and venue rental
• Tracked campaign timelines and task dependencies across all three client accounts using Trello and spreadsheet-based campaign calendars
• Supported newspaper ad placements and press write-ups for a Kannada production house, and admissions and state-topper result campaigns for a pre-university college
• Contributed youth-perspective creative inputs on visuals and copy during client-facing meetings with the marketing director and CEO, informing festive campaign direction
• Role served as direct foundation for promotion to Digital Marketing Lead within the same agency

As part of an MBA consultancy module, led client-facing strategy work for a Dutch Phalaenopsis orchid producer exploring sound-induced plant growth technology. Served as primary POC for all client and vendor communication, while owning research, feasibility, cost analysis, and pilot planning. Delivered findings to the client owner and operations head alongside academic supervisors — project scored highest in class.

• Served as primary client and vendor POC throughout the engagement, coordinating all communications with support from a 3-person team
• Sourced and evaluated 5 peer-reviewed research papers to establish the scientific basis for sound-induced plant growth
• Developed cost and ROI comparison — with vs. without sound system implementation — using vendor pricing and assumed variable costs to model pilot viability
• Defined pilot parameters, experimental design, and client requirements for proposed implementation
• Co-presented findings to client owner, operations head, and academic supervisors — securing highest project score in class (see Cympha case study)

Mixed-method MBA thesis investigating how small businesses in the Netherlands balance performance marketing and brand building for sustainable growth. Collected primary data through physically distributed surveys across The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Utrecht — achieving 96 valid responses — validated through qualitative interviews with three academic marketing experts. Submitted June 2025, The Hague University of Applied Sciences.

• Designed and administered 120 paper-based surveys across 4 Dutch cities using a cold walk-in sampling method, achieving a 33% cooperation rate and personally transcribing all responses into JASP for statistical analysis
• Applied descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, logistic regression, and generalized linear models to uncover relationships between strategy type, team size, budget, and perceived ROI
• Key finding: businesses using a balanced strategy combining brand building and performance marketing were 12.6x more likely to report positive ROI than those with no defined strategy
• Conducted and documented qualitative validation interviews with 3 academic marketing experts, triangulating statistical findings with practitioner insight
• Developed short-, mid-, and long-term budget allocation recommendations for Dutch SMEs (see MBA thesis case study)