Case Study: UrbanKraft D2C – From 1.8x to 5.2x Meta ROAS in 90 Days

Client: UrbanKraft (Delhi, India) | Industry: D2C & E-Commerce (Lifestyle) | Service: Social Media Marketing | Duration: 90 Days

1. Executive Summary

2. The Challenge

UrbanKraft, a Delhi-based D2C lifestyle brand selling premium home décor and accessories, was facing a critical growth plateau. Despite strong product-market fit, their Meta advertising was bleeding budget. Here were the core pain points:

• Low ROAS: Meta campaigns were delivering only 1.8x ROAS, barely above breakeven after ad costs and product margins.
• High CAC: Customer acquisition cost stood at ₹1,800, making it unsustainable for scale.
• No Retention Strategy: 92% of customers were one-time buyers. No email or WhatsApp follow-ups existed.
• Single-Product Focus: All ads pushed a single hero product (decorative vases), resulting in low AOV (₹1,200) and no cross-sell.
• Audience Fatigue: Same cold audiences were being retargeted repeatedly without fresh creative or funnel segmentation.

UrbanKraft needed a complete overhaul—not just ad tweaks, but a strategic shift from acquisition-only to full-funnel marketing.

3. Our Strategy

AK Network Solutions deployed a three-phase, full-funnel Meta Ads approach combined with automated retention sequences. The strategy was built on our proprietary AI-driven audience segmentation and creative testing framework.

Phase 1: Funnel Restructure

• TOF (Top of Funnel) – Video View Campaigns: 15-second lifestyle videos showcasing products in use. Target: broad audiences (interests + lookalikes). Budget: 40% of total.
• MOF (Middle of Funnel) – Retargeting: Custom audiences of video viewers (25%, 50%, 75% watch time). Carousel ads with product benefits + testimonials. Budget: 30%.
• BOF (Bottom of Funnel) – Conversion Campaigns: Dynamic product ads + urgency offers (limited-time bundle discounts). Budget: 30%.

Phase 2: Retention Automation

• Email Sequences (4-part series): Day 1 (thank you + care tips), Day 5 (cross-sell recommendation), Day 15 (loyalty program invite), Day 30 (win-back offer).
• WhatsApp Broadcasts: Weekly curated bundles + festive offers (e.g., "Diwali Décor Bundle – save 20%").

Phase 3: Upsell Bundles

• Created 3 curated bundles: "Starter Kit" (vase + candle holder – ₹1,999), "Premium Set" (vase + wall art – ₹2,999), "Luxury Hamper" (full collection – ₹4,999).
• Used AI to identify top cross-sell pairs from historical data.

4. Implementation

Over 90 days (Oct–Dec 2024), we executed the strategy with weekly iterations. Here's the step-by-step breakdown:

Weeks 1-2: Audit & Setup

• Audited existing Meta pixel data – found 72% of traffic was from low-intent cold audiences.
• Installed Meta Conversions API for accurate tracking.
• Created 8 TOF video creatives (A/B tested 4 hooks: "before-after", "how-to-style", "customer review", "behind-the-scenes").
• Built 5 lookalike audiences (1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 10%) from top 100 customers.

Weeks 3-4: TOF & MOF Launch

• Launched TOF video campaigns with ₹50,000/day budget. Best-performing creative: "how-to-style" (2.1x CTR, 35% lower CPA).
• MOF retargeting started with 7-day and 14-day video viewers. Added carousel ads with social proof (ratings, UGC images).
• First retention email sent to 2,300 existing customers – 18% open rate, 4% click-through.

Weeks 5-6: BOF & Bundles

• BOF conversion campaigns launched with dynamic product ads for cart abandoners (30% discount code).
• Upsell bundles introduced on product pages and in email sequences. "Premium Set" became top seller (42% of bundle orders).
• WhatsApp broadcast sent to 1,200 opted-in users – 28% conversion rate on bundle offers.

Weeks 7-12: Scale & Optimize

• Scaled TOF budget to ₹80,000/day after 4.5x ROAS was sustained for 14 days.
• Refined MOF audiences: excluded purchasers, added 30-day video viewers.
• Launched win-back WhatsApp sequence for lapsed customers (45+ days) – recovered 12% of churned users.
• Weekly creative refreshes: new video angles every 10 days to avoid fatigue.

5. Results & Metrics

After 90 days, UrbanKraft saw dramatic improvements across all KPIs:

Detailed Breakdown

• Revenue: Total Meta ad spend of ₹18.5 lakh generated ₹96.2 lakh in attributable revenue (5.2x ROAS).
• CAC: Dropped from ₹1,800 to ₹684 – a 62% reduction. This was driven by higher conversion rates (2.8% from 1.2%) and lower CPCs (₹8.50 from ₹14.20).
• Repeat Purchases: 24% of customers bought again within 60 days (vs. 8% pre-campaign). Email and WhatsApp sequences contributed 34% of repeat orders.
• AOV: Increased from ₹1,200 to ₹1,740 – 45% uplift. Bundle sales accounted for 38% of total orders, with average bundle order value of ₹2,450.
• Retention Metrics: Email open rate averaged 22%, click-through 5.8%. WhatsApp broadcast open rate was 78% with 12% click-through.

6. Key Takeaways

What worked for UrbanKraft – and what any D2C brand can learn:

• Full-funnel is non-negotiable: TOF video built awareness, MOF nurtured trust, BOF converted. Single-funnel approaches waste budget.
• Retention > Acquisition: A 5% increase in retention (from 8% to 24%) drove 3x repeat purchases and lowered CAC by 62%. Email and WhatsApp automation paid for itself in 14 days.
• Creative variety wins: "How-to-style" videos outperformed product shots by 3x. We tested 12+ creatives per month – 4 winners emerged.
• Bundles boost AOV naturally: Curated bundles increased AOV by 45% without discounting single products. Customers perceived higher value.
• Data hygiene matters: Meta Conversions API reduced data loss by 20% and improved lookalike quality.
• Weekly iteration beats set-and-forget: We adjusted audiences, creatives, and budgets every 7 days. Stale campaigns died fast.

7. About AK Network Solutions

AK Network Solutions is India's leading AI-powered digital marketing agency, specializing in data-driven campaigns that deliver measurable ROI. We combine advanced analytics, creative strategy, and automation to help D2C brands scale profitably.

Ready to transform your Meta ROAS? Call us at +91-9818020078 for a free audit.