In this exclusive feature, Parshwa Sarvaiya, Business Director at Wavemaker is charting the future of media by combining strategic foresight with an AI-augmented mindset. Now leading integrated solutions at one of the world’s largest media networks, Parshwa brings a rare blend of performance rigor and brand empathy. His earlier success at Social Beat, where he managed bottom funnel business for brands like Dhan, Gamezy, WOW, built trust-led storytelling for TATA CLiQ & BFSI clients like Tata Mutual Fund, and crafted couture-inspired campaigns for Samsonite shaped his full-funnel thinking. Today, he’s piloting AI agents, GPT-powered workflows, and retention-first frameworks to reimagine how brands grow in a media ecosystem that’s increasingly automated, closed-loop, and creative-first.
Balancing Performance Marketing with Long‑Term Brand Building
At Social Beat, performance marketing was the core KPI for most clients, but I always layered in creative, out‑of‑the‑box ideas that supported full‑funnel goals, not just bottom‑funnel metrics. For example, alongside aggressive conversion campaigns, I recommended a modest “always‑on” branding activity on Meta to keep the narrative alive, drop by drop filling the top of the funnel at least for a single platform that would help me fuel my retargeting funnel along with not very long term brand build but surely a short term goal was positively achieved.
Growth in ‘Trust‑Heavy’ Sectors vs. FMCG/D2C Brands
With Tata Mutual Fund and Mahindra Finance, we led with emotionally resonant storytelling, leveraging aspirational narratives, and I even tried a subtle AI‑driven content generation to build confidence in the audience in the brand’s knack for catching up with the modern happenings. In contrast, for FMCG/D2C brands like WOW and IGP.com, the focus shifted to tactical, USP‑driven efforts and rapid product testimonials. The smart insight? Even in trust sectors, pairing emotional context with AI‑powered micro‑moments can dramatically accelerate consideration.
2× ROAS for WOW in Three Weeks
We kicked off with deep audience segmentation and tailored communication for each cohort, paired SKU‑level hero discovery and layered audience targeting with fresh UGC‑style reels and real‑time budget shifts, doubling ROAS in 21 days. Continuous A/B testing and dynamic retargeting moved the needle, proving that marrying research with agile creative execution drives exponential results. All this was also paired with minimal yet impactful CRO efforts.
Behind the Samsonite × Manish Malhotra Campaign
Our intent was to fashion an international, couture‑level aesthetic, every costume detail, model choice (complexion, height) and set design reflected Manish’s signature elegance. While the limited‑edition collection called for an awareness‑first push, we built in mid‑funnel “assist‑to‑convert” edits and renditions that would help trigger the buying decisions.
Leveraging AI & ML in Campaign Strategies
I’m piloting WPP Open’s AI agents to automate research, planning, evaluation and measurement, freeing up headspace for high‑impact strategy while machines handle the grunt work. Parallelly, I’ve built a semi‑automated LinkedIn newsletter and a recent WhatsApp channel powered by a custom GPT, and I continuously trial generative platforms like Gamma.app, VEO3, Suno.ai and ElevenLabs, and keep sharing bite‑sized insights and results on LinkedIn. This agentic→generative AI hybrid helps supercharge deck builds, campaign ideation and execution speed at every turn
The Enduring Role of Human‑Led Strategic Thinking
As platforms like Meta go Adv+ Pro Max day by day, with reducing manual dashboard levers and automating everything via AI and Google launching PMax earlier and now keywordless search – AI Max, is again on the same path of automating the dashboard. Routine execution and measurement will soon be entirely agentic, but it’s the insights born of real-world context, cultural nuance and bold original ideas that AI can’t replicate. In the future, success will hinge on those rare thinkers who fuse data fluency with genuine creative vision. While AI can run the race, human strategists will still set the course.
Measuring Success for a Fashion‑Luxury‑Travel Campaign
In premium categories where customer acquisition is costly and brand trust is paramount, I supplement traditional KPIs (impressions, click‑throughs, bookings) with two retention‑focused metrics:
Repeat Rate: The proportion of returning customers over a defined period, indicating ongoing engagement.
Terminal Repeat Rate: The share of first‑time buyers who make a subsequent purchase within an early “validation window” and trust a new brand. If this audience is still buying from you, that means the brand is still succeeding on its core ethics it was initiated with
By prioritising these retention‑focused KPIs, we shift the conversation from “How many did we sell?” to “How many did we keep?” and that’s where true luxury brand equity is built.
P.S. This is not only a marketing KPI, brand’s efforts to retain and delight the customers are also equally important.
Brand challenges excite me the most: performance complexity, new market expansion, or storytelling at scale.
I’m most excited to harness AI as my strategic co‑pilot, whether it’s untangling performance complexity, guiding new‑market entry or scaling brand storytelling. AI is going to be our new normal few years down the line, so rather than figuring out the task, I’d like to figure out the tools that can collaborate with me to solve any given task
Everyone’s almost selling the same thing, it’s about how you package!
