Mantra Ayurveda: Scaling Direct-To-Consumer Marketing

Mantra Ayurveda (Mantra), established in India in 2020, manufactured and marketed luxury Ayurvedic skin care and hair care products. The brand’s equity in the Indian market was low, its performance marketing efforts were not leading to expected revenue gains, and the revenue from direct-to-consumer (DTC) initiatives had experienced a negligible uptick in financial year (FY) 2020–21. In April 2021, the chief executive officer would have to convince the board and investors about his plans for achieving fourfold revenue growth from the DTC channel in FY 2021–22. He needed to propose a choice that would build the brand for long-term sustenance while delivering on short-term revenue goals, considering key strategic pillars: an international DTC market launch to expand; offline marketing to increase brand awareness; in-house and outsourced performance marketing to optimize digital efforts; and discounts, promotions, and the launch of smaller package sizes to drive trials. Making the right choice could lead to an expanded international brand presence and deeper penetration into the Indian luxury market. However, the wrong choice could mean an early exit of a major investor, leaving the company cash-starved and plunging both the company and the future of his career into uncertainty.

This case can be part of a marketing strategy course at the postgraduate-level while discussing performance marketing in the digital age, strategic choices to scale consumer businesses online, or decision-making through analyzing marketing objectives. It can also be part of specialized courses on e-commerce and digital marketing, explicitly discussing the impact of performance marketing on a DTC e-commerce business. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Define performance marketing goals, and create performance marketing plans by deciding on a marketing mix and creative direction in a digital-first environment.</li><li>Define performance-based digital marketing, and explain its role in driving direct-to-consumer e-commerce.</li><li>Identify decision-making goals, and explain how to align stakeholders with divergent goals.</li></ul>

• first business
• performance marketing
• scaling up
• direct to consumer
• marketing planning
• digital marketing strategy
• marketing organization
• structure