// Strategy // Storytelling // Performance // Direction // Leadership // Brand

Shashank Kolagunda

Senior Marketing Strategist
Based in Bangalore
Social & Performance Creative
30+ Brands · 2+ Years
Flagship Case Studies प्रमुख परियोजनाएँ

Numbers that tell the full story, not just the easy metrics.

01 · Education · Jan – May 2026

St Joseph
Engineering College

View Instagram
The Shift From institutional presence to regional digital authority.
Visibility
13×Growth
Reach
150×Growth
Engagement
13×Growth
Website Interest
30×Growth
Profile Visits
Six-Figure
Audience Growth
2×+

One of the region's most established engineering institutions entrusted me with scaling its digital presence across organic social media, paid advertising, content strategy, SEO, website optimization, and multi-platform campaigns.

I built and executed a performance-focused digital ecosystem designed to increase visibility, audience engagement, brand discovery, and student interest at scale.

Strategic Outcome

Built a high-growth digital ecosystem that accelerated brand visibility, expanded audience reach, and strengthened SJEC's position as one of the region's most visible education brands across digital platforms.

Key Contributions
  • Social Media Strategy & Execution
  • Content Planning & Campaign Management
  • Performance Marketing Coordination
  • SEO & Website Optimization
  • Creative Direction & Content Production
  • Audience Growth & Brand Positioning
Additional Documentation Available

Detailed campaign documentation, execution samples, and performance reports can be shared during interviews, client discussions, or upon request.

02 · F&B · Multi-Cuisine Restaurant · 4 Branches · Aug 2025 – May 2026
The Shift From local favorite to viral digital brand.
Visibility
Eight-Figure
Viral Campaigns
Multiple
Community Growth
70×Growth
Brand Discovery
Massive
Engagement
High-Performing
Scaled Presence
4 Branches

Four branches. Great food. Almost no one talking about it online. That changed.

Through viral reels, sharp brand positioning, and content built to stop the scroll, Swadisht evolved from a minimal digital presence into a brand people actively followed, shared, and visited.

Strategic Outcome

Turned social media into a genuine growth channel and built the content engine that helped make Swadisht one of the most recognizable restaurant brands in the region.

Additional Documentation Available

Detailed campaign documentation, execution samples, and performance reports can be shared during interviews, client discussions, or upon request.

03 · LIFESTYLE BRAND · FEB 2026  – MAY 2026
The Shift From offline reputation to digital brand presence.
Visibility
Eight-Figure
Audience Reach
Multi-Million
Community Building
Ground-Up
Traffic Growth
High-Intent
Discovery Actions
Six-Figure
Digital Ecosystem
Scalable

Decades of trust built offline. Zero digital presence to show for it. That was Aapson.

A respected brand people believed in, but struggled to discover online.

Through content strategy, performance-led execution, and consistent positioning, I transformed that visibility gap into a scalable digital presence.

Strategic Outcome

Took a trusted offline brand and translated that trust into a discoverable, scalable digital presence designed for long-term growth.

What I Led
  • End-to-End Digital Strategy
  • Social Media Management
  • Content Planning & Execution
  • Performance Marketing Coordination
  • Audience Development
  • Brand Positioning
  • Analytics & Growth Optimization
Additional Documentation Available

Detailed campaign documentation, execution samples, and performance reports can be shared during interviews, client discussions, or upon request.

Performance Creative पेड क्रिएटिव

Creative direction across 12 brands and 10+ industries, the ad creatives that powered the funnel.

Directed the creative strategy, hooks, and ad creatives for every brand below, worked alongside the agency's performance marketer who ran campaigns from CXM's central ad account. The numbers are the cumulative outcome of that creative-performance partnership.

Creative Showcase
₹1.5M+
Media Managed
8-Figure
Visibility Generated
4,000+
Business Outcomes Driven
200+
Campaigns Delivered
Brand
Industry
Creative Impact
Outcome
St Joseph Engineering College
Education
Full-Funnel Student Acquisition Campaigns
8-Figure Visibility Generated
MSDC
Education & Training
Lead Generation & Enrollment Campaigns
500+ Qualified Leads Driven
Aapson
Healthcare & Orthopedic
Digital Brand Launch & Audience Building
Built From Zero
Space Trade
Trade & Commerce
Performance Marketing Campaigns
Consistent Lead Generation
HomeLand Group
Real Estate
Property Lead Generation Campaigns
Multi-Hundred Lead Outcomes
Additional Documentation Available

Detailed campaign reports, execution samples, strategy documentation, and supporting performance records can be shared during interviews, business discussions, or upon request.

What I Do विशेषज्ञता

Six disciplines, one through-line, turning attention into brands people actually remember.

// 01
01

Organic Social Strategy

Full-stack Instagram and Facebook, owned end to end. Audience research, brand positioning when we're starting from scratch, content pillars, monthly calendar ideation, shoot planning and execution, deployment, client reviews and communication, and the reporting that closes the loop. I build the social system that keeps a brand showing up like a person, not a logo.

Audience & Platform Research01
Content Pillars & Monthly Calenders 02
Shoot Planning & Execution03
Deployment & Community04
Client Reviews & Reporting05
// 02
02

Performance Creative

I own the creative. Direction and production for Meta, Google, and YouTube ads, reels, carousels, generative creative, posters, and AI-assisted iterations. I build every creative and hand it to the performance marketer who runs the ad operations, then read what's winning with him, kill what isn't, and direct the next round that actually converts.

Winning Creative Identification01
Meta, Google & YouTube Ad Creative02
Reels, Carousels & Posters03
AI-Assisted Creative Production04
Performance-Marketer Collaboration05
// 03
03

Brand Positioning

Before a single post goes live, there's a conversation about what the brand actually stands for. It starts with a proper brief, the client's vision, what the brand does, the end goals, and how they want to be seen over the long run. From there I help founders and brand teams find the sharpest edge of their story and translate it into the content pillars, tone, and cadence that make the brand memorable on the feed.

Brand Discovery & Briefing01
Positioning & Differentiation02
Content Pillar Frameworks03
Tone & Voice Development04
Launch Narratives05
Leadership & Team नेतृत्व

At 19 months in, I wasn't just doing the work, I was leading the people who do it.

30+
Cross-Functional Teams Led
Designers, video editors, performance marketers, content creators, cameramen, and more
10+
Juniors Mentored
Mentees across the agency, weekly reviews and direction, guiding them through their early projects until they could execute on their own
4
Roles in 19 Months
Intern → SM Manager → SM Strategist → Senior Marketing Strategist
1
Sub-Management Seat
Monthly strategic decision meetings

I joined Christ X Marketing in its early growth stage, and the first few months were brutal. The company was going through a rough patch, which meant I had to carry a heavy load of clients with no real option but to figure it out on the fly.

That pressure became my proving ground. It showed me, and everyone watching, that I could handle volume, big accounts, and the weight that comes with them without breaking.

The grind paid off. Bigger clients followed, I delivered again, and that earned real trust.

From there came a leadership role as Senior Marketing Strategist and a seat at the monthly management table, where we decide what's working, what isn't, who's performing, and what needs to change.

Until today, I've guided over 30 cross-functional teams and mentored 10+ juniors across the agency.

I write the briefs, review the work, unblock the team, and sit in the monthly sub-management meetings where the strategic calls get made.

Moving from executor to leader taught me that strategy only scales when the people around it do.

"The work you do matters less than the team you build around it."
How I Work कार्यपद्धति

Five stages. One goal, content that compounds.

01

Listen

Before strategy, there's a conversation. Audience, founder vision, category reality.

02

Position

We sharpen the story, what the brand stands for and who it speaks to.

03

Build the System

Content pillars, calendar, visual language, cadence. The system that makes consistency feel effortless.

04

Direct & Produce

Shoots, reels, carousels, ad creatives. Directed end-to-end with the team, refined week by week.

05

Read & Iterate

Data feeds back into the next round of creative. Not reports for reports' sake, reports that shape next week's work.

In a feed full of sameness, I help brands sound like themselves, and grow because of it, not in spite of it.
My Experience कार्य अनुभव

Two years, five roles, three promotions, and a lot of lessons.

// 01

Christ X
Marketing

Location
Udupi, Karnataka
Tenure
Nov 2024 / Present
Status
Currently active
Promotion Arc
  1. 01Social Media Manager Intern
  2. 02Social Media Manager
  3. 03Social Media Strategist
  4. 04Senior Marketing Strategist Current

I joined in the early growth stage and learned the job under pressure, eight to nine clients at once, planning, shooting, approving, deploying, all of it. That's what turned into three promotions in 19 months and a move from doing the work to leading it.

Outcomes
  1. 01 Promoted three times in 19 months. Social Media Manager Intern → Social Media Manager → Social Media Strategist → Senior Marketing Strategist.
  2. 02 Directed 30+ cross-functional teams, one per brand, spanning design, video, paid, production, content, and camerawork.
  3. 03 Mentored 10+ juniors across the agency, from weekly reviews to hands-on guidance through their early projects.
  4. 04 Earned a seat in monthly sub-management meetings. Strategic calls on performance, team, and client direction.
  5. 05 Handled enterprise clients directly: St Joseph Engineering College, Aapson, MSDC, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson.
  6. 06 Employee of the Month, October 2025.
// 02

Freelance
Marketing

Location
Bangalore, Karnataka
Tenure
Jul 2024 / Oct 2024
Status
Completed · 4 Months
Role
  1. 01Freelance Marketing Manager

Before the agency, I worked solo. Four months of running social, strategy, and client accounts on my own, where I learned that a brand's growth is a job you own end to end, and no one hands you a brief.

Responsibilities
  1. 01 Social media management for independent client accounts, from content planning to publishing.
  2. 02 Marketing strategy and brand positioning for early-stage clients finding their voice.
  3. 03 Client account management, owning communication, timelines, and delivery directly.
  4. 04 Creative direction across static posts, shoots, and short-form video.
  5. 05 Campaign coordination from brief to deployment, single-handedly.
  6. 06 Performance marketing support, reading results and feeding them back into the creative.
Brands I've Worked With सहयोगी ब्रांड

Thirty-two brands across thirteen sectors, each with its own voice to earn.

EDU / 01MSDCSkill Development · EducationFlagship accountMulti-vertical course leadgen · 585 leads
EDU / 02Indian Group of InstitutionsHigher EducationAdmissions + brand content
EDU / 03Pranav Paramedical Nursing CollegeParamedical EducationAdmissions-led campaigns
EDU / 04St Joseph Engineering CollegeHigher EducationFlagship account7K → 16K+ · 35M+ views · 5 months
EDU / 05FrameboxxMedia & Animation InstituteCourse awareness + enrolment
WEL / 01AapsonHealth-tech · D2CPerformance + brand build-out
WEL / 02Prakritik LifestyleWellness · D2CLifestyle content + commerce
WEL / 03La BeauteBeauty & WellnessHydrafacial + offer-led leadgen · 209 leads
COM / 01Abhekhya TwamD2C BrandE-commerce content + ads
EDU / 01MSDCSkill Development · EducationFlagship accountMulti-vertical course leadgen · 585 leads
EDU / 02Indian Group of InstitutionsHigher EducationAdmissions + brand content
EDU / 03Pranav Paramedical Nursing CollegeParamedical EducationAdmissions-led campaigns
EDU / 04St Joseph Engineering CollegeHigher EducationFlagship account7K → 16K+ · 35M+ views · 5 months
EDU / 05FrameboxxMedia & Animation InstituteCourse awareness + enrolment
WEL / 01AapsonHealth-tech · D2CPerformance + brand build-out
WEL / 02Prakritik LifestyleWellness · D2CLifestyle content + commerce
WEL / 03La BeauteBeauty & WellnessHydrafacial + offer-led leadgen · 209 leads
COM / 01Abhekhya TwamD2C BrandE-commerce content + ads
COM / 02Prakritik LifestyleWellness · D2CLifestyle content + commerce
COM / 03AapsonHealth-tech · D2CPerformance + brand build-out
COM / 04Star BatteryAutomotive · RetailSales + WhatsApp lead capture
FAS / 01Alex TextilesTextiles · ApparelCatalogue + brand campaigns
FAS / 02NuthanFashion · LifestyleSocial-first brand content
RE / 01Space TradeTrade · CommerceHigh-intent B2B leadgen · 147 leads
RE / 02Homeland Property GroupReal EstateProperty launch + lifestyle · 328 leads
RE / 03Janvi ConstructionConstruction · Real EstateProject marketing + leadgen
HOS / 01Country Inn & Suites by RadissonHospitality · HotelFlagship accountBrand-standard content
HOS / 02Swadisht Group of RestaurantsMulti-Restaurant · F&BFlagship accountSocial + performance creative
HOS / 03Narayan Sea ShellRestaurant · SeafoodDine-in awareness + footfall
HOS / 04Hotel AshleshHospitalityHighest-CTR account · 1.62%
HOS / 05Bell on the GreenRestaurant · DiningBrand + seasonal campaigns
HOS / 06Sky DiningFine Dining · RestaurantPremium dining content
HOS / 07Dolce DessertsPatisserie · F&BSeasonal traffic + awareness
EVT / 01Milestone EventsEvents & WeddingsDestination weddings · 176 leads
EVT / 02Indiana Convention CentreEvents · VenueVenue showcase + bookings
EVT / 03Moras CaterersCatering · EventsCatering brand content
INT / 01Om TilesHome Decor · TilesLowest CPL · ₹338 campaigns · 374 leads
INT / 02Vibrant KitchenModular Kitchens · InteriorsInterior leadgen + showcase
AUT / 01Sona TVSAutomotive · DealershipSales + service campaigns
LOG / 01Lelson LogisticsLogistics & ShippingB2B logistics lead gen · 51 leads
MKT / 01Christ X MarketingMarketing & AdvertisingAgency brand content
STF / 01The StaffStaffing · RecruitmentHiring + employer branding
ENT / 01Coastal VibesTourism · EntertainmentDestination + experience content
32 Brands handled 13 Sectors covered 19mo+ Of consistent client work 05+ Flagship enterprise accounts
30+
Brands Handled
100M+
Paid Impressions Powered
4K+
Leads Generated via Creative
18+
Months to Senior
Portrait of Shashank
About Me

A strategist who still thinks like a curious reader scrolling the feed.

Some kids grow up wanting to be doctors. I grew up wanting to feel something. Movies, music, Indian cinema especially. Those stories didn't just entertain me, they haunted me, proof that life could be bigger than whatever ordinary thing was happening around me. That's where the dreams came from. Not textbooks. Not grades. Art.

I wasn't the bright kid. Average in school, forgettable on paper, but a dangerous kind of dreamer who believed there was nothing I couldn't have if I went and got it. So when engineering ended and everyone pointed me toward the safe road, I walked off the map instead. No degree in content, no portfolio, no backup plan. Just hunger and a stupid amount of confidence. I spent four months freelancing, running social, strategy, and client accounts on my own, before my first boss hired me as an intern with little more on my résumé than that and fire in my eyes. A month later, I was full-time.

Then the real test came. The startup was struggling, eight or nine clients on my plate at once, and I had no business handling that load. But pressure doesn't break you when you've already decided you won't. It builds you. That grind became leadership. Over 18 months I mentored close to 10 people, never with lectures, only with the real mistakes I'd made and the way out I'd found. Then the big names landed: MSDC, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, St Joseph Engineering College. I delivered, not because I was the most experienced in the room, but because they trusted me to carry it. And that kind of trust makes you rise.

Honestly? I'd have done it all for free. I'm not in this for the paycheck or the title. I'm in it for the energy, the people, the late nights when an idea finally clicks, the feeling of building something out of nothing and watching it breathe. A kid who fell in love with stories became someone who tells them for a living, and still feels the same fire he did on day one. And the story's nowhere near finished.