📋 Playbooks

Diwali WhatsApp campaign playbook: broadcasts, offers and follow-ups

Updated 2026-09-19 · 5 min read · By the Convo360 team

In short

A Diwali WhatsApp campaign needs a six-week runway: get Marketing templates approved by Meta at least three weeks early, segment contacts by purchase history, send a teaser broadcast two weeks out, the main offer broadcast in Diwali week, and a post-festival drip to unconverted browsers, all handled automatically once the flow is built.

Key takeaways

Submit WhatsApp Marketing templates for approval at least 3 weeks before Diwali week.
Segment contacts into past buyers, cart-abandoners and cold leads before sending anything.
Space broadcasts across a teaser, main offer and last-chance message, not one blast.
Route every reply through a keyword flow so the team is not manually answering during peak week.
Keep a post-Diwali drip running into Bhai Dooj week for contacts who browsed but did not buy.

Why Diwali WhatsApp campaigns fail without a plan

Diwali is the highest-traffic week of the year for Indian D2C, retail and jewellery businesses, and also the week Meta's template approval queue and your own support team are most stretched. Businesses that start planning the week before Diwali usually end up either without an approved template or drowning in replies they cannot answer fast enough. A six-week runway avoids both.

The other common failure is treating Diwali as a single broadcast day. Customers start browsing for Diwali gifting and home purchases well before the actual festival, and continue through Dhanteras and into Bhai Dooj. A plan that spans the full window, not just Diwali day itself, captures demand at both ends instead of concentrating all your messaging into one crowded 48 hours.

The 6-week countdown calendar

Week	What to do
Week 6 (early)	Decide your offer and audience segments; draft Marketing template copy
Week 5	Submit templates (teaser, main offer, reminder) for Meta approval via WhatsApp Studio
Week 4	Build the reply-handling flow: keyword triggers, Buttons for product categories, Condition for segment
Week 3	Test the full flow in Preview; import and clean contact groups (tags: past buyer, cart-abandoner, cold)
Week 2	Send the teaser broadcast to warm segments only
Diwali week	Send the main offer broadcast; monitor Flow Logs daily; live-chat handoff for high-value queries
Week after	Send a last-chance reminder, then start the post-festival drip

Putting real dates against the countdown makes it easier to plan around your own team's calendar. If Diwali falls in mid-to-late October, week 6 starts in the first half of September: decide the offer and draft template copy that week. Submit templates in the second week of September so Meta approval, including any resubmission after a rejection, comfortably clears before the teaser goes out. Build and test the reply flow in the third week, so any dead ends are caught in Preview, not during the actual rush. The teaser broadcast goes out roughly two weeks before Diwali, the main offer during Diwali week itself, and the post-festival drip continues for one to two weeks after, tapering off by the time Bhai Dooj closes the festive season.

Segmenting before you broadcast

Not every contact deserves the same message. Use Contacts groups (tags) to split your list at least three ways: past buyers (who get an early or bigger discount), cart-abandoners from earlier in the year (who get a direct nudge on the item they viewed), and cold leads (who get a lighter introduction offer). Sending one broadcast to everyone wastes your Marketing message budget on people least likely to convert.

A fourth, often-skipped segment worth tagging separately is contacts who messaged you last Diwali but did not buy. They already know your brand, so a slightly stronger opening offer aimed specifically at them can convert better than treating them as generic cold leads a second year running.

Building the reply flow on Convo360

On Convo360, build the whole reply flow in the drag-and-drop Flow Builder before your first broadcast goes out, so replies are handled automatically from the teaser onward.

Create three Marketing templates in WhatsApp Studio: teaser, main offer, last-chance, each with a clear call-to-action button.
Build a flow triggered by the button reply or a keyword like 'Diwali' or 'offer'.
Use a List Menu or Carousel block to show top categories or products.
Add a Condition branch for high-intent replies (e.g. 'buy now') to route straight to a Razorpay payment link.
Route anything the flow does not understand to an AI Reply step scoped to your Diwali offer FAQ.
Set up Save CRM Lead on any reply that shows interest but does not convert immediately.

Handling the reply surge without extra staff

The main offer broadcast typically produces a spike of replies within hours. A guided flow with clear buttons handles most of it automatically; reserve live-chat team inbox handoff for genuinely complex questions (bulk orders, custom requests). Check Flow Logs each morning during the peak week to spot any branch customers are getting stuck on.

Set expectations with your team before the broadcast goes out: agree who monitors the live-chat inbox during Diwali week, and what hours they cover, since a broadcast sent at 10 AM can produce replies well into the evening as people browse after work.

The post-Diwali drip

Not everyone who opened your broadcast bought immediately. A short drip sequence using Wait / Delay blocks, spaced a few days apart through Bhai Dooj, re-engages browsers with a smaller nudge or a bundle offer. If the contact has replied recently and a 24-hour service window is open, a plain reply is cheaper than sending another Marketing template, though this changes from 1 October 2026 once Meta starts charging for service messages beyond a monthly free tier. See WhatsApp Business API pricing in India for the current rates.

Choosing what goes into each broadcast

A teaser broadcast should build anticipation without revealing the full offer, a short line about 'something special coming this Diwali' with a button to get notified first. The main offer broadcast is where the actual discount, bundle or new arrival goes, paired with a clear, single call to action rather than five different links. The last-chance message, sent a day or two before the festival ends, should state the closing date plainly rather than manufacturing artificial urgency, since Diwali does have a real end date your offer can genuinely tie to.

Step by step

Decide offer and segmentsFinalise your Diwali offer and split contacts into past buyer, cart-abandoner and cold groups.
Submit templates for approvalCreate and submit teaser, main offer and reminder Marketing templates at least three weeks ahead.
Build the reply flowSet up keyword triggers, category menus and a payment link branch for buy-now intent.
Test everythingWalk through the flow in Preview and fix any dead ends before the teaser goes out.
Send the teaser broadcastTwo weeks before Diwali, send to warm segments to build anticipation.
Send the main offer and monitorDuring Diwali week, send the main broadcast and check Flow Logs daily.
Run the post-festival dripAfter Diwali, nudge unconverted browsers through Bhai Dooj with a lighter offer.

Example conversation

Do you have anything under 2000 for gifting this Diwali?

Yes, our Diwali gifting range starts at ₹999. I can show you the top 5 picks under ₹2,000, or filter by dry fruits, diyas or hampers, what would you like?

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Frequently asked questions

How early should I submit WhatsApp templates before Diwali?

At least three weeks before Diwali week, since Meta's approval queue is busier around major Indian festivals and rejections need time to fix and resubmit.

Should the Diwali broadcast be a Marketing or Utility template?

A promotional Diwali offer is a Marketing template, and Meta charges its Marketing rate on every one delivered. Only use a Utility template for order or delivery-related updates tied to a purchase, such as a dispatch or invoice message, not for the offer announcement itself.

How do I avoid annoying contacts who already bought?

Tag past buyers as a separate group and either exclude them from the main offer broadcast or send them an early-access variant instead of the general offer.

What if I only have a small contact list?

A smaller, well-segmented list with a clean flow often converts better than a large unsegmented blast. Start with your existing customer groups before buying or scraping new contacts.

Can AI handle Diwali order queries in Hindi or regional languages?

Yes, Convo360 supports Hindi and other major Indian languages for AI Reply and guided flows, so replies can match the language a customer messages in.