First, brands must understand consumer behavior, price sensitivity and brand loyalty on Amazon. Amazon shoppers are very price-conscious and will often hunt for the best deals, unless they are specifically loyal to a brand. Shoppers looking for generic items, like paper towels, will likely choose the option that offers the most value for their money, making it essential to consider your pricing strategy compared to other paid results. Even if competitors don’t have the exact same product, shoppers often think in terms of value and quantity. Additionally, some brands overlook the fact that increased traffic during Prime Day comes from deal-seeking shoppers. They’re not visiting the site for full-priced products, so offering compelling deals is necessary to capitalize on the increased traffic. 

Avoid these mistakes for Prime Day success. 

Mistakes are inevitable when crafting a strategy, and there’s no perfect formula since you can’t predict what other brands will do. Here are some frequent mistakes and how to avoid them: 

Mistake #1: Starting aggressive bidding and budget increases at the last minute. Many brands ramp up their bids and budgets either the day of the event or just a few days before, which puts them behind.

Don’t wait until the last minute to ramp up. Discuss and decide on your Prime Day products, promotions, budgets and inventory months before Prime Day. Strategically plan your promotions, inventory and advertising efforts well in advance to build momentum and maximize visibility.

Mistake #2: Pushing new or less relevant products that don’t have a proven sales history. Amazon's algorithm-driven platform can make launching new products on Prime Day challenging.

Push proven products, not newbies. Focus on products with a strong sales history, good category rankings and sales velocity. Launch new products ahead of Prime Day to build momentum, gain reviews and start the flywheel effect. Use Prime Day as a catalyst to boost visibility and sales for these products. This helps you capitalize on the increased traffic while ensuring your products have the necessary reviews and traction.

Mistake #3: Indiscriminately throwing discounts at everything. Your promotions need to be compelling and competitively priced. If your discount is 10% off but your main competitor offers 30% off, you'll be at a disadvantage.

Make your discounts count. Focus on a select assortment of products and leverage seasonal trends. Promote summer-appropriate items (e.g., outdoor gear, camping equipment, kayaks) and back-to-school necessities (e.g., school supplies, college essentials, cold medicine).

Mistake #4: Setting budgets that are too conservative. Those willing to spend more often see the most substantial growth. While cost-per-clicks may increase, so do conversion rates. 

Don’t be afraid to invest heavily. The returns can justify the expenditure. Monitor performance throughout the day and be ready to reallocate budgets to top-performing ads. Start ramping up your bids and budgets three to four weeks before the event to build momentum and better position your products.

Mistake #5: Underutilizing Sponsored Brand Ads. Typically, brands spend around 20% of their budget on these ads throughout the year, but this ad type performs exceptionally well during Prime Day.

Leverage the power of Amazon’s sponsored campaigns. Allocate a substantial portion of your budget to Sponsored Brand Ads for increased visibility. Use Sponsored Display Ads to retarget potential shoppers who have shown interest in your products, while using video ads to capture attention and boost brand recall. 

Mistake #6: Raising bids and budgets too early. This can lead to exhausted budgets by early evening. Brands often decide on a fixed number of advertised ASINs and split their budget evenly among them. 

Be flexible enough to reallocate your budget accordingly. Many consumers shop and convert later in the evening, so ensure your ads show at peak times like 7, 8, or 9 PM. Monitor performance throughout the day, double down on top performers and adjust budgets dynamically. Know when to turn off your deals, and revert settings by late evening on the second day to avoid overspending.

Mistake #7: Forgetting about the Halo Effect after Prime Day. Two critical strategies are often overlooked: retargeting and cross-selling.

Don’t ignore post-Prime Day opportunities. Implement lead-out strategies like retargeting and cross-selling to maintain momentum. Set benchmarks before Prime Day and be ready to revert to your pre-Prime Day bids and budgets immediately after the event. Failing to do so can lead to wasted money, lower conversion rates, and decreased efficiency, negatively impacting your SERP relevancy and organic ranking. Have a bulk sheet prepared detailing your historical spending and bids that drove growth. 

For additional preparation tips and insights, check out our Prime Day guide and checklist.

Playing the long game for incremental growth on Amazon.

Prime Day should not be viewed in isolation. It’s an opportunity to highlight your brand, gain new-to-brand shoppers and liquidate older inventory. More importantly, it’s a chance to capture consumers who may not have planned to buy immediately but are enticed by the discounts. This can lead to continued engagement and sales weeks or even months down the line. Think of Prime Day as a way to set the stage for future interactions with your brand. 

By optimizing your product listings and advertising strategies, you can make the most of Prime Day and drive substantial sales. At the same time, avoiding common mistakes and starting your preparations early can lead you to success. Focus on strategic planning, monitor your campaigns closely, and be ready to adapt to changing conditions. With these strategies in place, you’re well-equipped to achieve your Prime Day goals.

Ready to craft a winning Prime Day strategy? 

Our expertise lies in creating tailored strategies for incremental growth on Amazon. Contact us for expert advice and detailed plans to amplify your Prime Day results. 

Plan your Prime Day deals to attract early shoppers and maintain momentum. 

Lead-in and lead-out strategies are essential for Prime Day success. Start your deals in the weeks leading up to Prime Day to attract early shoppers and extend promotions in the days following to catch those who missed the event. Offering slightly lower discounts during these periods can maintain momentum and boost overall sales, engaging window shoppers and latecomers. 

Understanding consumer psychology is key. Put yourself in the shopper’s shoes: a 20% off limited-time deal with a big red badge on the search results page is more impactful than a simple 10% or 20% off coupon. Shoppers are drawn to the thrill of limited-time and Lightning Deals. 

Implement these tactics to maximize Prime Day sales if you missed the deadline for Lightning Deals. 

When Lightning Deals are no longer an option, don’t panic; there are other ways to attract early shoppers, maintain momentum and drive conversions. For example:

• Run traditional promotions. To attract attention, use Best Deals or coupons with significant discounts. Best Deals provide red badging and placement on Amazon’s Deals page.

• Offer Subscribe & Save coupons. Convert one-time shoppers into repeat customers with a 15% discount on the first subscription, particularly effective for frequently purchased items.

• Bundle products for added value. Create product bundles to increase the average order value and provide better deals to shoppers.

• Invest in sponsored campaigns. Boost your Sponsored Product Ads, Sponsored Brand Ads and Sponsored Brand Video Ads. These ads appear at the top of search results, featuring multiple products and directing shoppers to a specific deals page within your Brand Store. Video ads are a cost-effective way to increase brand recall and engagement. 

• Retarget with Amazon’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP). Use DSP to retarget shoppers who have interacted with your brand to boost loyalty and drive repeat purchases. Sponsored Display Retargeting is a viable alternative for smaller brands without a DSP budget.

• Leverage Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC). Use AMC to target shoppers who added products to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase. This is effective in the lead-out phase to convert undecided shoppers. This capability is not available in the DSP portal and requires an advertising partner with AMC access. 

• Keep the momentum going after Prime Day. Continue retargeting and cross-selling for about six weeks after Prime Day. Adjust your bids to match post-event conversion rates, but maintain your budget to stay visible. Use DSP to retarget non-converters and cross-sell to those who purchased during Prime Day. 

Learn how to optimize ad placements and bids for increased Prime Day sales. 

Another important factor that will determine your success on Prime Day is visibility. There are certain strategies brands can use to maximize impact:

• Increase top-of-search visibility. Consider strategies to ensure your ads appear at the top of search results, where shoppers are more likely to notice them. This can significantly impact your ad’s visibility and click-through rate. 

• Plan your budget strategically. Break it down daily for the weeks leading up to, during, and after Prime Day. Focus on upper-funnel activities like DSP and audience targeting to build brand awareness. During Prime Day, shift to mid and lower-funnel tactics to capture the increased demand. After Prime Day, revert to normal bids and budgets to avoid off-peak overspending.

• Utilize data from past events. Analyze historical data to understand which products and ad types performed best. This will help you focus your efforts on the most effective strategies and ensure you’re investing in the areas that will yield the highest returns. 

• Ensure 24/7 ad activity. Prime Day traffic and conversions happen around the clock, so make sure your campaigns are active and visible for the entire 48-hour event to avoid missing out on potential sales during off-peak hours.

• Make real-time adjustments. Keep a close eye on your campaigns and be prepared to make real-time adjustments. Adjust allocations to maintain visibility if you notice campaigns running out of budget. Remember, the 14-day attribution window can improve ROAS by 10-20%.

Evaluate your Prime Day success with these key performance indicators. 

Understanding your Prime Day performance is essential to gauge the impact of your promotional efforts and investments. By carefully considering the following metrics, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies and make informed decisions to maximize future performance:

• Top-Line Sales: Review your overall sales growth year over year to gauge the success of your Prime Day efforts. Once Vendor Central metrics are available, this should be your first metric to check. 

• Total Advertising Cost of Sale (TACoS): TACoS offers a holistic view of your advertising efficiency by measuring total ad spend relative to overall sales. It helps you understand the impact of your ad investments. 

• Conversion Rate: Compare your Prime Day conversion rate to the rolling four-week period leading up to the event. This will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your sales and promotional strategies. 

• New-to-Brand Percentage: Track the percentage of new shoppers acquired during Prime Day. A high number of new customers can indicate future growth potential and brand expansion. 

• Share of Voice (SOV): Measure your brand’s visibility compared to competitors. A higher SOV suggests greater brand awareness and market presence during Prime Day. 

• Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) and Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS): Analyze ROAS to see the revenue generated per dollar spent on advertising and ACoS to understand the percentage of sales spent on advertising. Comparing these metrics year over year helps assess ad spend efficiency. 

Wrapping up your Prime Day strategy for maximum impact.

To make the most of Prime Day, understand consumer psychology, plan strategically, and tailor your approach based on your brand’s category. Success involves a mix of stacked promotions, mid-funnel advertising, strategic budget pacing, and dynamic adjustments based on real-time performance. Start your preparations now, as CPCs are expected to rise by 50% on Prime Day. Mid-event adjustments will be more expensive and challenging, especially for non-branded keywords. A well-crafted strategy will help you capture shopper attention and maximize returns. 

In a nutshell, Prime Day shoppers are hunting for the best deals. Decide your strategy ahead of time: if profitability is your goal, be more controlled with your deals; if growth is your goal, be more aggressive with promotions. 

Finally, remember that a solid Prime Day strategy is only as good as the results it delivers. Analyze your outcomes to refine your approach for future events. 

Ready to optimize your Prime Day strategy? 

We specialize in enhancing Amazon product listings and understanding shopper behavior to ensure your brand stands out and achieves maximum returns. Contact us for more strategic insights and techniques to maximize Prime Day results. 

Get ready for Prime Day by upgrading your Amazon Brand Store and listings.

Optimize every detail for Prime Day. Even if you think your listings are already optimized, take a moment to ensure every detail is dialed in. Check that all of your content is up-to-date, especially if you've made recent product changes. Beyond individual listings, ensure your entire brand presence on Amazon is polished and consistent across your Brand Store, posts, and logos.

Boost your organic visibility on Amazon. Evaluate your organic performance in Amazon search results. Fine-tune your titles, bullet points, product descriptions, and backend keywords to boost your organic rankings. Organic sales are generally more profitable than advertising sales, so tracking and improving your organic performance should be a priority. Make incremental adjustments to potentially move from a lower search result slot to a higher one, enhancing visibility during Prime Day.

Give your Amazon Brand Store a Prime makeover. Your Brand Store plays a significant role in your overall strategy. Ensure it offers a seamless user experience, especially on high-traffic days like Prime Day. Focus on metrics like consumer interaction, add-to-cart rates, and click-through percentages. These insights will help you understand how shoppers engage with your store and identify which products drive the most interaction. 

To keep the shopping experience engaging, consider refreshing your Brand Store’s visuals, such as updating the header or images. While you can't make exaggerated claims like "50% off all products" due to Amazon's policies, you can still create a visually appealing and timely presentation. Some brands even update their Brand Store headers for specific holidays or internal promotions to maintain a fresh look.

Prime your listings for shopper confidence. In addition to the basics, consider these advanced tips to enhance your listings further and drive better performance on Prime Day: 

• Leverage A+ Content and Enhanced Brand Content features to provide detailed, visually rich information about your products. This can improve conversion rates and help your listings stand out.
• Incorporate high-quality product videos that demonstrate your product’s features and benefits. Videos can increase engagement and give potential shoppers a better understanding of your product. 
• Actively manage your customer reviews and Q&A sections. Address negative reviews promptly and provide thorough answers to customer questions. Positive reviews and active engagement can significantly impact purchase decisions.

Prepare for Prime Day basket building by anticipating shopper behavior and adjusting ad budgets. 

In the two weeks leading up to Prime Day, shoppers tend to build their baskets in anticipation of deals. This behavior can result in lower conversion rates and reduced advertising ROI. To effectively navigate this period, follow these steps: 

Anticipate delayed purchases. Shoppers often add products to their cart but wait to purchase until Prime Day. Recognizing this pattern helps you better interpret performance metrics during this period. 

Set the right expectations for Prime Day. A temporary dip now means a big sales payoff later. Brands participating in Prime Day should start by pacing their budget day-by-day for the weeks leading up to, during, and after Prime Day. A detailed budget plan avoids overspending early and ensures there are enough resources to maintain visibility throughout the event.

Adjust Prime Day ad budgets. Consider reducing your ad budgets to avoid overspending. However, rather than drastically changing the advertising budget, just dial it back a bit. Stay visible and keep engaging with potential shoppers so you’ll be ready to retarget those who interacted with your ads when Prime Day hits. For instance, focusing on mid-funnel ads such as Sponsored Brand ads and Sponsored Brand Video ads can help maintain visibility and engagement during this period.

Maximize visibility during Prime Day. Standing out during this high-traffic event requires a strategic approach to ensure your product remains top-of-mind for shoppers. Here are some effective strategies to boost your presence and drive sales:

• Increase your budget for Sponsored Product ads to maintain a strong presence throughout Prime Day. These ads help drive traffic directly to your product listings and keep your brand visible amid the competition.
• Participate in Lightning Deals and offer enticing coupons to attract bargain hunters. These limited-time offers can significantly increase your product’s visibility and drive higher sales volumes by creating a sense of urgency and value. 
• Leverage social media and influencer partnerships to create buzz around your Prime Day deals. Influencers can help expand your reach and build anticipation, making your products more appealing to a broader audience.

Ensure Prime Day success with enhanced listings and strategies.

Optimizing your listings and preparing for basket building are crucial steps for Prime Day success. By polishing your listings, boosting organic visibility, and enhancing your Brand Store, you create a seamless and engaging shopping experience. Anticipating shopper behavior, setting realistic expectations, and adjusting your ad budgets strategically will help you navigate the high-traffic period effectively. Finally, leveraging advanced advertising tactics and engaging with influencers can amplify your reach and drive higher sales. With these strategies in place, you'll be well-prepared to capture the increased traffic and capitalize on Prime Day's opportunities.

Ready to optimize your Prime Day strategy? 

We excel in optimizing Amazon product listings and analyzing shopper behavior to help your brand achieve exceptional results. Our strategic insights and proven techniques can set you up for Prime Day success. For expert guidance and support, connect with us here. 

A big win for small and medium-sized businesses.

This year’s Prime Day marked a significant milestone for small and medium-sized businesses, as they emerged as the new power players in the sales landscape. This shift was not a mere coincidence, but actually the result of Amazon’s strategic decision to amplify these businesses by showcasing more deals of their products than ever before.

Today’s consumers, especially younger shoppers, are not just buying products—they’re buying into the values that these products represent. They increasingly focus on aligning their personal values with their purchasing habits and show a preference for brands that reflect their own beliefs and principles. This trend is particularly evident in the growing support for small and medium-sized businesses, as they tend to have more compelling stories and unique products and provide a personal touch that resonates with consumers. These brands often represent entrepreneurship, innovation and local community support, and these values are strongly appreciated by today’s conscious consumers.

As for results, the first day of Prime Day 2023 shattered last year's record, and thus became the single largest sales day on the platform. According to Amazon, Prime members worldwide purchased more than 375 million items, saving over $2.5 billion through deals across the platform. This surge in sales showcases the growing popularity and anticipation of Prime Day among Amazon’s customer base. Furthermore, Numerator revealed that out of more than one million households, approximately 52% had strategically delayed their purchases until Prime Day to take advantage of the sales, which goes to show that many consumers not only engage with, but even plan around the event.

According to Amazon, the top-selling categories were Home, Fashion and Beauty, while Numerator reported that the most popular items included Temptations Cat Treats, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Liquid I.V. Packets, Echo Dot 5, and Blink Outdoor Camera. These items reflect a diverse range of consumer interests and needs, from pet care to home entertainment and health.

Adobe Analytics states that online spending in the United States climbed 6.1% to $12.7 billion, demonstrating the significant economic impact of Prime Day. However, these impressive results fell short of Adobe’s forecast, as they predicted a 9.5% year-over-year (YoY) growth in total online sales in the US. This discrepancy suggests that while Prime Day continues to be a major sales event, there may actually be room for further optimization and growth. 

Helping brands put strategic power behind their Prime Day sales. 

This year’s remarkable results underscore the importance of understanding consumer behavior and strategic planning—rather than a mere reflection of broader market trends, these outcomes are, in fact, the product of innovative strategies and meticulous execution behind the scenes for Amazon sellers.

In the dynamic landscape of Prime Day 2023, our team of commerce experts strategically guided our clients through the complexities of the event. Harnessing Amazon’s innovative features and aligning them with holistic strategies, we were able to tap into the pulse of consumer behavior and drive unprecedented growth for the brands we partner with. Beyond capitalizing on the event, we set out to understand and leverage the unique opportunities that Prime Day presents.

We utilized a lead-out strategy in conjunction with Amazon’s newly introduced Invite-Only “waitlist” feature for Prime Day Deals across many clients. This direct targeting strategy allowed Prime members to identify exclusive deals and request an invite on the products they were interested in prior to the event, essentially prompting them to make purchases ahead of time—a strategy that was designed to not only build momentum and anticipation, but encourage early engagement and sales. Let’s take a look at different categories to see how effective this approach has proven to be. 

• Mattress/Bedding category: One client outsold their forecast by six times through the first day of Prime Day, catapulting their sales rank from #56 to #1 within just a day and a half. This remarkable performance earned them several “Amazon’s Choice” badges, and they are now recognized as “Overall Pick.” 
  
   
• Lifestyle Apparel category: For another client, Prime Day 2023 marked their first participation in the event. They successfully sold through their forecast on the 25 featured products, which had a ripple effect, boosting their entire brand visibility and sales even after Prime Day ended.
  
   
• Beauty category: One client in this category saw a significant +203% YoY increase in sales and a +109% YoY increase in ROAS. This success was driven by a multi-pronged strategy that included creating campaigns that were coupled with promotions and sponsored ads in the lead-up to the event, optimizing bids and launching Amazon posts during Prime Day, and running remarketing ads afterwards.
  
   
• Supplements category: A client in the supplements category witnessed a 50% YoY increase in topline sales numbers and a staggering 396% increase in Brand Store traffic on the first day of Prime Day. Their strong performance within their category was largely due to our strategic use of coupons across ‘Tier 1’ Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs), which significantly improved clickthrough rates and conversion rates on ads. This strategy not only boosted their sales during the event, but also added 64 new Subscribe and Save customers, setting the stage for continued success after Prime Day.

Drawing from our foundational principles, which have consistently driven success, our team adopted a holistic approach to Prime Day 2023. We tailored our promotional, content, operational and data strategies to each and every brand’s unique needs, ensuring a personalized and effective approach to the event. This blend of strategies allowed us to navigate the complexities of Prime Day while maximizing opportunities for our clients.

Packing up our learnings and taking them to the next big shopping event. 

Prime Day 2023 can be considered a landmark ecommerce event, as it has demonstrated the power of strategic planning, innovative features, and gaining a deep understanding of consumer behavior. The success stories of our clients underscore the potential of Prime Day as a platform for growth and visibility. As we look ahead, these insights will guide our strategies and help us continually adapt to and innovate in the ever-evolving digital marketplace. Whether you’re a small business owner or a global brand, the lessons from Prime Day offer valuable support in navigating the world of ecommerce and maximizing the opportunities that such tentpole events present.

Originally launched in July 2015 to celebrate Prime members on Amazon’s 20th birthday, Prime Day has historically influenced sellers’ success in launching new products, refreshing inventory, and capturing increased traffic to boost sales. As brands aim to maximize sales and reach budget-conscious consumers on the world’s most competitive marketplace, now is the time to prepare your Prime Day 2023 strategy and build toward rocketship growth on the Amazon platform.

What makes Prime Day 2023 unique from previous years?

Prime Day offers numerous opportunities for brands each year, from reviving sales or moving inventory. These advantages are especially salient in a dreary economic outlook. In fact, data from Prime Day 2022 proved that frugal consumers will spend if the price is right. Despite a historically high inflation rate, shoppers brought in an estimated $11.9 billion in sales and saved over $1.7 billion on more than 300 million items last year.

What makes Prime Day even more important this year is that Amazon sellers can use the event to build sales momentum in the weeks that follow by taking advantage of Prime Day’s halo effect. When optimized product listings drive more sales during the event, Amazon’s algorithm will support that growth with an organic lift in product rankings.

Banerjee offers a series of strategies to deliver on those needs. “To create that want, we recommend you use unboxing videos, sleek product videos and interactive premium A+ coupled with a brand store that can differentiate you in the customer’s mind.” Basically, offering a good product and customer experience during Prime Day will continue to drive traffic and incremental sales. But optimization is key to reaping these rewards, because other top-performing sellers can achieve these gains, too.

Begin preparations for Prime Day now.

Prime Day is more than just the advertised sales event. There is a considerable halo trailing the event, especially for brands who strategized on price and had loaded discounts and deals at the ready for the post-Prime Day period. In short: Prime Day is an opportunity to supercharge long-term sales and growth on Amazon marketplace. 

Again, preparation is key. To help sellers get ready for Prime Day in advance, we’ve put together a guide to Prime Day detailing how sellers can maximize their earnings through tactics that set brands up for success on Amazon. Want a preview? Check out eight steps to Prime Day success below:

1. Analyze past events’ performance and trends to determine driving forces for engagement and conversion rates.
2. Identify seasonal trends and what shoppers are interested in at that particular point in time. Note: Offer different product types to provide shoppers with a broader selection and them away from your competitors.
3. Provide a discount on your related products to incentivize shoppers to purchase your products over your competitors.
4. Launch targeted ad campaigns to stand out from the competitors. Note: Specific Prime Day campaigns should be launched a month prior to Prime Day.
5. Dial in on the top-performing products and increase the daily ad budget to avoid running out of funds first thing in the morning when active hours could be later in the morning.
6. Optimize ad campaigns by running A/B Test Experiments to identify the best performing version of the product listing.
7. Track campaign performance frequently and strategize for future events. Be sure to note inventory levels to avoid running out of stock or have dropship transmitted as a backup.
8. Extend your efforts two weeks after Prime Day to maintain the relevancy, momentum, and growth built leading up to the event. Note: traffic will still be higher than average as shoppers continue searching for trickling discounts.

There’s even more to uncover in the full guide, where you’ll learn how to determine if Prime Day is suitable for your brand, the best advertising practices, and the right strategy for a successful shopping sales event. 

Don’t wait to get your Prime Day preparations in order—grab your copy now.

1. Amazon Live 

Recently announced, non-endemic clients can now use Amazon Live to launch new offerings and answer questions in real time. In 2023, the vertical view format in Amazon Live will become available for eligible advertisers. 

2. Sponsored Products: performance recommendations 

New performance recommendations, which are in-console, actionable best practices, were unveiled and are now available in ten countries. By troubleshooting in the background, advertisers can utilize these tailored recommendations to boost Sponsored Products ad campaign performance. 

3. Sponsored Products: campaign presets

Advertisers will now be able to create Sponsored Products campaigns with recently launched preset campaign settings, which include the following: 

• Daily budget 
• Bidding strategy
• Targeting strategy
• Associated bids 

These pre-populated campaign settings are based on historical performance and will be pulled to provide advertisers with estimated performance data, including impressions, clicks and conversions. According to Amazon, campaigns launched with presets observed positive results, including a 77% increase in clicks and a 29% increase in conversions.

Combined with expert knowledge, this feature can assist in selecting the right ASINs to run paid advertising. It's important to note that while advertising drives the most highly qualified traffic, your brand needs to be retail-ready to drive conversion and achieve the results you want. 

4. Sponsored Display: Twitch and non-endemic businesses

For non-endemic businesses in verticals not available on Amazon (e.g., restaurants and gyms), US advisers can run Sponsored Display ad campaigns to connect with audiences on Twitch. These campaigns are focused on driving outcomes and improving business performance on the Amazon platform, confirming Amazon's opportunities beyond its own ecosystem. SVP of Ecommerce John Ghiorso talks more about it here. 

While Sponsored Display ads already appear on the Twitch browse tab and directory page, they will now be integrated with Twitch live streams, which bring in 30 million daily visitors on average.

5. Rewarded Sponsored Display 

To incentivize further shoppers, shopping/streaming credits can be added to Streaming TV, Display, and Video campaigns. Brands can add an Amazon credit directly to Sponsored Display creatives, which shoppers can redeem by clicking on the ad and purchasing the advertised product. This will come in closed beta for US advertisers soon. 

To demonstrate the value and utility of this type of experience, a 2021 Amazon Ads survey of US adult Amazon shoppers showed that 92% of respondents are more likely to take action if offered an Amazon shopping credit.

6. Sponsored Display: Brand Store traffic 

To drive traffic and brand growth on the Amazon platform, advertisers can now use their video ads to redirect shoppers to the Brand Stores with Sponsored Brands video creatives. This new feature introduces a broader product catalog and increases engagement with shoppers without distractions from competing offers. 

7. Sponsored Display: video creative enhancements 

New video capabilities to enhance Sponsored Display’s creative allows advertisers to showcase products and the brand through immersive storytelling such as tutorials, demos, unboxing and testimonials. This means advertisers using Sponsored Display audiences can build awareness on and off Amazon with 45-second videos and link shoppers directly to the product detail page for further purchase consideration. 

It was also recently announced that non-endemic advisers will soon be able to run Sponsored Display ad campaigns focused on driving outcomes and improving positioning on Amazon O&O. 

For smaller brands with limited creative capabilities, a new beta Video Builder tool provides customizable templates to create ad campaigns in under ten minutes. Video ads can appear above the SRP for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display campaigns. As advertisers, it's still vital to keep in mind the importance of organic placement and avoid being a pay-to-play brand on Amazon.  

According to third-party research from Wyzowl, 73% of consumers say they prefer video ads to learn about products and services, and 88% say video ads have convinced them to buy.

8. Amazon Demand-Side-Platform (DSP): performance enhancements 

Campaign improvements have been made to decrease setup time to 15 minutes, optimizing efficiency and productivity. A few notable changes include: 

• Addition of a "Change History" feature to track campaign changes and impact on performance 
• Updated algorithm to include "keep learning" and ingest more signals that result in better outcomes 
• Amazon Ad Tag is moving from IMG to JS, which will enable 1 pixel for all events that are being tracked and drive richer insights with no requirements of third-party identifiers.
• Amazon Audiences are automatically updated to improve signals beyond third-party identifiers
• Contextual Targeting (beta) based on Amazon's retail taxonomy and in-the-moment content consumption with 40K categories available 
• Amazon Brand Lift is now available for UK advertisers in Amazon DSP 

These changes show that Amazon DSP's extensive targeting capabilities will continue to evolve, allowing advertisers to dial in on what's working and what's not. 

9. Digital Signage Ads

Starting in November 2022, eligible advertisers can programmatically purchase ad space in Amazon Fresh stores by utilizing the new inventory opportunity within Amazon DSP. With these Digital Signage Ads programmatically placed in Amazon's stores, customers will see more relevant ads and have the opportunity to physically engage with brands. Brands and advertisers can customize ad placements, daypart and measure performance for meaningful results, which allows for efficient optimization and improved customer experience.

At unBoxed 2022, Amazon shared that Digital Signage Ads within Amazon Fresh stores resulted in a 40% sales lift for Kraft.

10. Streaming TV Ads

Along with Thursday Night Football, streaming TV ad placements during Premier League games are now available in the UK. Advertisers can also utilize incremental household reach, a post-campaign reporting solution, to measure incremental audience reached. By combining first-party and third-party signals, advertisers can ensure accurate, aggregated results augmented by machine learning-based projections.

11. Amazon Marketing Stream

Amazon Marketing Stream launched globally in October 2022, with the exception of India. By expanding to all countries within the Amazon Ads API, this new service delivers hourly campaign metrics to advertisers’ AWS accounts via a push-based model. It provides details such as targeting expression performance by placement and budget consumption messages. 

Advertisers can expect additional hourly Sponsored Display data to come soon, which can be used for further campaign optimization. Amazon goes on to say that brands can benefit from Amazon Marketing Stream in the following ways: 

• Optimize campaigns more effectively
• Respond quickly to campaign changes
• Improve operational efficiency 

12. Amazon Marketing Cloud 

Currently, Amazon advertisers can utilize ad signals of Sponsored Products and Amazon DSP media. With the recent addition of Sponsored Display signals in Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), advertisers can dive deeper into cross-media attribution and better understand the customer journey. Along with the additional signals, companion instructional queries (IQs) were launched to guide advertisers on cross-media attribution, the overlap into Amazon DSP, and other common Sponsored Display analytics. 

Based on customer feedback, Amazon Ads has focused on building AMC capabilities across four areas: 

1. Signal coverage. Advertisers can now build queries to analyze bidding efficacy, cross-publisher attribution, and total reach through integration with Sizmek Ad Suite. These Sponsored Brands signals will be added in early 2023. 

This integration is valuable as it allows advertisers to measure the impact of non-Amazon media on Amazon conversions and achieve more comprehensive cross-channel attribution, further fine-tuning the planning strategy across each phase of the marketing funnel. 

Christina Bender, Director of Amazon Partnerships, noted, “If you use Amazon Attribution to measure the effectiveness of your non-Amazon media driving Amazon.com metrics, testing out Sizmek would be a natural next step to see how that data can be queried within AMC.”

2. Ease of use. Within the past year, AMC's Instructional Query library increased from 10 to more than 50 pre-built queries serving as advertising playbooks on AMC.  

3. Actionable insights. Brands will soon be able to manage their Amazon DSP audiences within AMC, enabling audience creation via an SQL statement. 

4. Partner programs. Ask us about your Amazon services!

Final thoughts from Amazon unBoxed

With the recent updates, Amazon has laid a landscape that brands can utilize for incremental business growth. A revenue increase in Q3 turned things around for Amazon, who reported total sales of $127 billion (a 15% increase compared to last year), and a 13% jump in ecommerce sales YoY.

That growth brings opportunities for brands to end the year on a strong note. Not keeping up with Amazon’s innovations may lead to missed opportunities in revenue, especially as it remains the go-to marketplace in the US. Through the power of storytelling and advertising, advertisers can showcase their brand story and products without the distractions of competitors or offers, on and off Amazon. 

There is a lot to unpack here, but our team is eager to explore these new rollouts with you! Reach out to an Amazon Ads Specialist today to game plan a winning strategy on the Amazon platform.

In the latest episode of In a Monk’s Opinion, our SVP, Global Performance and Enterprise eCommerce Kashif Zafar sits down with special guest Holly Elliot, VP Growth Marketing at Hatch, and fellow Monks Robbie Wiedie, VP Creative Services, and Jackie Andreetta, Associate Director of eCommerce, to discuss the smart-sleeping giant’s approach to marketing and advertising and their most recent strategic decisions. Furthermore, they talk about Hatch’s partnership with Media.Monks, the value of starting a creative mission with data, the importance of keeping track of trends and meeting customers where they are, and why advertisers shouldn’t miss out on Amazon. The golden thread? Whatever you do, always test and learn. 

In case you missed it—you can watch the full conversation below.

Hatch has had creative consistency and an unquestionable brand ethos since day one, which was instantly clear to Holly when she joined the team in 2021. As any growth marketer knows, starting a new role shortly before Q4 can be quite intense, but luckily she was given a warm and well-branded welcome. However, in preparing the marketing and advertising for the upcoming holiday season, Holly discovered two gaps: channels were optimized in silos and creative work was conducted based on campaigns rather than evergreen performance—in short, nothing that Media.Monks can’t solve.  

Acting as an extension of Hatch’s creative team, our main task was to make memorable content that could also perform, keeping in mind the company’s paid efforts. “We like to think of performance creative as fuel for the media engine,” says Robbie. The secret to success is starting with the data. So, our team first looked at the performance data on all the creative work to date, and then took existing assets, learned to speak the brand language, and created iterations of the top performers. Through a post-production-only methodology, our team repurposed existing creative assets into channel-specific iterations in a fast and efficient way—with the first social ads going live within a couple of weeks, before moving on to user-generated content and larger campaign stories. “We often say data is our creative director and this really holds true,” says Robbie, noting the role that insights can play in refining creative ideas.

While Hatch’s internal creative team primarily works on brand marketing, Media.Monks focuses on the performance part. “The speed at which we work with Media.Monks is so essential,” says Holly. “We’re able to test content on new platforms very quickly, which we couldn’t have done on our own.” On top of that, media learnings make the process seamless. This is crucial, as the health and wellness brand plans to focus on media diversification even more in the future. “It’s all about making sure you find new places to reach people,” says Holly, to which Robbie adds: “And that it’s based on the learnings, because you can’t argue with data.” Curious to hear what else the future of Hatch will hold, and how the brand readies itself for the upcoming holiday season? Take a look at the video above to find out more.