Three updates to Amazon’s real-time measurement and analytics suite.

Gone are the days of waiting until the end of a campaign to understand what worked. Amazon’s advancements in measurement and analytics allow advertisers to adjust their strategies in real-time, maximizing ROI and optimizing performance on the fly.

1. Multi-Touch Attribution (beta). Tracks how multiple ad touchpoints influence conversions, including behavioral experiments, offering real-time insights so that mid-campaign adjustments can be made for better results. 

2. Conversion Path Reporting (beta). Identifies the key customer journeys and reveals how ads work together to drive conversions over a 30-day window, helping brands craft more targeted and effective campaigns. 

3. Long-Term Sales (beta). Allows brands to measure the impact of upper-funnel ads over 12 months, offering insights into how early impressions influence long-term sales growth. Also, this beta will help advertisers estimate yearly campaign impact on a brands sales across ad types.  

Three creative solutions to make content creation more accessible.

A major theme of this year’s event was the rise of AI in making creativity more accessible, powerful, and scalable for brands of all sizes. 

1. AI Creative Studio (beta). A centralized platform that brings together AI tools to help create and iterate thousands of ads effortlessly. Everyone, from beginners to seasoned professionals, can now access AI-generated images and videos, produce top-tier content and store it all in one place. 

2. Video Generator (beta). A free, AI-powered tool that simplifies video production, making ad-ready content more accessible to brands with limited time or resources. Video marketing is now faster, easier and more approachable for everyone. 

3. Audio Generator. This allows advertisers using Amazon DSP to create high-quality, interactive audio ads in minutes. Voice commands like, “Alexa, add to cart” make these ads dynamic and engaging, helping capture new customers and drive conversions.

Three innovative ad solutions to expand reach and drive results.

Amazon continues to expand possibilities for advertisers with new ad formats that enable brands to reach a wider, more targetable audience across premium channels, all without breaking the bank.

1. Sponsored TV. This self-service solution makes streaming TV ads accessible to brands of all sizes, with no minimum spend required. Now within reach for everyone, these ads deliver a 58% higher conversion rate compared to traditional TV ads when paired with Sponsored Ads (Amazon). 

2. Audience Bidding Controls. Combine Amazon Marketing Cloud data with your Sponsored Ads campaigns to unlock new potential. Leverage AMC insights to craft targeted audiences and adjust bids for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, boosting visibility, measurability and driving more sales.

3. Prime Video Interactive Ad Solutions (beta). These interactive ads on Prime Video allow viewers to engage directly with brands, add items to their cart, or learn more about products without disrupting the viewing experience. According to Amazon, these ads can double brand favorability and increase purchases by 36%. 

Six updates to Amazon DSP and AMC for more efficient campaigns. 

Amazon’s updates to its Demand-Side Platform (DSP) and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) reflect a focus on efficiency, control and making advanced tools accessible to all advertisers. 

1. Amazon DSP Ad Relevance. Target audiences without relying on ad IDs by leveraging Amazon’s proprietary signals and AWS-powered AI. This update helps future-proof campaigns as privacy regulations evolve. 

2. Amazon DSP Performance+. AI-driven campaigns designed to maximize ROI for specific conversion goals. Automation reduces manual effort, delivering better results with less hassle. 

3. Amazon Marketing Cloud for Sponsored Ads. Brands working with an Amazon Partner and running Sponsored Ads can now access AMC insights without needing DSP. Using AMC Audiences, brands can better target customers throughout their shopping journey, tailoring ad bids to specific segments for higher conversion rates. 

4. AMC Solutions. A suite of tools designed to generate insights from Amazon Marketing Cloud data and take swift action on those insights. It’s user-friendly, requiring no SQL knowledge or advanced analytics skills.

5. Ads Data Manager (beta). A tool to streamline first-party data management across Amazon Ads products. Brands can control their data, enabling more effective, privacy-safe ad strategies. 

6. AMC Audience with Publisher Data (beta). Leverage publishers’ first-party data to target audiences across platforms like iOS and Firefox, which are traditionally harder to reach. No ad IDs required, just smarter targeting. 

Amazon’s innovations are bridging the gap between creativity and efficiency for advertisers.

Amazon’s suite of new tools–whether it’s AI-powered creative studios, interactive video, or advanced measurement–delivers a blend of efficiency, accessibility, and creative freedom for advertisers. This means a greater control over campaigns, with the flexibility to experiment, measure, and refine campaigns.

From streamlining ad creation to offering real-time insights, these updates open doors for advertisers and brands of all sizes to test, learn, and engage their audiences more effectively. With more advanced creative options and data-driven insights, advertisers can fine-tune their campaigns to achieve both short-term gains and long-term growth. 

Wrapping up Amazon unBoxed 2024 and what’s next for Amazon ads. 

In sum, Amazon unBoxed 2024 brought a wealth of new innovations that will shape how brands reach and resonate with their audiences. As we move into 2025, it’s clear that those who embrace AI-driven, interactive, and data-rich tools will have a significant advantage in building meaningful connections and driving real results. 

A new era of Amazon Ads is here, and it’s more accessible, flexible and powerful than before. Our team is ready to guide brands through these updates and ensure they get the most out of Amazon’s latest innovations. From exploring AI-powered creativity to optimizing campaigns with real-time analytics, let’s connect and start driving success today.

Why holiday advertising matters.

In 2023, consumers spent over $1.17 trillion globally, with Cyber Week alone accounting for 25% of that total (Salesforce). This highlights just how much shoppers rely on these key days. And with mobile shopping responsible for over half of all online sales and driving 80% of ecommerce growth (Adobe), having the right plan in place can make the difference between average results and record-breaking success. 

Below, our commerce experts outlined four key insights and actionable tips to help your brand stand out throughout the entire T-12 period. 

Maximize visibility and engagement during Amazon’s peak shopping events. 

Visibility is everything during peak shopping periods like T-12. Decorating your Sponsored Ads and Brand Store with festive, holiday-themed banners and images creates visual cohesiveness that aligns your brand with the season while attracting the right shoppers. Additionally, using placement modifiers ensures your ads appear in premium spots during peak times, allowing you to balance driving sales volume with maintaining profitability. It’s important to monitor performance in real time and adjust your strategy accordingly. 

For Sponsored Brands ads, consider refreshing your video content and switching to action-driven, holiday-specific messaging. Simple CTAs like “Shop Our Best Sellers for the Holiday Season” or “Shop Select Styles This Holiday Season” can make a significant difference and drive higher engagement during this period. 

Insights provided by Lillie Flagel, Advertising Manager. 

Start advertising early and maintain momentum for Amazon’s T-12 period. 

Timing is key during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and starting your campaigns early while maintaining momentum throughout the T-12 period yields stronger results. A front-heavy approach for Sponsored Ads works best since traffic builds throughout November. Allocating a larger portion of your budget early on ensures your ads are visible as shoppers start researching deals ahead of the big event. 

As Cyber 5 approaches, fine-tune your DSP audiences and increase bids on must-win keywords. Focus on optimizing CPCs based on recent performance, but be careful not to overbid. During the event, keep a close eye on your campaigns to make sure your budget lasts through peak shopping hours, but don’t be afraid to invest heavily in these key moments. After Cyber 5, continue retargeting shoppers who didn’t convert during the event and gradually reduce bids as conversions naturally taper off. 

Insights provided by Johnathon Braga, Senior Advertising Manager. 

Tailor messaging and promotions for different shoppers. 

Not all holiday shoppers are the same. Some are premium buyers seeking high-end products, while others are more budget-conscious. Tailoring your messaging to meet the specific needs of each type of shopper, going beyond simple demographics, is vital for success. 

When remarketing, it’s important to differentiate your approach based on whether the customer is familiar with your brand. For existing shoppers, focus on building loyalty, while potential shoppers can be reached through lookalike audiences to expand your reach. Using behavior data allows you to deliver relevant promotions, such as highlighting a new collection that might interest your audience. With Amazon’s lookalike audience feature and AMC data, you can refine your targeting further, finding audience overlaps and optimizing campaigns for better engagement and ROI. Additionally, life events such as new parents seeking convenience or recent movers upgrading their living spaces can play a significant role in purchasing decisions. Aligning your messaging with these life moments allows for more meaningful engagement and conversions during the T-12 period. 

Insights provided by Tara Lynne Ferguson, Director of Commerce Advertising.

Leverage the power of custom audience creation and insights for Amazon brands. 

Custom audiences are one of the most valuable tools for reaching the right shoppers, but the true value lies in understanding your audience’s behavior, not just what products you’re pushing. Knowing where your audience is in the funnel and how they react at different stages helps you target specific behaviors more effectively. For instance, AMC purchase analysis can help determine how long it typically takes for your audience to convert, allowing you to set the right look-back windows for retargeting, especially for cart abandonment or product searches. 

Don’t rely on assumptions. Testing different look-back windows, such as three, five, or seven days, helps identify what works best for your audience. Additionally, keeping an eye on frequency caps and viewability rates is important. While retargeting helps maintain momentum, over-targeting can alienate your shoppers. Leveraging AMC data allows you to lower CPM and maximize returns by focusing on actual behaviors rather than assumptions. 

Insights provided by Wyatt Burley, Senior Advertising Manager.

Don’t leave your holiday season performance up to chance. 

With so much at stake during the T-12 period, having a holistic advertising strategy will help you make the most of the opportunities available. By focusing on custom audiences, optimizing bids, and tailoring your messaging, your brand can better connect more effectively with shoppers and boost performance. For more insights and detailed strategies to navigate Black Friday and Cyber Monday on Amazon, check out the full guide here.

Ready to make the most of Amazon’s T-12 period? 

Our team partners with some of the world’s most innovative brands to fine-tune their Amazon advertising strategy. Through data-driven insights, technology and a team of retail media specialists, we help increase visibility, engage the right audiences, and drive meaningful conversions throughout the holiday season. Whether you’re looking to optimize ad placements or refine audience targeting, we’re here to help you succeed during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond. Let’s talk about how we can support your holiday sales goals.

To help you navigate these opportunities, Monks teamed up with Pacvue to provide an in-depth analysis of Prime Day performance. By breaking down key metrics and trends, our goal is to provide insights that can refine your strategies and enhance your advertising campaigns as we head into the busiest shopping season of the year. 

During Prime Day 2024, our partner Pacvue collected data and insights into its advertisers' behavior and performance, including ad spend, cost-per-click, ROAS, conversion rates, and more, from thousands of Amazon advertisers in the United States, spanning every major category and brand size. Here's what we've learned from it. 

The predictable yet strategic nature of Prime Day. 

This year’s Prime Day played out much as expected, with predictable trends like higher CPCs, consistent shopping behavior, and a focus on mobile and personalization. While this predictability might seem mundane, it can be advantageous for prepared brands. Even in a predictable event, brands need to be strategic to stand out. 

FOMO drives last-minute purchases. While Day 1 sales were initially higher, Day 2 experienced a late surge in last-minute purchases driven by FOMO. This late-day surge is typical for Prime Day and presents an opportunity for strategic advertising. It’s beneficial for brands to reserve some ad budget for the final hours of any shopping event to capture these last-minute consumers.

Market leaders face growing challenges. Market leaders are finding it harder to retain and grow market share as the “Amazon formula” becomes widely understood. Lesser-known brands are entering the market with high-quality content, making it essential for big-name brands to not only rely on their legacy but also invest in premium content to stay competitive.

“As consumers become more price-sensitive, a recognizable brand name is no longer enough. Consumers are opting for copycat products that are 15% cheaper. Big-name brands must pair their legacy with high-quality content to retain their hold as the market leader," adds Matthew Boardman, Director of Content. 

Riding the halo effect into the holidays. 

Prime Day’s “halo effect” ensures that increased visibility and sales don’t end with the event. Categories like electronics (61% sales boost) and small kitchen appliances (76% surge) are likely to maintain their strong performance into the holiday season. But this impact isn’t limited to traditional holiday items—back-to-school spending spiked by 216%, demonstrating how early promotions can sustain interest and drive continued engagement in specific categories.

“Even if you’re not selling traditional back-to-school items, this season is a golden opportunity. Parents are in shopping mode, and there’s a halo effect across categories like household goods and apparel,” says Holly Johnson, Senior Advertising Manager. 

Rising Amazon DSP ad spend reflects shifting strategies. 

During Prime Day, Amazon DSP ad spend saw a 39% YoY increase, underscoring its growing role in product discovery and customer acquisition. However, despite a 135.4% spike in DSP ad spend leading up to Prime Day—aimed at capturing more new-to-brand (NTB) sales—key metrics like eCPM (effective cost per mile) and ATCR (add-to-cart rate) declined. This suggests that while DSP ads are attracting more attention, their cost-effectiveness and conversion efficiency are diminishing, pointing to a need for more refined targeting and optimized ad placements. 

"Expect more brands to incorporate lead-out deals for PD2 and T11,” advises Wyatt Burley, Senior Advertising Manager. “Combining AMC and DSP data from a promo period can be highly profitable for retargeting consumers who almost purchased. These consumers represent low-hanging fruit that only DSP/AMC users can effectively target.”

Amazon DSP is particularly valuable during seasonal events like back-to-school due to its ability to target in-market and lifestyle audiences. Brands should enhance their DSP creatives with lifestyle imagery and refreshed messaging to better engage consumers. Retargeting campaigns after Prime Day allow brands to reach a pool of already engaged consumers who are likely to be in the market for back-to-school shopping. 

Cross-selling is another effective strategy during these periods. For example, brands selling related products can use Amazon DSP to retarget consumers who recently purchased one item but not the other. This approach not only drives incremental sales but also strengthens brand loyalty. 

“By using DSP to retarget consumers with complementary products, like pencil boxes for those who bought pencils, brands can effectively increase basket size and reinforce customer relationships,” notes Mckay Elliott, Advertising Manager. 

Conversion rates reveal opportunities for strategic improvement. 

While Prime Day delivered strong sales, conversion rates revealed some challenges that brands need to address. For instance, the automotive category saw a 35.4% increase in conversions, likely driven by stable CPCs, but the Toys & Games category struggled with declining ROAS. As the holiday shopping season heats up, optimizing for conversion will be key to turning clicks into sales. Brands must focus on enhancing their ad creatives, sharpening targeting strategies, and improving the overall user experience on Amazon product pages.

“CPCs will rise across multiple categories during sales events, whether your brand is participating or not. Your costs will increase even if you’re not actively reaping the benefits so strategic refinement is vital,” says Tara Lynne Ferguson, Director of Commerce Advertising. 

Consumer behavior trends that are shaping the future.

Prime Day 2024 highlighted several trends in consumer behavior that brands should consider as they plan for the holiday season: 

Mobile shopping is on the rise. With 49.2% of Prime Day purchases made on mobile devices, brands must optimize their online presence for mobile users. This includes creating a seamless shopping experience across brand stores, creative assets, websites, and landing pages—efforts that can significantly boost conversions. 

"Brands that prioritized mobile optimization and had a well-planned SEO strategy saw the best results. Those that diversified their deals across their catalog rather than focusing on a few specific items were better positioned to navigate the volatility of deal placements and timing," says Johnathon Braga, Senior Advertising Manager

Personalization drives engagement. Today’s consumers expect personalized shopping experiences tailored to their preferences. Brands that offer customized deals and engaging content, such as lifestyle images and Sponsored Brand Videos, can better connect with consumers and showcase their products more effectively. 

“Leveraging AMC data to understand purchasing behavior allows brands to provide customized deals and recommendations that enhance the shopping experience and significantly boost conversion rates,” says Alyssa Schafer, ​​Retail Media Account Manager at Pacvue.

The growing impact of social media and influencers. Both continue to play a significant role in shaping consumer decisions. Brands can collaborate with influencers, host Amazon Live sessions, and create engaging campaigns to reach wider audiences. Promoting these efforts on Amazon brand stores and landing pages can further amplify their impact. 

“Consumers are getting savvier about what they truly ‘need’ and what’s a genuine ‘deal.’ With wallets not growing at the same rate as the economy, brands need to prepare for a more selective shopper this holiday season,” notes Catherine Sherwood, Associate Director of Commerce Account Management.

Prime Day as a springboard for holiday success.

Prime Day offers critical insights for refining strategies as we approach subsequent sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). The data helps brands identify what worked and what didn’t, enabling brands to refine their promotional strategies for seasonal holidays and shopping periods.

"While BFCM is a longer event, the insights from Prime Day guide how brands should adjust their lead-in and lead-out strategies. Onsite ad targeting and strategies can be repurposed to maximize the impact during these shopping events," says Alyssa Schafer, ​​Retail Media Account Manager at Pacvue.

As the holiday season approaches, brands must analyze which products performed well during Prime Day, fine-tune ad targeting, and ensure product listings are optimized for search. For instance, categories like Toys & Games, which saw a 191.4% YoY increase in ad spend during Prime Day, are likely to continue driving significant revenue during the holidays. Brands should consider doubling down on promotions in these high-performing categories and leveraging advanced analytics to sharpen their strategies. 

The lasting gift of Prime Day. 

Prime Day 2024 may have been predictable, but this predictability highlights the need for strategic preparation. The data and trends from Prime Day are a lasting gift that provides valuable insights as we approach the busiest shopping season of the year. The halo effect, combined with a deep understanding of consumer behavior and spending patterns, equips brands to turn their Prime Day success into sustained growth through the end of the year and beyond. 

Building on Prime Day’s success for Q4. 

Ready for more? Contact us for tailored advice to keep the momentum going. 

Prime Day might end after two days, but your sales momentum should continue. 

Adjust your bids and budgets back to their pre-Prime Day settings to avoid diminishing returns as ROAS drops due to deal fatigue. Wyatt Burley, our senior advertising manager highlights, “Maintaining the same strategy post-Prime Day will waste money, lower conversion rates, reduce efficiency and negatively impact your SERP relevancy and organic ranking, leading to long-term business consequences.” 

With that out of the way, let’s focus on what you should do after Prime Day ends. By understanding what worked and what didn’t, you can refine your strategies for future events. 

Monitor and analyze performance. Conduct a thorough analysis to identify areas for improvement by examining key metrics such as sales, conversion rates, customer acquisition and traffic sources. Dive deeper into long-tail metrics, including the number of new-to-brand customers acquired, glance view lifts, and assess the duration of these effects. This data will help your team understand the broader impact of your Prime Day efforts.

Align with your goals. Ensure that your post-Prime Day analysis aligns with the goals you set before the event. Whether it was increasing visibility, boosting sales or acquiring new customers, make sure you evaluate each lever that contributed to these goals.

Analyze competitor strategies. Plan to analyze what your competitors did during Prime Day and how they performed. Megan Boyko, our Account Director, suggests, “Take note of what the competition did because that may be telling for what they’re going to do for future promotional periods.” This information can help you refine your strategies and anticipate market trends.

Maintain advertising momentum. Don’t stop your advertising efforts once Prime Day ends. Instead, adjust your strategy to capitalize on the increased traffic and interest. Johnathon Braga, a Senior Advertising Manager, notes, “There’s a six-week window where you should retarget all the non-converters and cross-sell to those who didn’t purchase.” This extended advertising push can help maintain visibility and drive additional sales.

Leverage customer feedback. Reviews, ratings and social media comments can offer valuable insights into how your products were received. Use this feedback to address negative comments and to highlight positive reviews in your marketing efforts. This information is valuable for making necessary adjustments to your products or listings.

Leverage the halo effect to enhance your back-to-school sales and extend Prime Day momentum into the holiday season. 

Prime Day is part of a larger promotional calendar. Leverage the insights gained to prepare for upcoming events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other peak shopping periods. The same principles apply across all sales events. Brands need to examine not just the bottom-line sales but also glance views, conversion rates and both organic and paid traffic. Analyzing performance product-by-product is required to understand what drove the lift and identify any underperformers. Comparing this data with platform category performance reports helps forecast and refine strategies. This detailed analysis ensures that brands can effectively make informed decisions and optimize future promotions. 

The halo effect refers to the continued increase in brand awareness and sales following a major event like Prime Day. Increased visibility and heightened consumer interest create lasting brand impressions. Shoppers who engaged with your brand during Prime Day are more likely to return for back-to-school supplies and holiday gifts, driven by their previous positive experiences. The data collected during Prime Day, such as top-performing products and shopper preferences, can inform more targeted and effective promotional strategies for these upcoming events. Here’s how to leverage it: 

• Analyze the data for targeted campaigns. Determine which products performed best, which customer segments were most engaged and which promotional tactics drove the highest conversions. This information can guide your back-to-school and holiday campaigns. For instance, if certain school supplies or holiday gifts experienced a surge in sales, prioritize these items in your upcoming promotions. Tailor your messaging to address the preferences and behaviors observed during Prime Day. 

• Extend promotions and prepare for retargeting. With a whole new audience now familiar with your brand, aim to get them to make their second or third purchase within a few weeks after the event. Implement retargeting campaigns that remind shoppers of their Prime Day engagement and offer incentives to return. The goal is to keep your brand top-of-mind and encourage repeat purchases. 

• Focus on content optimization. Now that you have fresh data, analyze shopper feedback and reviews to identify areas for improvement. Update your product listings with enhanced images, videos and detailed descriptions that address common questions or concerns. Ensuring your content is polished and informative will improve the shopping experience and boost conversions during the busy back-to-school and holiday seasons. 

• Capitalize on seasonality and timing. Begin planning your back-to-school campaigns immediately after Prime Day. Highlight essentials like stationery, electronics, apparel or dorm room essentials to cater to students and parents. As you transition into the holiday season, emphasize gift ideas, festive decorations and exclusive holiday bundles. Align your promotions with key shopping dates and trends to maximize impact.

Wrap up Prime Day by sustaining momentum and driving incremental growth. 

If the past years have told us anything, it’s that Prime Day’s benefits can extend far beyond the two-day event. By planning these post-Prime Day strategies in advance, you can sustain momentum, drive continuous growth and turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers. These steps also allow you to analyze your Prime Day performance and make data-driven decisions for future campaigns. 

Ready to maximize your post-Prime Day success? 

Contact us for tailored advice and detailed tips to keep the momentum going. 

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. 

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.