As the Managing Director of one of our offices in the Netherlands, I’m officially an outsider who’s looking in. What I see is a region with a rich and diverse cultural heritage, which usually provides a deep well of inspiration for creative expression. As someone with a multicultural background (and an extensive career in this creative industry), I know that this cultural richness often translates into unique storytelling, vibrant visuals, and a fusion of traditional and contemporary elements.

At the same time, I see a region that—like most others—has a complex social and political landscape, marked by historical events and ongoing challenges. Such a context can serve as a source of inspiration as well as motivation for creative professionals to address pressing societal issues and challenge norms, so I’m curious to see which brands dare to spark complex, impactful conversations through their work.

Lastly, I’ve been amazed by how talent across this region has embraced technology and digital platforms in the most innovative ways. From interactive installations to virtual reality experiences to AI-powered integrated campaigns, creatives in MENA have been at the forefront of utilizing technology to deliver immersive and engaging content that truly captivates audiences.

Moving beyond what meets the eye, I want to understand what matters in the MENA region, what makes both brands and audiences tick, and what opportunities exist for international companies looking to set up shop here? What’s top of mind, trending and creatively outstanding? So, in the lead-up to Dubai Lynx 2024, I decided to sit down with a few fellow Monks who are also joining the big event. Scroll down and get the full scoop from Hoda El Nazer, Gavin Stradi, Nada Nassar and Tomas Almuna.

Nada Nassar, Associate Creative Director

How does creativity in the MENA region stand out in the global landscape?

What sets us apart is our unique ability to merge traditional storytelling with modern mediums, creating a rich, distinctive voice in the global arena. Our creative landscape is diverse, encompassing everything from cutting-edge tech in Dubai to groundbreaking films in Egypt. We’re not afraid to push boundaries or challenge norms, often infusing our work with social and political commentary that resonates globally.

How do you see the role of digital marketing evolving in the MENA region over the next year, especially with the use of AI?

Digital marketing in the MENA region is on the cusp of a revolution, spearheaded by AI. We're looking at a future where personalized marketing becomes not just an option, but a necessity. AI will enable brands to understand and predict consumer behavior with unprecedented accuracy, tailoring content, recommendations, and interactions to the individual level. Chatbots, voice search, and AI-driven content creation will become more sophisticated, providing consumers with instant, relevant, and interactive brand experiences. Moreover, AI’s role in analyzing big data will allow for more strategic decision-making based on consumer trends and preferences. The key will be to use AI to enhance human creativity, not replace it, making marketing campaigns more effective and emotionally resonant than ever before.

What do you think matters most to audiences in the MENA region right now?

In the MENA region, authenticity and digital engagement are king. Audiences here crave content and products that resonate with their cultural and personal identities, all while seeking seamless, technology-driven experiences. Brands should prioritize storytelling that is deeply rooted in local culture yet has a universal appeal. This year, focus on leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AR and VR to create immersive experiences. Sustainability is also a hot topic; consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that demonstrate genuine commitment to environmental and social responsibility. In essence, blend tradition with innovation—and always keep it real.

What opportunities exist for international companies looking to tap into the MENA region?

The MENA region is a goldmine of opportunities for international companies, offering a young, tech-savvy population, a growing economy, and an appetite for innovation. To succeed here, companies must navigate the landscape with cultural sensitivity and a genuine desire for partnership. The key is localization—understanding that each market within the region has its own preferences and nuances. Collaborating with local talent, respecting cultural values, and contributing to the community will help build lasting relationships. Additionally, the region’s strategic location as a bridge between East and West offers unparalleled access to diverse markets. In short, come with respect, bring your A-game in innovation, and be prepared to embrace the vibrant complexity of the MENA region.

Gavin Stradi, Creative Director

How does creativity in the MENA region stand out in the global landscape?

The MENA region is a hub of creativity, showcasing an interesting blend of tradition and modern innovation. It maintains local authenticity, yet has a universal appeal. As MENA creatives embrace digital and AI tools, they're not just pushing boundaries—they're redefining them, propelling the region into the limelight with innovative, forward-thinking ideas. This fusion of heritage and innovation positions the MENA region not just on the global stage, but as a global pioneer across multiple industries.

What do you think matters most to audiences in the MENA region right now?

As we navigate the ever-growing digital landscape of MENA, it's clear that the pulse of the market is defined by authentic connections and personalized interactions. Today's consumers are active participants seeking brands that they can connect with. It’s up to brands to not only listen, but also engage in a dialogue that is personal and genuine. The most successful brands will be those that harness the power of AI to peel back layers of data, revealing consumer preferences and behaviors. These insights will be the cornerstone of marketing strategies, crafting experiences that reflect the nuanced cultural diversity intrinsic to the MENA region.

How do you see the role of digital marketing evolving in the MENA region over the next year, especially with the use of AI?

The digital marketing domain within the MENA region is on the brink of an AI revolution. In the coming year, we'll witness an evolution towards hyper-targeted messaging that speaks to the individual, all thanks to the alchemy of AI. Programmatic advertising will refine its aim, ensuring that every bit of the budget is an investment in engaging the right audience at the opportune moment. As the omnichannel experience becomes the norm, AI will help form a cohesive narrative, transforming the marketing ecosystem into a mix of synchronized interactions.

Hoda El Nazer, Managing Director Cairo - Head of Film & Content, MEA

What do you think matters most to audiences in the MENA region right now?

In this current fast-paced, technology-driven world, it's very common for brands to lose track of their message. You have to deliver content that meets the audience’s needs and interests, is relatable to the local culture, and relies on storytelling to establish an emotional connection with the audience. Brands that prioritizes care in their communication strategy will be the ones that stand out. Moreover, audiences in this region are craving the need to make a difference, so a clear call to action should be a priority.

What opportunities exist for international companies looking to tap into the MENA region?

There are ample opportunities for international companies looking to expand their business. From renewable energy to technology and innovation, countries across the region are actively investing in various sectors to diversify their economies and foster sustainable growth. In addition, several cities in the MENA region are aspiring to become smart cities, integrating technology for improved efficiency and sustainability. The region has also seen a significant rise in e-commerce and digital services, especially considering the convenience factor and the amount of time younger generations spend online.

Tomas Almuna, Head of Creative and Judge in the Entertainment Category at Dubai Lynx 2024

How does creativity in the MENA region stand out in the global landscape?

In recent years, the MENA region has become a hugely important player in the world of creativity and business. Personally, I believe that the creativity in this region has become a global benchmark because it is honest with its roots, possesses its own identity, and doesn't try to be something it's not. It has a highly identifiable style that is typically deeply rooted in its cultural foundations, which, in my opinion, is the best way to build ideas that leave a lasting impact and evoke envy on a global scale.

What will you focus on in selecting the cream of the crop in your category?

Entertainment, the category I'll be judging this year, is one of my favorite categories. I believe that one of the fundamental pillars of our work is to entertain and not bore. When it comes to judging, that’s the baseline for me. Then, of course, the idea is—and always will be—the life of the party. As judges, we will put a lot of focus on rewarding those ideas that embody the foundations of the category, offer a fresh and unique approach, and have made an impact with their audiences and in the business. But primarily, I will look for ideas that have this “wow” factor that we all love to see.

What do you look forward to most at Dubai Lynx?

Dubai Lynx is a festival that I know very closely. Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to work in the MENA market and participate in the festival, so I have a vast understanding of the talent that exists and the quality of the work—and that’s really what excites me the most. To be surprised again with culturally powerful ideas and insights that are capable of shaping and challenging the future of the region. Well, and clearly also to see old friends again.

Start building your data culture now. 

In the spirit of first things first, the speakers wasted no time to highlight the importance of initiating and nurturing a strong data culture. Once again, the CMO profession is evolving—while the Mad Men heyday revolved around big creative ideas, this changed when the industry started implementing martech and focusing on precision. Now, it’s all about data. “The advertising landscape has changed so much that today’s marketing professionals are almost scientists,” said Google’s Global Brand Lead Felipe Gomes.

However, many brands find themselves a bit stifled by how overwhelming data can be. In that case, Salesforce’s Vice President Tech Industry Strategy Lauri Palmieri argues that it’s critical to just get started—anywhere. “Choose the KPI and the segment that you care most about, obtain access to the data, and get going. Brands sometimes spend way too much time thinking about what they should do with their data instead of actually doing it,” she said. 

Always make sure to establish solid and secure data foundations. 

Once you get going, it’s crucial to govern the data. Before figuring out which sources of data to connect—think of information around clients, sales and marketing, cost and operations—brands must focus on taking care of their data. During the panel, Gomes stressed that data governance is the first thing he and his team at Google talk about with clients, raising questions such as what are the team’s roles and responsibilities, who is making sure the data is shared with a company’s core business units, how do you organize the data, how do you secure the data, and how do you ensure compliance. 

The last question in particular was echoed by the other panelists, as the importance of privacy, ethics and trust can’t be overstated—any failure to comply with current privacy laws would not just affect the brand in question, but also the ones they collaborate with. “We don’t operate in silos, but we work very closely with our partners to understand all the governance, laws and regulations and ensure we meet them,” said Chin Wu, Lenovo’s Director of North America Marketing Consumer PC, Gaming, Tablets. 

Chiming in, Gomes emphasized that education around privacy and safety is absolutely critical. “The amount of data, possibilities and, on top of that, regulations, it’s all really overwhelming. So, brands have the tendency to freeze,” he said. “Especially right now, with the main concern to transition to the cookieless future, [brands worry] what’s going to happen to the conversions or personalization strategies that are already happening with third-party data. That said, many tech partners are more than prepared to help brands on this journey towards safe and trusted data foundations.” Moreover, the good thing is that a lot of AI-powered solutions are built on first-party data.  

Differentiate your brand in the new AI economy. 

This brings us to the last topic of the day: AI and its unbreakable bond with data. We would be remiss if, at one of the top tech conferences in the world, we didn’t talk about this technology—particularly given the role it can play in advancing personalization efforts.

Establishing strong data foundations is key to the success of AI. From Google’s point of view, Gomes argues that when we talk about AI, we are essentially talking about two things that are available today: embedded solutions and applied solutions. Zooming in on the latter, this entails customized AI models that are related to factors like creative work, trends, insights and forecasting sales, to name a few. It should be noted that every brand that partners with Google has access to these solutions. 

“This brings me to the point of distinguishing yourself using data, as the data serves as fuel for all these models,” said Gomes. “The better data you feed these models, the better your output is going to be. That is why it’s so important in 2024 and beyond to really focus on how you organize your data foundations. This is going to be the competitive differentiator for your company.”

Dialing it up a notch, Palmieri argued that the experiential piece—what you do with data—will ultimately differentiate your brand from another. “Since you can get to know your customers so well through data, the main question is: what do you actually do experientially as a result of that information? Marketing has an important role to play in using data to drive even more value for consumers,” Palmieri said. When it comes to personalization, first-party data and forward-thinking AI solutions leave today’s marketers with the opportunity to tailor best-in-class experiences to each and every individual.

The main question that I tried to answer during my four days in Lisbon was, are we really taking a technological and cultural leap? So many things that once seemed like they were just futuristic concepts, from Bluetooth to laptops to the iPhone, have become our everyday tools. But with AI, to what extent are we recognizing that tomorrow will be markedly different from today? In the spirit of recognition, here are some things I thought (and spoke) extensively about at Web Summit. 

First up, the environment. To paint a rather dystopian picture, we’ve consumed enough film and literary content to envision a future where man and machine battle for domination, with one possibly wiping the other off of the face of the Earth. However, Web Summit allowed me to see a more utopian view: AI is an ally in our mission to safeguard our planet—and the tech will only grow in this ability. Melanie Nagasawa, Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer, explained that AI will help us significantly reduce water and energy waste in electrical networks, as the tools enable us to produce assets more efficiently. Another astounding example is that AI can help revolutionize global food production systems, with AI-powered indoor farms offering safer, climate-resilient and thus more reliable food production.

Second, marketing. One of the talks that truly stuck with me was by Joana Vasconcelos, an incredible Portuguese visual artist. In her speech on the role of art in the “new world,” she reiterated that AI will not replace us, at least not in the fun things such as creative thinking, and any other aspect where the human touch remains indispensable—and I fully agree. That said, there’s no doubt that AI, along with virtual experiences, have firmly established their roles in the digital realm. From powerful tools for campaign creation, management and amplification to the development of premium content (think of AI lip-syncing, audio production and video adaptation), AI is taking a leading role. 

However, amidst the chaos of hundreds of martech startup pitches, one blue logo—coming directly from my friend’s bedroom in 1995—lit up my day: SEGA. The Japanese company’s COO Shuji Utsumi talked about transmedia; how an entertainment product like Sonic transmediated, adopting different shapes based on the channel, intended use and target audience, from video game hero to TV star to influencer. If you ask me, the concept of transmedia is what should be at the center of tomorrow’s digital marketing development. We should increasingly be thinking about campaigns, content, culture and communicative products in a way that, to quote Radiohead, “Everything’s in its right place.” 

As for entertainment, the operative word is gamification. Some thought it had gotten lost a long time ago when we interacted by clicking on the keyboards of our cell phones, but no. Gamification has returned to set new and higher standards with exceptional quality, supercomputing power and a humanized flow. Transforming advertising into advergames is a trend that I believe we should rediscover because AI now allows us to offer seamless experiences (I’m reminded of gamification’s old issues with convoluted mechanics and endless lags) that are completely tailored to users—and we know how important personalization is when it comes to effective communication. 

From the perspective of our company, it’s only right to say: we are now. In moving from speech to startup pitch to panel, I realized how the DNA, capabilities and values of our organization are fully on track with the direction the digital landscape is heading in. Our eagerness to come up with and provide creative and technological solutions today prepares us to address the challenges of tomorrow. And so, I couldn’t help but feel excited about these shifts and our task to support brands in navigating them. 

All in all, this year’s Web Summit recognized the rise of AI as a paradigm shift—not only is the tech transforming industries, but it’s also offering solutions that help us tackle environmental challenges, shape marketing strategies, revolutionize entertainment and drive innovation in the digital world.

I always look forward to Advertising Week LATAM as it’s a rare opportunity to catch up with old friends and colleagues face-to-face—and in the city I call home, no less. Despite partially coinciding with the Day of the Dead, I have to say the event was more alive than ever, as I bumped into every imaginable brand manager, marketing director, client and podcaster. Representatives from world-class brands like Netflix, Spotify, Toyota were in attendance, and not a single seat was empty by the time Sir Martin Sorrell stepped onto the stage. Needless to say, our time spent in meetings and attending (and hosting) a diverse range of sessions has left us with some valuable insights. Here are some of those takeaways. 

As digital environments expand, AI is the key to maintaining brand relevance.

In today’s changing landscape, CMOs need to align strategies with transformative technology to optimize operations, improve customer engagement and drive conversion. That was the theme explored by our Co-CEO, Content Bruno Lambertini and Associate Vice President, Innovation Technology Carlos Tejeda as they took the stage on October 31. Rather than a conventional session, their discussion served as an exploration, beginning with an overview of the challenges that businesses encounter in the present day. 

"We surveyed top CMOs from major global brands, and they all agreed on four key points,” Lambertini explained to introduce the topic. “Firstly, the complexity of making decisions and seeing short-term results. Secondly, the fragmented media landscape makes it difficult to determine which channels truly yield outcomes. Thirdly, the delicate nature of brand reputation. And last but not least, how do we take advantage of AI?”

The truth is that as digital environments expand, driving conversions can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. For Lambertini, social media is the key (and I wholeheartedly agree).  As marketers, we constantly ponder how brands can secure or expand their market position, enhance brand equity and drive business performance in today’s technological context. The answer lies in two key aspects, the first of which can be summed up in one word: intimacy. No, not the romantic kind, but the kind that harnesses the power of genuine human connections and community. Audiences crave a sense of belonging, and by establishing a brand that fosters this feeling, we lay the foundation for success. An important consideration: social media is the only space where this can happen on a large scale. The second aspect involves how we achieve this.

AI helps us understand what is organically happening online, what people care about and the spaces where they connect with each other, both within and outside the brand context. We can then use these insights to inform the creation of assets. “Working with Meta, we analyzed input drivers for our AI algorithm to generate the best result. This allowed us to produce 500 assets, so when the brand noticed creative fatigue in the campaign, we already had these new assets prepared and sorted by their probability of success,” Tejeda exemplified.

Furthermore, AI assists community managers by handling repetitive queries at scale, in real-time, and in a personalized manner. The cherry on top? AI enhances measurement by enabling us to extract learnings from a centralized source that connects platforms and contains information from all our marketing efforts.

In times of global uncertainty, activation and performance take center stage.

Speaking of the nature of AI, S4 Capital Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sorrell sat down with Insider’s Director, Matías Stetson, to chat about this particular topic as it relates to the prevailing macroeconomic and political conditions in the region. Amid global uncertainties and geographical fragmentation, Sorrell explained, businesses need to carefully pick their territories. He went on to say: “If I look at the world now, I’m very bullish on North and South America.”

The second consideration is digital transformation. With businesses becoming more cautious not only in choosing their markets but in their general spending, we need to look at digital platforms. “Clients are becoming much more short-term in their thinking, so activation and performance are important,” said Sorrell. “It is quite extraordinary that platforms are growing by 6-11% this year. The money from package goods companies has gone into the platforms, and the reason is that they see better performance, better activation, better measurements and better results from those platforms. AI is going to make them even more important than they are today.”

In summary, technological advancements and the current political and economic uncertainties have led brands to focus more on their short-term return on investment. Now, the competition revolves around acquiring and leveraging first-party data, which plays a crucial role in understanding consumer behavior and making informed business decisions. “To my mind, the best model is the Netflix model. They are the greatest proponents of hyper-personalization at scale,” said Sorrell.

That’s one of the areas where AI will have the most impact, as it transforms the way first-party data and platform signals are harnessed, decoded and utilized. When it comes to the realm of personalization and data-driven decision-making for brands, AI enhances brands’ ability to tailor their strategies to individual customers with precision and effectiveness. “We thought the web would drive personalization, but AI will take it to a totally different level. We may produce one and a half million creative assets. What took us three weeks, takes us three hours,” said Sorrell. This, coupled with the overall efficiency in areas like media buying, broadcasting and knowledge sharing, will shape the business models of brands and agencies in the years to come. 

Across industries and platforms, creative effectiveness reigns supreme.

During the two-day event, Advertising Week emphasized the importance of creativity in exploring fresh opportunities for growth across various industries and sectors. An illustrative panel by Eucerin, featuring our very own VP Creative Pablo Tajer, showcased how creativity in retail media can yield impressive returns, even when collaborating with third-party ecommerce platforms.

To distill the role of branding in retail, the speakers used a recent example of our work with the brand on the Mercado Ads platform. “We used storytelling to demystify the abundance of information we see on social media and provided consumers with accurate recommendations based on their skin type,” said Tajer. “This sector thrives on ideas and creativity. That’s why we partner with Mercado Ads and constantly push the boundaries of creativity, working on different proposals for major advertisers in the region.”

To emphasize a similar point, our VP Creative Francesco Vicenzi joined our partners at KFC Mexico and representatives from IAB to spill their secrets on creating award-winning campaigns that gain international acclaim. The key ingredients? Data, which uncovers valuable insights; creativity, which generates captivating concepts; and a comprehensive vision that brings everything together. Vicenzi exemplified this through our work on KFC’s The Battle of the Chickens: “We began by noting two important observations. Firstly, rap and freestyle ranked among the top three genres for Gen Z. Secondly, Gen Z has a fondness for promotions and discounts. These served as our starting points, and we recognized that to effectively engage with Gen Z, we needed to empower them. Thus, we provided them with a platform and space to express themselves.”

Striking a balance between short-term results and long-term brand growth.

If there’s one thing I learned from this massive event, it’s that CMOs face numerous challenges that demand immediate results without sacrificing long-term brand development. They must find a way to achieve short-term goals while also making significant contributions towards a larger impact. Those who establish robust data pipelines and effectively leverage new technologies are gaining a competitive edge, propelling their brands far ahead of the competition. It’s time to seize every opportunity within the social and digital landscape in order to become more agile, perceptive and responsive.

First off, Salesforce announced its new Einstein 1 platform. Built on Salesforce’s improved metadata framework, the platform allows companies to connect any of their data to build low-code, AI-powered apps. As Salesforce prepares the launch of its generative AI interface, Einstein Copilot, this fall, Einstein 1 will give marketers a taste of how generative AI can fuel new CRM experiences.

But that’s not all: unleashing the power of AI relies on robust enterprise data, and Salesforce is teeing up Data Cloud to become the central data hub for Einstein Copilot. To help brands find their footing in this brave new territory, Salesforce is offering no-cost access to Data Cloud for certain existing customers, meaning there’s no better time than now to build a solid data foundation in preparation for AI’s implementation in your business. Let’s dive into deeper detail of what was announced, what it means, and how you can get started.

So, what was announced at Dreamforce?

Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud customers with Enterprise or Enterprise Unlimited editions will be granted access to Salesforce Data Cloud, in addition to two Tableau creator licenses. As part of this access, Salesforce will provide 250,000 credits, which enable customers to onboard onto Data Cloud and develop Sales and Service Cloud use cases at no additional cost.

Data Cloud is the foundation that unlocks the generative AI features within the Salesforce platform, which in turn help clients drive efficiencies for their business. With this new move, Salesforce is making Data Cloud more accessible to customers and allowing them to begin leveraging the power of the platform more quickly—which is key, because the best data pipeline wins when it comes to realizing the potential of AI. 

What are the best beginner use cases for Data Cloud?

Access at no additional cost, coupled with 250,000 credits, grants customers the ability to start using the Data Cloud platform and build foundational use cases that then lead to more advanced use cases and further utilization. So, what kinds of use cases should you start with? Salesforce has identified the following two:

1. Unify Prospects for Targeted Selling: Consolidate data across multiple Sales Cloud organizations to identify opportunities with priority customers and increase revenue.
2. Unify Customers for Personalized Service: Consolidate data across multiple organizations to empower services agents with a unified, 360 view of the customer.

These use cases are geared towards customers looking to consolidate data across multiple organizations—be it due to being a portfolio company with multiple companies or brands, or having separate Salesforce instances intentionally stood up.

How can I get started?

Prior to activating any Data Cloud use case, customers should first evaluate their data management standards to ensure a proper data foundation. While zero cost access to Data Cloud presents a relatively low-risk opportunity, unwinding a poorly thought-through integration can lead to complex and time-consuming work later down the line. Therefore, it’s imperative for customers to take the time to develop a clear plan, considering what data to ingest and also how to ingest and organize that data.

At Media.Monks, we aim to help customers feel confident in their ability to leverage Data Cloud to drive value for their businesses. Our team of Data Consultants and Salesforce Architects assess customers’ first-party data strategy and technical architecture in order to build a detailed implementation plan, ensuring customers are set up for success and are receiving long-term value from their Data Cloud implementation.

Gain more insights from Dreamforce.

Join us for our Dreamforce to You events happening across the globe. There, we’ll dive deeper into how to design and build an effective data strategy and pipeline and how to unlock the power of Data Cloud for your business. Learn more about the events, hosted in London and Chicago. Stay tuned for more Dreamforce to You events around the world!

NextUp.Monks offers emerging talent from our 8,900-strong multidisciplinary team the opportunity to continue to cross and push boundaries—and reaffirms our commitment to support them along the way. With our people spanning 57 talent hubs in 32 countries, this internal initiative is the perfect way to bring our talent closer together and provide them with a platform  to shine on a global stage. The first edition turned out to be such a great success that there was no other option but to bring it back in 2023. 

“Our ambition is to transform the industry. We want to change the work, what the work can do, and who does the work—and that change starts with us, right now,” says Jouke Vuurmans, our Chief Creative Officer. “NextUp.Monks is one of the ways we work towards this goal, as it gives our up-and-coming talent the chance to be bold, think outside the box, and ultimately thrive both within our company and on the global stage. What we saw last year is that it’s not just about professional development, it’s also about personal growth. Through this competition, participants get to meet and mingle with like-minded and equally ambitious colleagues from every corner of the globe.”

Connecting talent from across categories and capabilities 

As the aim is to give people the opportunity to thrive within our company and the industry, the main rule of NextUp.Monks is that everyone can join—as long as you have seven years or less of industry experience and are not in a managerial position. If you check those boxes, you are good to go find a partner to team up with and get to work. 

The competition consists of three categories, each of which is designed to highlight specific strengths, skill sets and interests. Teams are invited to participate in any category, regardless of their current role within Media.Monks. 

First up, the Innovation.Monks are future-facing visionaries. They’re adept at sniffing out innovative ideas and turning them into reality using the latest in emerging tech and formats, resulting in groundbreaking experiences and new possibilities.

Second, the Film.Monks deliver cinematic stories for screens of all sizes. They’re an inclusive bunch of thinkers that have a knack for original concepting, scriptwriting, visual treatments, film treatments, shooting, directing, editing, VFX, post—and everything in between. Together, they believe that film has the power to connect people and tell stories that we’ve never seen or thought about before.

Third, the Interactive.Monks are driven to build creative experiences that go beyond the mundane. They put the audience at the heart of every moment they craft, giving them the opportunity to immerse themselves within compelling, transformative digital experiences that build lasting memories.

Sparking boundary-pushing ideas  

For this year’s edition, we teamed up with a world-renowned global brand to develop a unique creative brief for each category. Our aim was to get people to flex their creative muscles and give shape to the craziest and most mind-bending ideas. 

The brief, “VR for Good,” challenged participants to think about VR as a vehicle for change and to find ways to excite Gen Z consumers about the potential of this technology. Through each category, teams were tasked to demonstrate VR’s transformative power to positively impact areas such as medicine, sports training, and emergency response—and ultimately change people’s minds about VR as a device solely intended for gaming.

If you ask Steve Latham, Head of Learning at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, all participants understood the assignment. “After last year’s success, our team couldn’t wait to continue to work with Media.Monks on this groundbreaking initiative and breathe new life into our shared goal to spark boundary-pushing creativity,” he says. “Once again, our minds were blown—just when I thought the bar couldn’t go any higher, their talent raised it. Massive shout-out to everyone who participated, because the level of future-forward thinking, creativity and craft was outstanding. Now, it’s time to meet the winners at Cannes Lions 2023!”

And the winners are… 

With so many incredible submissions, we had to be very diligent and detail-oriented in reviewing all the work. So, we established an esteemed jury of internal Media.Monks employees and industry experts, who reviewed the work in a blind judging process using the following judging criteria: the creative idea (40%); the insight and strategy (20%); the relevancy to the brief (20%); and the execution (20%). The jury selected bronze, silver and gold winners across each of the three categories. While the silver and bronze winners received a personalized trophy—plus eternal bragging rights—the creative minds behind the gold-winning work earned an all-inclusive ticket to Cannes. 

Those going down in history as the 2023 NextUp.Monks gold medalists are Anna Zhang and Yazad Dastur in the Innovation category, Vasyl Ilba and Mykyta Zolotoverkhyi in the Interactive category, and Jorene Chew and Ashwin Paul in the Film category. Out of these teams, the judges crowned Anna Zhang and Yazad Dastur the ultimate winners. This means that in addition to their trip to Cannes, they have also been admitted to the prestigious Creative Academy at Cannes—which will welcome a mere 30 people from around the world this year. 

“I still feel like I’m dreaming,” says Anna Zhang, Junior Designer. “Two months ago, I went to a little happy hour mixer for the NextUp.Monks competition and met Yazad. I didn’t really think I would enter the race, but Yazad told me that his best trait is his personality—and I was sold. We may have started as partners, but through this competition, we have become great friends. We come from totally different backgrounds, career paths, and even parts of the organization, but we got together with one common goal: to create something that feels true to us and, most importantly, to have fun!”

“Something that really made the difference when Anna and I decided to do the competition together was that we developed a rapport before we got to work, and really got to know each other as people and understand where the other was coming from—both creatively and personally,” adds Yazad Dastur, Junior Copywriter. “Becoming friends allowed us to tap into a deep emotional place and insights, and I think that’s what made it so much more important for us to give it our all. To find a partner who is willing to stay up until 6:00 am to finish a project is rare, especially one that does not guarantee an outcome. So, I think the fact that we told each other ‘let’s have fun and give this our best’ made this process an experience that we are truly proud of. I’m absolutely grateful for Anna—we completely pushed each other whenever one of us was faltering, doubting or even falling asleep.”

Bridging cultures and crossing borders

As much as the winning pitch, the NextUp.Monks initiative itself is all about creating strong connections, both across our organization and the globe. Not only did this internal competition garner interest from more than 600 employees in 25 countries, with a striking 350 people actually participating in the race, the top three teams are based in completely different places—from Los Angeles to Poland to Malaysia. 

This circles back to the fact that NextUp.Monks helps our emerging talent grow professionally as well as personally, as this initiative—within the context of our unified business structure—allows our people to work with peers from different countries, categories and capabilities. 

“Being a global team, we rely on an agile, flexible framework that lets people be themselves while staying keyed into the emerging opportunities and challenges that brands and our industry face. We’re a unified organization, but everyone is given the space to let their distinct voice and personality shine through—and our NextUp.Monks initiative only reinforces this spirit,” says our Chief Marketing Officer Kate Richling. “The competition opens up a myriad of possibilities for our up-and-coming talent across the globe to work together, no matter their location, expertise or job description.” 

Nothing Cannes stop our winners now

All that’s left for the winners to do is pack their bags, hop on a plane, and enjoy their time in Cannes—and if we have to believe Noelle Mayasich, our Senior Creative and last year’s winner, this will be the easiest part. 

“The amount of knowledge my partner and I gained from Cannes Lions has been so valuable to the way I look at creativity in my daily work—the workshops and keynote speeches have honestly molded me into who I am today,” says Mayasich. “We saw many notable speakers, including heads of large agencies, industry-wide influential figures, and even Ryan Reynolds, who talked about his break into the industry. Some of the speakers made us cry, and many others made us laugh. What truly stuck with me were the following lessons: be ambitious and humble at the same time. Create value for people of the world, not fluff. Sometimes we fail and sometimes we win, but having that freedom gives us the power to be creative.”

But Mayasich’s biggest takeaway from this experience was that the creative people in our industry really do care about the good of humanity and social, cultural, environmental and societal issues. “While our creative work reaches so many people on a daily basis, we don't often get to see this impact because we have to move on to the next project. This festival made me realize that my work is so much more impactful than I thought it was, and we’re the living proof there’s a fighting force behind it,” she says.

“It’s every advertiser’s dream to go to Cannes, so to say we’re excited would be an understatement—I’m actually still in shock,” says Dastur. “What makes me the happiest is that people saw potential in our idea and understood what we were trying to convey: that there’s a promise to the future of AI and VR. When utilized responsibly, these technologies have the power to bring people closer together.”

As we continue to provide our talent worldwide with diverse opportunities for growth, who knows where they will be in their careers next year—it might just be the French Riviera. As Media.Monks Co-Founder and Executive Director of S4Capital Wesley ter Haar says, “This year's NextUp.Monks was amazing. Great to see so much fun work and boundary-pushing thinking from teams across the globe, which is the result of our exciting partnership with Cannes Lions. I’m sure we'll see some of this year’s participants back there in the foreseeable future.”

To explore how brands could innovate a scalable, customer centric Web3 strategy, we partnered with the Salesforce Web3 Studio to gather a team of experts for a Brunch ‘n Learn session at CES. Jordan Cuddy, Partner and Chief Client Officer at Jam3; Marc Mathieu, Co-Founder of Salesforce Web3 Studio; and Swan Sit, Independent Board Director, Advisor, Creator and Investor, discussed how early adopters have leveraged Web3 to create more meaningful connections with their customers—and how the technology represents a foundational shift in customer relationships.

While the conversation touched on several key insights and examples of brands in the space, the trio uncovered three key shifts in mindset that will help brands realize the true potential of Web3, whether by strengthening customer experiences, better understanding who they’re marketing to, or building long-term loyalty.

It’s about the value of the brand, not the product.

Whether it’s a loyalty program, a digital wearable collection or something different altogether, the true value in any Web3 engagement lies in whether it feels authentic to the brand. In short, no one is going to care about (or stick with) a Web3 project that’s at odds with what the brand stands for. So if you consider making moves in Web3, start by taking stock of what makes your brand valuable to people already. “In your P&L, when you look at the intangible lines and want to look at the value of a brand or community, that’s a representation,” says Sit.

As for what an authentic brand alignment looks like, Cuddy offered an example from our work with Adidas. The strategy team at Jam3 realized there was a shift in consumers’ minds from “Where can I go in the metaverse?” to “Who can I be in the metaverse?” Realizing the desire for unique ways to express oneself in this space, we built a platform that generates a unique, interoperable metaverse avatar based on each user’s personality. “It made sense for a brand that says ‘Impossible is nothing,’” Cuddy says.

Digital identities are complex and nuanced—not just numbers.

Consumers are people. It may sound obvious, but marketing teams everywhere are facing a reckoning for chasing cookies and arbitrary identifiers rather than forging meaningful, impactful personal relationships with their base. “We’ve forgotten that people are not just data and that we can just target them,” says Mathieu. “In reality, the underlying technology of Web3 is about giving back power to the user and creators, but that means we need to be ready to stop thinking of them as just consumers.” 

Think of them collaborators, co-creators, co-innovators or co-contributors—but either way, make sure the service you’re providing is actually valuable to them, because that’s what drives anonymous Web3 users to identify themselves. “Most people don’t want to give you their data if you don’t give them something in return,” says Mathieu, noting how in this way, Web3 technology can play a crucial role in future proofing brands’ CRM strategies as they head into the post-cookie future.

Beyond futureproofing, Web3 will make identity more complex. “A lot of people feel more authentic digitally because they’re able to express and experiment with who they are more freely without prejudice and inequalities,” Mathieu says. “We’re on the verge of having to deal with a very different concept of identities.” But that’s a good thing, because those complexities are rich for gaining deeper and more nuanced insight into your audience. What projects or communities a person chooses to invest in says a lot more about them than traditional identifiers like a phone number or email address, says Mathieu.

Loyalty is about being loyal to your customer.

“We’ve been thinking of loyalty as something consumers owe us,” says Mathieu. “Now, consumers are saying, ‘How will you be loyal to me? Are you going to serve me throughout my life through products, experiences and services?’” Again, looking at your customers as collaborators—in which brand and audience both have skin in the game—is a path to unlocking greater loyalty.

Web3 is a creator space, and brands who are comfortable collaborating with their consumers will come out on top. In fact, there may already be a community dedicated to your brand without your knowledge or authorization—but instead of pulling the plug, consider ways you can support and join in the fun. Matheiu compared it to the time he worked at Coca-Cola in the early days of Facebook, when the company discovered a group about the brand made by fans. “We asked how to make it bigger instead of shutting it down,” he says.

Cuddy also shared the process of seeking fan input in developing ComplexLand, a virtualization of the iconic ComplexCon that we continued to evolve over three annual editions. “Between each version, we talked to the community. We didn’t do typical market research; we talked to people who actually participated,” says Cuddy. In year two, for example, the team added multiplayer experiences based on fan feedback. The most recent iteration implemented NFT creation to solve fans’ need for more ways to express themselves creatively. “We listened to them and applied it, and that starts to build that loyalty when they’re the co-creator.”

Shift your mindset to win in Web3.

Remember, NFTs, blockchain and the like are just technologies—a means to an end, not the end itself. Sit aptly put it this way: “When someone asks what music you listen to, you don’t say MP3s.” 

Likewise, the way brands unlock value in Web3 isn’t to put out projects for the sake of it; it’s about working in partnership with your customers to better serve their needs. Web3 has ignited consumer mindset shifts across trust, products and ownership, and now’s the time to follow suit—because when you do, you’ll gain a stronger, more nuanced relationship with your base.

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.

It’s no secret that Amazon continuously innovates to improve the shopping experience for sellers and shoppers alike. Still, the company recognized that merchants (otherwise known as sellers, brands, or retailers on the Amazon platform) are looking for ways to broaden their reach beyond the Amazon platform. Amazon has historically been reluctant to send shoppers anywhere besides its platform but has recognized the need for further growth and success. Read on to learn more about the new expansions announced at Amazon Accelerate 2022.

1. Testing to Optimize

Manage Your Experiments allows sellers to run A/B Tests on individual product listing pages, comparing two versions of content against one another to identify the best performing version. Learn more about A/B Testing on Amazon here.



So what’s new? In October 2022, sellers will be able to utilize new capabilities for A/B testing to optimize product listings, including the ability to test bullet points and descriptions, which was not an option before. 



Another addition to testing capabilities is the “experiment to significance” option, which allows Amazon to determine when the campaign ends (after accumulating statistically significant data). Rather than analyzing results from a specific timeframe, the “experiment to significance” option focuses on consumer interaction.  

2. Tailored Audiences

A new capability within the Manage Your Customer Engagement tool was added to allow Amazon sellers to increase their email marketing reach and build stronger relationships with shoppers. Using the new “Tailored Audiences” tool, which is currently in beta but will be available to eligible sellers come 2023, sellers can proactively send email marketing campaigns to shoppers to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty and overall engagement.

Previously, shoppers had to follow the Brand Store to receive email campaigns from the brand. With the new additions, brands can now target three different audience types: repeat customers, recent customers and high-speed customers.

Put simply, when a shopper purchases on Amazon, they are automatically added to the seller’s email list and categorized appropriately. This update will help sellers build deeper relationships with repeat shoppers earlier, maintain current relationships and potentially increase overall sales. You can learn more about tailored audiences on Amazon’s blog.

But that’s not all that’s new to the Manage Your Customer Engagement tool. Since sellers on Amazon have expressed difficulty interpreting experiment results, Amazon rolled out a new feature that sends notifications during the MYE process if the new content versions do not lead to meaningful results. Also, sellers can authorize Seller Central to auto publish winning content to product detail pages if it is at least 66% better in November 2022.

3. Buy with Prime – Marketing Expansion

In April 2022, Amazon announced a new way for brands to grow their DTC store through its Buy with Prime (BwP) program. This invite-only program is a way for brands to connect with their off-Amazon audiences and provide them with Prime benefits. 

Here’s what’s new: Amazon amplified this program by adding a new Buy with Prime page within the Brand Store, to which sellers can drive shoppers through Sponsored Brand ads. With the ability to customize the page, shoppers can preview products and complete their purchases on the brand’s DTC store.

Additionally, Amazon has offered to invest in co-branded BwP Facebook and Instagram ads with approved sellers. Though this is an invitation-only beta opportunity, Amazon’s decision to fund and manage these ads shows the value and impact they believe BwP can have for sellers.

Sellers can utilize a new BwP badge in product listings to show they offer Prime benefits on their DTC store, further enticing shoppers to purchase from the independently run DTC site. You can dive into the new Buy with Prime additions here.

4. Premium A+ Content 

A new upgrade to the standard content management system (CMS), available to all brands worldwide, now supports larger modules on product pages. Modules include video, interactive features, image carousels and Q&A. 

5. Amazon Marketing Stream

While Amazon Marketing Stream was introduced as a beta program a few months ago, it wasn’t until now that this push-based marketing and metrics system can share data visualizations to improve a brand’s overall business performance. The provided heatmaps, callouts stack ranking, and more can be utilized to further optimize advertising copy, leading to sustainable growth on the Amazon platform.

6. Improved Seller Experience

Amazon Accelerate offered a few notable updates that improve the experience for Amazon sellers.

• A newly consolidated FBA dashboard: With a list of actions to grow sellers’ businesses, the new dashboard summarizes shipments and defects, identifies SKUs that need replenishment, and highlights any excess inventory/shipping needs.
• Account Health Assurance Program: This program prevents account deactivation with good ratings as long as sellers work with Amazon. To be eligible for this program, sellers must maintain high account health and have a valid emergency number on file.
• Call Me Now Button: This button is available on the account dashboard for compliance-related issues handled by another Amazon team.
• Customer Ask Alexa: This self-service tool lives on product pages to answer customer FAQs, though is only available to select groups in October 20222 as an invite-only program before expanding to all eligible sellers in 2023. Learn more about Alexa’s capabilities here.
• Pricing Health tool: With the pricing health tool, sellers can now view competitive pricing and see if any offers are at risk of being delisted due to non-competitive pricing. In addition, updates to this tool now allow sellers to bulk update pricing.

7. Amazon Global Logistics (STAR)

It’s no surprise that Amazon strives to provide opportunities for sellers to grow their business, which is why they launched the Marketplace Product Guidance for selling internationally. Recently enhanced to provide selection recommendations by identifying high-demand products, Marketplace Product Guidance can increase the likelihood of success globally, with automated pricing across all Amazon stores. 

The “List Once, Sell Globally” feature allows sellers to bulk upload products for global selling. Here’s how it works: 

1. Choose a template 
2. Select a product 
3. Select the marketplaces 
4. Generate template
5. Fill in template 
6. Voila! 

Behind the scenes, Amazon will purchase your inventory and ship the products to the appropriate fulfillment centers. On the shopper’s end, products will still be listed as “shipped from and sold by Amazon.” With this, sellers can leverage local fees rather than the cross-border remote fees. We can expect new listing language choices and additional global management tools to apply fixes across all marketplaces. 

8. Amazon Local Selling

Two new updates in the local selling category are BOPIS and Amazon Today. Buy Online Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS) is now available for sellers to utilize brick-and-mortar stores for local pickup, further connecting local sellers to shoppers. Amazon Today is geo-targeted to list your in-store inventory on Amazon and provides same-day delivery for shoppers.

9. Veeqo US Launch

Amazon announced the US launch of Veeqo, an inventory/shipping tool available to sellers at no cost. This multi-channel shipping software was built to help cut shipping costs while increasing the speed of fulfilling customer orders. Sellers can connect their sales channels (i.e., Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Shopify) and access discounted shipping rates on UPS, USPS, DHL and FedEx. You can read the official release here.

10. Seller Payment Services

Amazon introduced two new updates to improve the steps that sellers must take to transfer their funds from Amazon into the sellers’ bank account. 

• Amazon Seller Wallet: This digital wallet makes it easier for global sellers to hold, view, convert and transfer store proceeds from their US store directly into their bank accounts, all within Seller Central. Dive into how Amazon made it easier for sellers to manage their funds. 
• Express Payout: Provides sellers with the convenience of moving and receiving funds within 24 hours instead of the usual 3-5 business days. Learn more here.

Wrapping things up

The ecommerce space has been rapidly growing, and Amazon continues to lead the way with its commitment to improving both the seller and buyer’s shopping experience. In fact, Amazon went beyond providing better experiences for sellers as the new tools can help to increase customer lifetime value.

Want to see more from Amazon Accelerate? Don’t worry if you missed out; you can watch Day 1 highlights here and Day 2 highlights here. There was a lot to unpack at Amazon Accelerate 2022, but our team is eager to explore these new rollouts with you!