How Retailers Can Navigate Each Phase of Amazon Prime Day

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Since its debut in 2015, Amazon Prime Day has quickly grown into the Super Bowl of the ecommerce space. While this event transitioned from a 24-hour event to a two-day event, it is important to know that Prime Day is so much more than just a two-day retail event. It’s a mad dash leading up to the big day, all hands on deck during the event, and continued marketing efforts after the event to take advantage of the influx of traffic. Amazon reported that brands who advertised through all phases of Prime Day saw a 216% increase in awareness and a 214% increase in consideration, in contrast with brands who did not advertise at all.¹ With this in mind, developing “always-on” campaigns that fully lean into every phase of Prime Day; before, during, and after the event, is vital. So let’s discuss each phase and how to fully optimize this year’s Prime Day for your brand.

Before

Leading up to the big day, your brand promotions and advertisements should be full speed ahead. Make sure to increase budgets for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands in the two weeks before Prime Day to boost your brand further. Also, remember to lean into “Better Together” campaigns by combining two or more of Amazon’s ad services to strengthen your integrated strategy. Didn’t make the Prime Day Amazon ad deadlines? You can also prepare for the big day through easy-to-execute tactics like TikTok ads, influencer marketing, storefront optimization, and listing audits.

You’ll also want to review your campaign budgets to make sure there is enough spend available for the event, and decide what kind of smart bidding strategy is best for you; dynamic bids (down only; up and down), fixed bids, or rule-based bidding. While smart bidding is easy to use, it can be hard to control, so consider incorporating technologies like Adlucent Index™ to better inform your bidding algorithms for all your ecommerce needs. Adlucent Index™ gives you control over how each conversion is valued rather than just bidding on clicks, bringing control into automation.

During

During the event, it is vital to constantly monitor real-time engagement with your brand so you can adjust your campaigns accordingly. Keep an eye on which products are performing best versus which ones are not to reallocate your budget on the fly. If a product is performing poorly, consider reallocating ad spend to a better performing product to maximize engagement. But, don’t forget to keep an eye on your inventory level; if your product is low on inventory, you don’t want to waste ad spend on a product that won’t give you a return on your investment. Also, remember to monitor your active campaign budgets to ensure you have enough spend throughout Prime Day. If your budget runs out, the ad campaign is automatically paused until midnight the next day; meaning Prime Day will be over by the time your campaigns are up and running again.

Lastly, make sure to feature your ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Number) with deals in your Amazon ad campaigns, especially if using a coupon, as they’ll appear with an automated coupon badge to let customers know how they can save. One of our clients in the Watch / Jewelry category saw, on average, a +65% higher ROAS than those without discounts, so it’s crucial your Prime Day promotions are as visible as possible.

After

When the big day passes, its influence on consumer trends continues! If navigated correctly, your brand can continue to see higher engagement and conversions in the days and weeks following Prime Day. However, it’s important to keep riding the wave before it’s too late. For example, 69% of survey respondents were likely, or highly likely, to buy other products from the same brand,² so make sure to keep up the momentum and take advantage of these opportunities.

After the event, pay close attention to your best and lowest performing products, review your budgets and take note of high converting keywords from Prime Day to inform your next steps. Look to increase budgets for Sponsored Product and Sponsored Brand campaigns and focus on remarketing Sponsored Display campaigns in the days and weeks following Prime Day. Remember that the holiday season is on the horizon, so don’t miss this opportunity to amplify your brand through intentional advertising, so you stay top of mind when holiday shopping rolls around.

Conclusion

The key to Prime Day is tapping into each phase of the event to collect data, learn about your audience, and harness momentum for your brand. Digital privacy is making waves in the marketing world as industry giants like Google and Apple are cracking down on user data. As a result, it is now harder for retailers like you to easily track and collect user data to inform your targeting efforts. Sometimes, smart advertising isn’t all that smart. That’s why we developed Deep Search™. Deep Search™ meticulously leverages a combination of automation and human ingenuity, scales performance through unique bidding and audience algorithm, and activates campaigns across channels. Interested in partnering with us? Reach out to us today.

Citations

1. https://advertising.amazon.com
2. https://advertising.amazon.com

Eden Pierson

Eden is a content manager with a wide range of experience in the marketing space. From B2B advertising, branding, and retail marketing, she is passionate about curating content that resonates with target audiences.