Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations.

In today’s episode, we’re diving into a topic that’s been heating up since Amazon unveiled it at Unboxed last October: using AMC audiences for Sponsored Products.

It’s a conversation that’s gone from a slow simmer to a full-on boil in recent months, and we’ve brought in two of Acadia’s sharpest retail media minds to break it all down: Ross Walker and Carlos Sastre.

We’ll be exploring where the real impact is showing up, what’s working, and what this shift means for the future of Sponsored Search.

Tune in to find out more!

"I don't care about winning every single eyeball for a keyword. I only care about winning the subset of eyeballs that are most likely to convert, be a high lifetime value customer, or be most likely to purchase multiple products in my assortment. That is the new game that we are moving towards in the future."

Ross Walker

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Ross, and Carlos discuss:

• Overview of AMC Audiences for Sponsored Ads: The distinction between using AMC audiences in DSP vs. Sponsored Ads.

• In Sponsored Products/Brand Ads, AMC audiences act as bid modifiers rather than strict targeting mechanisms.

• Limitations and Current Capabilities: Advertisers can only boost bids for specific audiences, not exclude or exclusively target them.

• Only one AMC audience can be applied per campaign currently, which introduces campaign complexity.

• The "crawl, walk, run" approach: Start simple by identifying the campaign goal (upper vs. lower funnel) before layering in AMC audiences.

• Recommendations to duplicate existing campaigns and layer AMC audiences for more efficient targeting.

• Strong results from using purchaser and subscriber lookalike audiences (doubling ROAS and improving conversion rates).

• Cautions against hyper-granular audience building, which may limit scale and statistical significance.

• Leveraging “out of the box” audiences first before building complex custom audiences.

• Keep initial testing straightforward, scaling complexity only if justified by results.

• Notable reductions in CPCs and significant increases in ROAS for test campaigns that adopted AMC audiences.

• Dual campaign strategy allows efficiency gains without sacrificing overall volume.

• The introduction of more AMC-style features directly in the Amazon Ads console (e.g., new-to-brand bid boosting).

• The shift from keyword/product targeting towards audience-based bidding and what that means for campaign architecture and ROI.

• Amazon’s continued pace of innovation in ad products enables proactive brands to gain an edge.

• The future of advertising on Amazon involves refining audiences beyond keywords, focusing spend on high-value customers.

• The importance of adapting campaign strategies to stay ahead as the platform evolves.

🎙️Interview with Gary Hammerschlag

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations.

Today, we're joined by our in-house organic strategy expert, Gary Hammerschlag.

He'll walk us through the evolution of content scoring, share how top brands are approaching content audits today, and give us a sneak peek into where the industry is headed regarding organic excellence.

Tune in to find out more!

Quote:

Optimization never ends. There are always improvements in organic rank that can happen. I don't think it's ever set-it-and-forget-it.

Gary Hammerschlag

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Gary discuss:

• The Evolution of Content Scoring on Amazon: A history of content audits—starting from highly manual, page-by-page checks, moving through early automations, and now to sophisticated frameworks that combine qualitative and quantitative data.

• From Binary to Nuanced Scoring: The shift from basic checklists (like “Does this listing have six images?”) to systems that weigh the true quality and impact of each part of a PDP (product detail page).

• Modern Content Audit Methodologies: Current best practices for scoring content, including the new variables at play (like user-generated content and the role of Amazon’s AI assistant, Rufus), and why brands need to update their frameworks as the landscape evolves.

• PDP & Storefront Optimization: The buckets and categories considered during optimization—from images and titles to mobile formatting and SEO—and how brands should prioritize and frequently assess their catalogs.

• Importance of Continuous Improvement: Content optimization isn’t a one-off project, but an ongoing process. Gary emphasizes using leading indicators, A/B testing, and regular audits to keep PDPs and storefronts performing at their best.

• Future Trends & Technology: The rapid pace of change on Amazon, the likely rise of tech-driven and AI-assisted content evaluation, and how staying ahead is key to organic success.

• Real-world examples illustrating how deeper content audits can uncover hidden opportunities, even for brands that already look “optimized” on the surface.

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations.

We’re back with Part 2 of our special Prime Day series, and today we’re diving deep into Ad Strategy.

Joining us today is Damiano Ciarrocchi, our Senior Retail Media Manager. With years of experience managing Prime Day ad strategies — both at Amazon and now for our clients — Damiano is a Prime Day pro who’s seen it all.

Today, he’s sharing his insider insights on how this year’s Prime Day is shaping up to be different from years past.

Don’t miss it — tune in now!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Damiano discuss:

• The Buzz Starts Early: Brands are already fielding Prime Day questions by late April: What’s changed this year? How should we budget? What creative assets need to be ready now? Early alignment is critical.

• Prime Day Is Won Before It Begins: Success isn’t defined by the deals you run during Prime Day—it’s shaped in the weeks and months leading up to it.

• A New Playbook for 2025 Advertising: This year demands a shift in budget planning and campaign strategy. With evolving consumer behavior, flexibility becomes your strongest advantage.

• Unlocking Amazon’s New Ad Tools: 2025 marks a new era for advertisers. Tools like Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) audiences are no longer reserved for elite brands—they're now accessible and essential for all.

• May & June: The Setup Phase: Your early lead-in tactics dictate your visibility and performance during the event. Use this time to build awareness, optimize recall, and prime conversions.

• Real-Time Agility on Prime Day: Ideally, you’re so well-prepared that surprises are minimal, but when the unexpected hits, your ability to pivot fast will set you apart.

• The Surge Doesn’t Stop on Prime Day: Prime Day isn’t the finish line—it’s the launchpad. Smart brands ride the demand wave into post-event momentum and longer-term growth.

• Navigating Tariffs and Supply Chain Disruption: With tariffs and ongoing logistics challenges, brands need tighter forecasting and contingency plans baked into their Prime Day strategy.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Don’t forget to check out part 1 of this Prime Day Prep series!

Access this in blog format! Part 1 here!

Connect with Senior PPC Manager, Damiano Ciarrocchi

Connect with our host, Julie Spear

Connect with our host, Jordan Ripley