Beyond Metrics: Navigating the Evolution of Amazon Marketing Cloud

In the realm of Amazon Ads, staying ahead is vital for brands aiming to make an impact. 

As a dominant force in ecommerce, Amazon has revolutionized how advertisers measure campaign success. Moving away from traditional metrics like ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) , TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sale), and ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale), Amazon embraces a more comprehensive approach, reshaping how brands perceive the effectiveness of their Amazon Ads. At the core of this shift lies the Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) – a tool empowering advertisers to delve deeper into the customer’s journey and gain unique insights.

In this article, we'll explore the significance of this change and understand the limitations of the old approach. We'll also delve into how AMC is transforming the Amazon advertising landscape, offering advertisers new dimensions to understand and optimize their campaigns for better results.

The Problem with Ignoring Customer Journey

For years, brands have been measuring their Amazon Ads success based on conversion events. This approach, known as last-touch attribution, credits the last interaction (in this case, the search term that led to the purchase) for the sale. While this method does provide a basic understanding of which ads drive immediate conversions, it fails to capture the intricacies of the entire customer’s path to purchase. 

Consider this example: 

Imagine a customer searching for a specific product on Amazon. They see an ad, visit the product detail page (PDP), add the item to their cart, and ultimately make a purchase. Under the last-touch attribution model, the ad that led to the initial search term would receive full credit for the sale. However, this simplified approach neglects the possibility that the customer’s journey might involve multiple touchpoints, interactions, and sources of influence.

Enter the Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)

AMC has emerged as a revolutionary solution that addresses the shortcomings of last-touch attribution. By leveraging a host of new data signals and insights, AMC provides advertisers with the tools they need to perform multi-touch attribution, extend attribution windows, connect first-party data, and gain a comprehensive understanding of how their advertising efforts are truly performing.

RELATED: The 3 Biggest AMC Changes That Will Help Amazon Sellers Win Big in 2023 

4 Ways That AMC is Changing the Game

1. Multi-Touch Attribution

AMC enables brands to analyze the entire path to purchase, encompassing various touchpoints, clicks, interactions, and ad exposures that contribute to a conversion. This multi-touch attribution approach paints a more accurate picture of the customer journey, revealing the interplay between different ads, keywords, and channels.

By adjusting the weighting model, brands can assign credits to different touchpoints. According to Amazon, these new touchpoint models are as follows:

• First-touch model: Assign 100% credit to the first touchpoint on conversion path
• Last-touch model: Assign 100% credit to the last touchpoint on conversion path
• Equal-weight model: Evenly split the credit across all touchpoints on conversion path
• Position-based model: Split the credit between the first and the last touchpoints on conversion path; Weights assigned to these two touchpoints are customizable (e.g. 30% to first touchpoint and 70% to last touchpoint)

Combining the analysis and data from AMC with retargeting efforts and tools such as PixelMe will allow the tracking of marketing campaigns, helping brands to gain a comprehensive understanding of their efforts.

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2. Extending Attribution Windows

With the help of AMC, advertisers can extend the attribution window beyond the immediate conversion. This means that even if a purchase occurs days after the initial ad interaction, the attribution will reflect the broader influence of the ads along the customer’s journey.

By adjusting the range of the attribution window with AMC, attribution can now go back as far as 28 days, instead of the standard 14. This will be especially helpful to brands with longer sales cycles, allowing them to track up to a month of attribution data.

RELATED: How To Optimize Amazon Attribution: The Secret to Off-Amazon Marketing 

3. Connecting First-Party Data

AMC integrates seamlessly with a brand's first-party data, offering a more personalized and tailored advertising strategy. This integration allows advertisers to align their campaigns with the broader customer insights derived from their own data sources.

By combining the analysis and strategy from AMC with your own independent insights, you can create a super-powered advertising and marketing campaign strategy. Tools such as D8aDdriven can build executive summaries and actionable to-do lists to help take the business to new heights.

4. Unveiling the Impact of Different Ad Types

AMC enables advertisers to assess the contribution of various ad types, such as Sponsored Brand Videos, DSP (Demand-Side Platform) ads, and different keywords. This insight empowers brands to optimize their advertising mix based on actual performance data.

RELATED: Get Seen on Amazon: A Quickstart Guide to Amazon Ads

Embracing the Change: Optimize with Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)

The transition from traditional measurement metrics to AMC's holistic approach may seem intimidating, but Amazon has made sure that advertisers have access to the knowledge and training they need to embrace this change effectively. Here are three primary ways to get up to speed with AMC:

• Courses: Amazon's Learning Console offers a range of courses on AMC. These courses guide advertisers through building sophisticated audience strategies for their Amazon DSP campaigns. This knowledge empowers brands to craft more targeted and effective campaigns that resonate with their desired audience segments.

• Certifications: The Amazon Marketing Cloud Certification validates an individual's proficiency in using the AMC user interface and their ability to leverage event tables to write queries and generate advanced performance reports. This certification demonstrates a brand's commitment to staying at the forefront of the advertising game.
• ‍Live Training: For those who prefer a hands-on learning experience, Amazon's "Educate and Elevate" classes, held at events like the recent unBoxed, offer live training on Amazon Marketing Cloud. This interactive training equips advertisers with the skills and insights needed to navigate the complexities of AMC and prepare for certification.