Successful Marketing Campaign Case Studies and How to Create A Campaign in 11 Steps
Written by the Amazon Team
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for your information only and must not be construed as a guarantee of future results or legal, tax or financial advice. Many factors influence the demand for your products, including price fluctuations, consumer demand shifts, and sellers remain responsible for determining the products they sell and their prices. If you are in doubt as to the action you should take, please consult your legal, financial, tax, or other professional adviser. Third party links provided are for information purposes only and Amazon does not warrant the accuracy of any information provided in these links. Additionally, any Amazon case studies shared are for information purposes only and Amazon shall not be liable whatsoever in connection with the use of such information.
A constant challenge for businesses is to differentiate themselves while being able to capture the attention of prospective customers. This is where marketing campaigns come in to introduce and promote your products and services to your target audience.
There are several types of marketing campaigns that serve different purposes. To achieve your business objectives, campaigns have to be meticulously planned with the ultimate goal in mind. A combination of different complementary channels may be used to maximize results.
In this article, we talk about the different types of marketing campaigns, successful Amazon case studies and the steps to create a campaign.
A constant challenge for businesses is to differentiate themselves while being able to capture the attention of prospective customers. This is where marketing campaigns come in to introduce and promote your products and services to your target audience.
There are several types of marketing campaigns that serve different purposes. To achieve your business objectives, campaigns have to be meticulously planned with the ultimate goal in mind. A combination of different complementary channels may be used to maximize results.
In this article, we talk about the different types of marketing campaigns, successful Amazon case studies and the steps to create a campaign.
Types of marketing campaigns
There are many types of marketing campaigns your business can launch to achieve your marketing goals. Here are some commonly run campaigns to consider:
Brand launch
A brand launch campaign is designed to announce the launch of a new brand. The goal is to bring the company’s story to a targeted audience to bring awareness and put forth a narrative.
Amazon case study: iRise Organics
iRise Organics launched as a new brand on Amazon in September 2018, and wanted to drive brand visibility on the platform.
Goal: Uplevel branding and increase traffic to store
Strategy:
Amazon case study: iRise Organics
iRise Organics launched as a new brand on Amazon in September 2018, and wanted to drive brand visibility on the platform.
Goal: Uplevel branding and increase traffic to store
Strategy:
- Optimized product detail pages with A+ content to increase discoverability of their brand and products
- Conducted extensive keyword research to optimize campaigns
- Launched Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns, with biweekly optimization to maximize the brand’s reach through cost-per-click ads
- Created a Branded Store page to further promote the brand and help customers discover selection of products
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- Sponsored Brands: Enable customers to discover your brand via prominent and customizable pay-per-click ads
- Brand Analytics: Make informed decisions based on valuable data such as aggregated search terms, audience demographics and more
Learn more about how you can launch your brand on Amazon.
Product launch
A product launch campaign typically involves the launch of a new product or service. Depending on your objective, the campaign can be geared towards raising awareness, boosting leads or increasing sales.
Amazon case study: L’Oréal Paris
Global beauty brand L’Oréal Paris was launching a new product range — the Men’s Barber Club is their first grooming range inspired by barbers’ expertise and care for facial hair.
Goal: Drive awareness and sales for their new range of products
Strategy:
Amazon case study: L’Oréal Paris
Global beauty brand L’Oréal Paris was launching a new product range — the Men’s Barber Club is their first grooming range inspired by barbers’ expertise and care for facial hair.
Goal: Drive awareness and sales for their new range of products
Strategy:
- Allocated 40% of their budget to Sponsored Brands campaigns and placed high bids on generic keywords such as “beard trimmer”
- Allocated 45% of their budget to Sponsored Products campaigns to drive discoverability of their product and generate sales
- Remaining budget of 15% used on Product Display Ads* to cross-sell and upsell the new product range
- Optimized campaigns 3 to 4 times a week by reviewing bids to maximize visibility
Results:
This strategy generated 1.6 million impressions via the Sponsored Brands and Product Display campaigns. In fact, a significant portion of overall sales came from the campaigns and the overall return on ad spend (ROAS) was above their goal of 280%.
*Not available on Amazon.sg yet.
This strategy generated 1.6 million impressions via the Sponsored Brands and Product Display campaigns. In fact, a significant portion of overall sales came from the campaigns and the overall return on ad spend (ROAS) was above their goal of 280%.
*Not available on Amazon.sg yet.
Launch and promote your products on Amazon
As part of your product launch campaigns, Amazon has several tools for sellers to use such as,
- Sponsored Products: Pay-per-click ads to promote individual product listings on Amazon
- Deals: Promotional offers such as a Lightning Deal, 7-Day Deal or vouchers to help boost sales
Product marketing
While a product launch refers to bringing a new product to market, product marketing involves the positioning of a product for customers to better understand it, with the goal of increasing demand and conversions.
Amazon case study: Solgar
Vitamin company Solgar was selling more than 360 health supplement products on Amazon.es and were looking to boost their sales.
Goal: Increase sales and improve brand awareness with new customers
Strategy:
Amazon case study: Solgar
Vitamin company Solgar was selling more than 360 health supplement products on Amazon.es and were looking to boost their sales.
Goal: Increase sales and improve brand awareness with new customers
Strategy:
- Optimized their Store to feature the brand’s history, unique selling propositions (USP) and most popular products
- Launched Sponsored Brands ads to link customers to the Store and best-selling products were used in video campaigns
- Ran always-on Sponsored Products campaigns based on automated keyword selection and continued to refine them with category-specific keywords
- Utilized remarketing campaigns with Sponsored Display* to drive conversion
Results:
Solgar’s ROAS increased from 8.3x to 14.5x which exceeded their initial goal of 10x. Moreover, their sales increased by 42% between 2020 and 2021 and conversion rate increased by 24%.
*Sponsored Display is only available for Brand Owners or Selling Partners on Amazon Singapore Brand Registry.
Solgar’s ROAS increased from 8.3x to 14.5x which exceeded their initial goal of 10x. Moreover, their sales increased by 42% between 2020 and 2021 and conversion rate increased by 24%.
*Sponsored Display is only available for Brand Owners or Selling Partners on Amazon Singapore Brand Registry.
Content marketing
Content marketing involves creating and sharing relevant content with your audiences. This can be in the form of an article, video or e-book and can be marketed using advertising or search engine optimization (SEO).
When people engage with your content, there is a higher chance of them converting into customers.
Amazon case study: Diageo
Diageo is a leading global alcohol brand that specializes in whiskey. Using Amazon's Advertising Insights and planning tools, they discovered that alcohol beverages was one of the top 5 categories for gifting on Amazon in Germany. However, not many shoppers on Amazon.de had discovered Diageo whiskies.
Goal: Raise awareness for their whisky brands with new customers
Content strategy:
When people engage with your content, there is a higher chance of them converting into customers.
Amazon case study: Diageo
Diageo is a leading global alcohol brand that specializes in whiskey. Using Amazon's Advertising Insights and planning tools, they discovered that alcohol beverages was one of the top 5 categories for gifting on Amazon in Germany. However, not many shoppers on Amazon.de had discovered Diageo whiskies.
Goal: Raise awareness for their whisky brands with new customers
Content strategy:
- Launched a brand awareness campaign around gifting for the Christmas holidays
- Created a landing page to feature a shoppable video sharing information about whiskies and tips on how to make cocktails
- Included a product selector to provide a curated experience for customers based on their preferences and tastes
Marketing strategy:
- Worked with Amazon Advertising to promote placements across relevant platforms including Amazon.de
Results:
At the end of the campaign, 80% of the audience reached were new customers. Additionally, a third-party brand lift study saw an increase of almost 7% in purchase intent and perception of a high-quality whisky in the brand.
At the end of the campaign, 80% of the audience reached were new customers. Additionally, a third-party brand lift study saw an increase of almost 7% in purchase intent and perception of a high-quality whisky in the brand.
Leverage Amazon Associates
The Amazon Associate Program allows content creators and bloggers to monetize their traffic. When a sale is made via a unique product link that they share, they can earn up to 10%* in commission.
This incentivizes Associates to share about your product, which can help increase visibility and sales for your business.
*Terms and conditions apply
This incentivizes Associates to share about your product, which can help increase visibility and sales for your business.
*Terms and conditions apply
Seasonal
A seasonal marketing campaign is used to advertise products or services during a certain season or occasion. This is a popular type of campaign for businesses to hype their customers up, usually using promotions, to boost sales.
Amazon case study: Coca-Cola
Global beverage company Coca-Cola has a long-standing partnership with Banco Alimentare, a non-profit food bank, to raise meal funds for those in need in Italy during Christmas.
To raise funds, they hosted in-person Christmas markets in several cities. But reach was limited for that lived outside of the targeted cities, coupled with the challenges of the pandemic.
Goal: Increase the reach of their Christmas markets by going digital
Strategy:
Amazon case study: Coca-Cola
Global beverage company Coca-Cola has a long-standing partnership with Banco Alimentare, a non-profit food bank, to raise meal funds for those in need in Italy during Christmas.
To raise funds, they hosted in-person Christmas markets in several cities. But reach was limited for that lived outside of the targeted cities, coupled with the challenges of the pandemic.
Goal: Increase the reach of their Christmas markets by going digital
Strategy:
- Created limited edition Coca-Cola Christmas gift boxes that were sold exclusively on Amazon.it; meal funds would be donated to Banco Alimentare for every box sold
- Created a Store for easy browsing and to drive further awareness of the campaign
- Used Sponsored Brands to boost awareness and direct traffic to custom landing pages
- Leveraged Amazon DSP* to run display and video ads to reach more customers
Results:
After just 3 days of the campaign launch, they sold out of the 1,500 limited edition Coca-Cola boxes. Furthermore, they were able to fund 150,000 meals for Banco Alimentare in 2020 with the sales generated.
*Not available on Amazon.sg yet.
After just 3 days of the campaign launch, they sold out of the 1,500 limited edition Coca-Cola boxes. Furthermore, they were able to fund 150,000 meals for Banco Alimentare in 2020 with the sales generated.
*Not available on Amazon.sg yet.
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Customers are always looking for promotions to get the best deals for their purchases. Amazon Promotions has 3 different promotion types for your consideration:
- Lightning deals
- 7-day deals
- Vouchers
These deals can help increase traffic, boost sales and improve brand awareness. They are especially helpful during the holiday season..
How to create a marketing campaign
Every marketing campaign is unique, depending on your goals, budget and creative vision. In the following sections, we have included questions to ask yourself and relevant examples to help you build a marketing campaign from scratch. Answering these questions as detailed as possible can help ensure a more seamless execution.
Phase 1: Planning the marketing campaign
This phase forms the foundation of any campaign — it will determine the metrics that make the benchmarks of the campaign’s success. It also serves as a guideline to steer your team in the right direction.
A. Define your target audience
The first step of this phase is to identify your target audience, particularly their demographics, interests and pain points. Here are some thought starters to help you understand your prospective customers:
A. Define your target audience
The first step of this phase is to identify your target audience, particularly their demographics, interests and pain points. Here are some thought starters to help you understand your prospective customers:
- What are the demographics of your target audience? What is their age range, purchasing power, habits and life stages?
- What are some pain points that your audience is facing?
- What kind of marketing messages does your audience respond well to? Do they prefer straightforward, witty or humorous content? Are there any relatable references they can resonate with?
- Where does your audience consume content online? Are they sharing information or just getting information? What online platforms do they use?
Learning more about your target audience is a good start to creating your campaign.
B. Set an objective
The next step is to set an objective for the campaign. Think about the purpose — what do you want to achieve at the end of this campaign? How does it align with your business goals?
Here are some common goals to begin with:
● Advertise a new product or service
● Promote an upcoming event
● Improve brand awareness
● Increase traffic to website or content piece
● Boost leads
● Increase sales
● Encourage user engagement
● Generate customer reviews or content
This list is not exhaustive; it helps to provide a rough idea of the kind of objectives your campaign can be geared towards.
From the general goal, use the SMART guide to come up with a more specific objective. SMART states that your goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based.
C. Decide on key performance indicators (KPIs)
KPI is a form of measurement that evaluates the success of a company, or in this case, the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. A relevant KPI depends on the objective of your campaign and the channels where your campaign will be held.
For example, if you are looking to promote a new product, you would want to measure the number of orders and number of customers on the waiting list. Or if you aim to improve engagement on social media, you can look at the number of likes, comments and shares on your posts.
Note that if you are using multiple channels for your campaign, it is important to decide on the KPIs for each channel.
D. Set a budget
Having a sound budget allows you to make more informed financial decisions. It provides an indication of whether your business has sufficient revenue to account for expenses such as marketing campaigns.
If you are hiring an agency or freelancer to manage your campaigns, remember to factor in the costs of that as well.
B. Set an objective
The next step is to set an objective for the campaign. Think about the purpose — what do you want to achieve at the end of this campaign? How does it align with your business goals?
Here are some common goals to begin with:
● Advertise a new product or service
● Promote an upcoming event
● Improve brand awareness
● Increase traffic to website or content piece
● Boost leads
● Increase sales
● Encourage user engagement
● Generate customer reviews or content
This list is not exhaustive; it helps to provide a rough idea of the kind of objectives your campaign can be geared towards.
From the general goal, use the SMART guide to come up with a more specific objective. SMART states that your goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based.
C. Decide on key performance indicators (KPIs)
KPI is a form of measurement that evaluates the success of a company, or in this case, the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. A relevant KPI depends on the objective of your campaign and the channels where your campaign will be held.
For example, if you are looking to promote a new product, you would want to measure the number of orders and number of customers on the waiting list. Or if you aim to improve engagement on social media, you can look at the number of likes, comments and shares on your posts.
Note that if you are using multiple channels for your campaign, it is important to decide on the KPIs for each channel.
D. Set a budget
Having a sound budget allows you to make more informed financial decisions. It provides an indication of whether your business has sufficient revenue to account for expenses such as marketing campaigns.
If you are hiring an agency or freelancer to manage your campaigns, remember to factor in the costs of that as well.
Amazon advertising: How budgets affect your campaigns
Learning more about budgets and bids is important for you to create ads with high ROAS on Amazon. Watch this video for an introduction.
If you are familiar with the basics, check out more advanced tips in our budgets and bids optimization webinar.
If you are familiar with the basics, check out more advanced tips in our budgets and bids optimization webinar.
E. Establish the concept for the campaign
The last portion of the planning phase requires you to come up with a concept for the campaign. This concept should be in line with your brand’s identity. For example, if your brand personality is positive and bubbly, a campaign that is thought provoking and emotional may be a mismatch.
The campaign assets can be created by an in-house creative team, outsourced to an agency or done by a freelancer.
The last portion of the planning phase requires you to come up with a concept for the campaign. This concept should be in line with your brand’s identity. For example, if your brand personality is positive and bubbly, a campaign that is thought provoking and emotional may be a mismatch.
The campaign assets can be created by an in-house creative team, outsourced to an agency or done by a freelancer.
Leverage Amazon’s Seller Central Partner Network for content creation
Selling on Amazon enables you to discover Amazon-approved third-party services to grow your business. With Seller Partner Appstore, you can outsource content creation to our service partners and focus on other aspects of your business.
Phase 2: Running the marketing campaign
After the planning phase, it is time to run the marketing campaign. This is when your audience will see the campaign live in action and there are 2 main steps involved.
A. Select channels for content distribution
First, you have to select the channels that are suitable for the campaign. This will depend on where your audience is, your budget and other relevant factors.
A good place to start is to look at the current channels your company is using to reach out to prospective customers. From there, look at which ones are performing the best and what advertising functions or tools each of them has.
Some examples of channels include traditional media such as print and TV or digital marketing channels like search engines and social media.
B. Schedule a timeline
Once you have chosen the marketing channels, plan a suitable timeline to run the campaign. This includes the following:
A. Select channels for content distribution
First, you have to select the channels that are suitable for the campaign. This will depend on where your audience is, your budget and other relevant factors.
A good place to start is to look at the current channels your company is using to reach out to prospective customers. From there, look at which ones are performing the best and what advertising functions or tools each of them has.
Some examples of channels include traditional media such as print and TV or digital marketing channels like search engines and social media.
B. Schedule a timeline
Once you have chosen the marketing channels, plan a suitable timeline to run the campaign. This includes the following:
- When will the campaign run and for how long? Will you push out the content in phases?
- Who will run the campaign in your team?
- How often will the campaign be run?
The timeline depends on what you are marketing, your budget and resources. For example, if you are promoting a quarterly promotion, you may choose to run the campaign every 4 months for 2 weeks prior to the event if your budget and resources permit.
Having a visual calendar of the campaign can help to allocate your resources more efficiently.
Having a visual calendar of the campaign can help to allocate your resources more efficiently.
Phase 3: Optimizing the marketing campaign to meet goals
Optimizing your marketing campaign is key — this is when you include a relevant action that you want your audience to take and monitor the metrics.
A. Include a desired action
The desired action to be included in your campaign will be based on the SMART goal that was defined earlier in the planning phase. So, if you are aiming to get 100 email subscribers, the desired action can be to fill in and submit an email subscription lead form.
Other conversion assets include calls-to-action and landing pages.
B. Monitor relevant metrics
The objective of the marketing campaign and the channels where your campaign will be run will determine the relevant metrics to monitor. These metrics should give you an idea of how effective the campaign is.
For example, when doing an email marketing campaign, some metrics to consider monitoring include the open rate, click-through rate and unsubscribe rate. A social media campaign, on the other hand, can look at the reach, number of leads and engagement. Ultimately, the metrics should assess the effectiveness of the campaign.
A. Include a desired action
The desired action to be included in your campaign will be based on the SMART goal that was defined earlier in the planning phase. So, if you are aiming to get 100 email subscribers, the desired action can be to fill in and submit an email subscription lead form.
Other conversion assets include calls-to-action and landing pages.
B. Monitor relevant metrics
The objective of the marketing campaign and the channels where your campaign will be run will determine the relevant metrics to monitor. These metrics should give you an idea of how effective the campaign is.
For example, when doing an email marketing campaign, some metrics to consider monitoring include the open rate, click-through rate and unsubscribe rate. A social media campaign, on the other hand, can look at the reach, number of leads and engagement. Ultimately, the metrics should assess the effectiveness of the campaign.
Improve visibility and sales with Amazon’s advertising solutions
Amazon provides various advertising tools such as Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Stores to meet your unique business goals.
Here’s how to set up your e-commerce marketing campaign:
Here’s how to set up your e-commerce marketing campaign:
- Login to Seller Central (if you have a seller account) or sign up to sell on Amazon
- Create your campaign
- Reach more shoppers with sponsored ads like Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands – Sponsored Product ads launch immediately, while Sponsored Brands and Stores need some time to be reviewed and approved
- Manage your ad spend by setting a maximum budget per day
- Monitor results using relevant metrics
Phase 4: Measuring the effectiveness of a marketing campaign
After the campaign is up and running, it’s important to analyze the data so you can evaluate how to improve your campaign moving forward.
A. Determine the success of the campaign
After the campaign has ended, take a look at whether it has met the SMART goal that you defined. If it did not, review the data and assess the “why” in the next step.
Note that while you may not have achieved the SMART goal, if you managed to generate some desired actions, you can consider it as a success. However, there is a difference between a campaign that brings some results and one that has a high return on investment (ROI).
A. Determine the success of the campaign
After the campaign has ended, take a look at whether it has met the SMART goal that you defined. If it did not, review the data and assess the “why” in the next step.
Note that while you may not have achieved the SMART goal, if you managed to generate some desired actions, you can consider it as a success. However, there is a difference between a campaign that brings some results and one that has a high return on investment (ROI).
Use Brand Analytics on Amazon to assess performance
Brand Owners on Amazon can use Brand Analytics to get data such as search terms, search queries and customer demographics, and use this valuable data to assess if their marketing campaigns have been effective in boosting sales and how to improve their campaigns moving forward.
B. Analyze metrics
The last step in your campaign analysis is to gather learnings to help inform and optimize your next marketing campaign.
Meet with your marketing team to discuss these questions:
The last step in your campaign analysis is to gather learnings to help inform and optimize your next marketing campaign.
Meet with your marketing team to discuss these questions:
- What did we do well?
- What contributed to the success of the campaign?
- How could we have improved the campaign?
- Why did the campaign go wrong?
- What did our customers think about the campaign?
After analyzing the relevant metrics, your team may be better equipped to refine the campaign to achieve better results in the next campaign cycle.
FAQs about marketing campaigns
What does a marketing campaign include?
In general, a marketing campaign should have the following components:
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and objectives - This drives the direction of your campaign and makes it more specific and measurable.
- Marketing channels - This will determine where your content and marketing messages will be distributed.
- Budget - Having a budget will allow your business to design a campaign that balances your objective while still making financial sense.
- Roles - It is important to define the roles and responsibilities of those involved in planning, executing and evaluating the campaign.
- Creative assets - Decide on the vibe of the content and ensure that there is a proper team to work on it, whether it is an in-house team or a freelancer.
How long should a marketing campaign last?
The duration of the campaign will depend on the type of campaign you are running. For example, a branding campaign will likely run for 3 months or so.
Here are some factors to consider when deciding on the duration of your campaign:
Here are some factors to consider when deciding on the duration of your campaign:
- What are you promoting? Is it a seasonal product or are you promoting your business as a whole?
- Who is your target audience? How long does it take for them to convert?
- What are your goals for the campaign? What is a realistic duration to achieve the goals?
- What channels are you advertising on? It may be good to switch up your ads more often for some channels.
What are some tools Amazon sellers can leverage for their marketing campaigns?
As a seller on Amazon, you can leverage several tools to achieve your marketing goals. This includes (but is not limited to):
● Sponsored Products
● Sponsored Brands
● Stores
● A+ Content
● Deals and Vouchers
● Product reviews
● Brand Analytics
Learn more about Amazon Advertising solutions.
● Sponsored Products
● Sponsored Brands
● Stores
● A+ Content
● Deals and Vouchers
● Product reviews
● Brand Analytics
Learn more about Amazon Advertising solutions.
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