September 12, 2023
August 5, 2022
Amazon has become a powerful advertising giant and is rapidly gaining ground on Google and Facebook in annual marketing revenue, topping $10.1bn in ad revenue for 2018. But how did this e-commerce company become one of the world’s top advertising platforms so quickly?
In this two-part blog we’ll explore some of the major milestones.
Early on, Amazon executives realized that they were sitting on incredibly valuable online real estate (in the form of data collection and customer accessibility) that they knew they could monetize, but they had to be careful not to negatively impact the customer experience in the process. Amazon has an extremely loyal customer base that uses the site and other properties with high frequency, and it was important to them to keep it that way! As the company grew into becoming the biggest product search engine in the world, they were careful to protect the customer experience and overall satisfaction. Even as Amazon developed and implemented its powerful data collection process, it’s focus was still on treating the consumer’s data with respect.
Below we’ve outlined a brief timeline history of Amazon Advertising (split into two posts) so you can understand, in part, how one of the world’s largest companies continues to innovate and grow in the field of advertising and marketing services.
2012
In 2012, Amazon began tapping into the potential of their advertising business by starting Amazon Media Group (AMG), Amazon Marketing Services (AMS), and Amazon Advertising Platform (AAP). Collectively, these services provided pay-per-click and other advertising tools to Amazon sellers that helped those who paid for ads stand out among competitors selling the same product.
Early in the year, Amazon launched its advertising business as a fully functional platform to connect sellers trying to engage with customers to its 180 million person user pool. Amazon Advertising initially focused on banner ads and highlighting search results, but it soon began to expand rapidly and offer more tools as the demand grew.2013
After running internal ads on their site for a good time, Amazon realized the potential it had with their data collection and retail connections. 2013 marked some of the first steps toward becoming a true Internet advertising giant that Amazon knew they could be. Using the data collected to place-targeted ads on and for thousands of external websites, Amazon began tapping into a hidden gem within their business. Other web-advertising companies know your habits and interests, but Amazon knows what you searched for last week and what items you’ve been viewing and ultimately what you purchased. Advertisers were yearning for true media attribution and Amazon’s ability to “close the loop” was very much welcomed.
2014-2015
These may have appeared as quiet years for Amazon Advertising’s growth, but big things were happening behind the scenes. Amazon continued working on and developing better technology to listen for keywords through their app and on smartphones. This was a game changer for the advertising field, as now they could not only see searches but could simply listen to what someone talks about. In November of 2014, the first Amazon Echo was released which would further the advertising opportunities through audio devices.
2016
The Amazon Advertising blog began in September 2016. The blog chronicled the advancements that Amazon Advertising was making with new ad services and technology in general. Later in 2016, the focus was shifted towards helping ads more accurately target customers and creating a more usable internal search engine. As the year came to an end, Amazon Advertising really pushed the idea of sponsored products, especially in relation to sellers who were trying to boost holiday sales.
Part two to follow….
September 12, 2023
September 12, 2023
August 5, 2022
Emily…
James comes to Podean with a wealth of marketplace knowledge having worked at Amazon Corporate for 5+ years. He worked in many different roles and groups during his time there from Seller Support to Vendor Management. From recruiting and onboarding 3P sellers to new categories, handling highly escalated executive level contacts, and managing vendor relationships he brings an inside understanding of how Amazon works. James is passionate about online retail and brings a client and customer centered approach as the Head of US Retail Operations. Before his e-commerce focused life, James worked across industries that have always focused and delivered results in customer service, account management, and inventory management.
With more than 15 years of experience Alejandro has led some of the most edgy projects in the LATAM region and has built-up high-performance teams from both agency and brand sides. Working with Havas he put together a Consumer Engagement unit for Pepsi. He led a WPP digital solution for L’Oréal and while working with Mediacom he redesigned Coca-Cola’s media team. Most recently he was a fundamental part of Danone’s media transformation into a brand salience unit. He was born and raised in Mexico City, loves being outdoors, listening to music and spending time with his 7-year-old daughter.
Danielle leads media globally for Podean. She previously led the Amazon and e-commerce division at performance marketing agency, Merkle (part of Dentsu). Danielle has deep expertise across all facets of Amazon advertising – DSP, sponsored ads, audio, out of home and beyond. She has delivered significant growth for some of the world’s largest brands including Nestle, managing tens of millions of advertising spend on their behalf.
Before Podean, Travis Johnson was Founder and President of Dentsu’s Amazon-focused consultancy, Sellwin. Prior joining Dentsu he was Global CEO of Ansible Mobile in New York, and also held CEO positions in Australia for media agencies UM, Initiative and Cadreon. He was an Adweek Media Allstar in 2017 and has won over 50 International Awards across his career.
Maddie leads our client management team and also marketing for Podean. Maddie’s team operates as an extension of our client’s teams – anticipating their needs, thinking proactively, and always delivering on time. Maddie is also responsible for all aspects of Podean marketing, from blogs and email newsletters to PR, content, and advertising.
Lizzy manages the Podean media team across any, and every, media solution offered by Amazon and other marketplaces. Whether it’s search/sponsored ads, DSP display and video, Twitch, audio or activations we have the experts to deliver. Every client that her team has worked on has seen a step-change in media effectiveness and sales versus their previous operations.
Jonathan Hawkins leads Podean’s European operations, working with clients spanning all categories. His team assists brands with every aspect of setup and optimization across the region including supply chain advice, logistics, retail operations, analytics and media management. P Before joining Podean, Hawkins was Commercial Director of Square Up media, owners of media properties including Escapism, Foodism and Square Mile. During his decade at Square Up he led editorial, content and most recently commercialisation and sales with a focus on digital products and ecommerce growth.
We have hand-picked the best and brightest Amazon talent from around the USA and the world. Our delivery team of 6 New York based, and 17 Amazon and marketplace marketing specialists ensure our clients receive the best campaign performance. They are experts in retail management, performance media optimization, but also video, analytics, AMC, voice, creative and higher impact executions.
Ashley has covered all aspects of digital marketing in his career, having led digital media for Initiative Media Australia, then managed a team of cross-functional digital salespeople at Mi9 (MSN) and was most recently the Managing Director of ecommerce conversion optimization software company, Ve. Ashley’s leadership, collaboration skills and entrepreneurial spirit drive the Australian business.
Mark is a 20+ year digital leader and before Podean was EVP at Reprise where he successfully launched IPG’s Amazon Center Of Excellence. Prior to this, Mark led mobile and innovation agency Ansible. Earlier in his career he was the Founder and CEO of Concep, an email and performance marketing agency with offices in the UK, USA and Australia.