The Power of a DSP Blast Strategy Throughout Tentpole Events for Amazon Advertisers
Not every Amazon advertiser invests in DSP. The ones that do are using it to prioritize building connections with consumers across the full path to purchase and capitalize on...
Amazon’s high-quality inventory,
More sophisticated targeting, and
Access to better data and analysis.
Looking for an overview of Amazon DSP? Read this: “Amazon DSP: What Is It and When Should You Consider It?”
If there was a time for trialing an investment in Amazon DSP or throttling your current DSP budget, it’s around tentpole events like Amazon’s Prime Day, Back-to-School, Turkey-5, New Year New You (Jan-Feb) or other key holidays that impact your business. The increase in consumer interest and overall traffic to Amazon during these tentpole events is a great way to test and evaluate the impact of Amazon DSP through a DSP Blast Strategy.
What is a Tentpole DSP Blast Strategy?
In a DSP Blast Strategy, advertisers leverage the increased traffic and consumer interest generated by tentpole events to engage with new customers and drive conversions. It involves a comprehensive and data-driven approach that combines precise targeting, personalized ad experiences, and strategic retargeting to make the most of the event-driven opportunities.
The strategy is broken up into 3 segments based on timing:
Before the tentpole event.
During the tentpole event.
After the tentpole event.
Before the tentpole event, you can utilize the sophisticated targeting from Amazon DSP to get in front of broad and near-aisle audiences who are closely aligned with your current ideal purchasers. By helping new audiences get to know your brand and familiarize themselves with your products before the tentpole event, you’ll help shoppers remember you, notice your promotions during the event, and be more inclined to shop your catalog.
During the tentpole event, Amazon DSP can help you gain new interest from upper-funnel audiences as well as retarget those shoppers who are in the mid-to-lower funnel phases. You can tailor your ad spots based on where customers are on their path to purchase, even crafting deals or offers that would be unique to them.
After the tentpole event, you can use Amazon DSP to retarget the shoppers who visited your PDPs but didn’t purchase during the event. This is another great opportunity to incentivize them with a deal or promotion, encouraging them to still take advantage of some savings while it lasts. You can also extend your retargeting to include those who purchased during the tentpole event, focusing on a timeframe that aligns with when they might typically need to purchase the product again. This is a great opportunity to leverage DSP retargeting for loyalty with tools like Subscribe and Save.
How Do You Measure the Success of a Tentpole DSP Blast Strategy?
The KPIs you choose should always align with the goals of your brand and the intent of your targeted audience wherever they might be along the path to purchase (awareness, consideration, purchase, or loyalty).
For instance, if the main goal of your DSP Blast Strategy is to get in front of new customers, then you’ll prioritize metrics associated with awareness and consideration from net new customers shopping the category. In this case, look for KPIs that are more about driving upper-funnel engagement and traffic to detail pages rather than lower-funnel conversion. Those could be things like:
Reach
Brand Searches
PDP Views
Cost Per Detail Page View
(NOTE: This metric helps you keep an eye on efficiency. The ideal CPDP might not be the same for everyone, so you’ll want to determine the goal CPDP that aligns with your brand and category. If you need help to understand what that is for your brand, contact us to chat more →)
It’s also important to recognize the difficulty of measuring the success of upper-funnel campaigns with ROAS and other lower-funnel metrics. These metrics primarily focus on immediate revenue generation. But DSP prospecting campaigns tend to have a longer consideration timeline and the success of this upper-funnel tactic is hard to quantify within myopic ROAS calculations.
However, for DSP retargeting campaigns focused on NTB conversion and loyalty, ROAS is a more helpful metric to understand how your efforts are compounding at the bottom of the funnel. You could include ROAS alongside other metrics like:
New to Brand Purchases
Total Sales
TACoS
Need help visualizing how DSP campaigns help build momentum throughout the funnel? Check out this case study: “The Impact of Full Funnel Media”
How Do I Prepare to Implement a Tentpole DSP Blast Strategy?
Your brand might have unique priorities when preparing for a tentpole DSP Blast Strategy. However, there are 2 things that you’ll generally always want to prioritize:
Market Research and Audience Segmentation: These are the foundations of your targeting, allowing you to focus on the right audiences based on their shopping behaviors, preferences, and product interests. Amazon’s data provides a wealth of information for advertisers to learn about potential customers. The key will be turning those data points into usable insights that help you identify the opportunities that align with your goals and help you craft compelling ad campaigns that resonate with customers before, during, and after the tentpole event.
Optimizing Product Listings and Creatives: With a DSP blast driving additional traffic to your brand, you’ll want to make sure your PDPs are optimized for converting that traffic. Double-check that your product details are compelling and easy to understand and that the imagery helps communicate the value of your product in a way that resonates with shoppers. Focus on the key selling points that also tell your brand’s story and educate shoppers on what they need to know when comparing your product with others in the category.
But That’s Just the Start. Need Help with Your Tentpole DSP Blast Strategy?
Don’t let another tentpole event go by without exploring the value of a DSP Blast Strategy. If you need help navigating the complexities, we’re here for you. We can walk you through the pros and cons, how it might align with your goals, and help you examine the right approach that positions you for success. Let’s connect and set you up to win.