Your Amazon Ad Game Just Got Personal(ized)

TL;DR: Amazon finally lets you stalk your shoppers (legally) 🕵️‍♂️

Remember when targeting Amazon shoppers was about as precise as throwing darts blindfolded? Those days are officially over, friends. Amazon just dropped a targeting bomb at unBoxed that's going to make your ad strategy sharper than a Prime Day deal hunter's reflexes. Custom audiences for Sponsored Ads are here, and they're about to turn your "spray and pray" approach into "hey, I know exactly who you are and what you want."

The Big Deal: Custom Audiences Enter the Chat

Let's be real: until now, advertising on Amazon was like trying to fish with a net the size of the Pacific. Sure, you caught some fish, but you also caught a lot of... well, not fish. Keywords? Check. ASINs? You bet. But trying to reach specific shoppers who've actually interacted with your brand? That was about as likely as finding toilet paper during the 2020 pandemic.

But now? Oh honey, things just got interesting.

What's New in the Amazon Targeting Universe

• AMC Access for Everyone: Like that one friend who finally got Prime Video, Amazon Marketing Cloud is now available to all advertisers. No DSP spending required. Democracy in advertising, who knew?

• Custom Audiences for SD: Sponsored Display ads can now target specific audience segments that YOU create. It's like having a bouncer for your ad spend.

• Bid Boosting for the Win: Even SP and SB ads can get in on the action with custom audience bid adjustments. Because sometimes you just need to throw a little extra cash at those high-value prospects.

The "So What?" Breakdown

1. The Upsell Dream Machine

Remember playing matchmaker with your products? Now you can be the digital equivalent of Yente from Fiddler on the Roof.

• What It Is: Target buyers of Product A with ads for complementary Product B

• Why It Matters: Your cross-sell game just went from "maybe they'll notice" to "resistance is futile"

• How to Use It: Create an audience of Product A buyers, export to SD, and let the magic happen

2. The "I See You Seeing Me" Strategy

Like that crush who keeps viewing your Instagram stories, now you can actually do something about it.

• Track Multiple Touchpoints: Finally, escape the last-touch attribution prison

• Create Sequential Campaigns: Build audiences based on previous ad views

• Target the Almost-Converts: Reach shoppers who window-shopped but didn't buy

3. The Search History Time Machine

Because sometimes what people searched for last week is more important than what they're searching for right now.

• Historical Search Targeting: Create audiences based on past search behavior

• Intent Signals: Target shoppers who searched generic terms but haven't purchased

• Competitive Edge: Reach people who searched for your competitors (sneaky, we like it)

The Million-Dollar Question

Are you still targeting your ads like it's 2022, or are you ready to join the custom audience revolution?

Deep Dive: The Nitty-Gritty Details

What You Can Do Right Now

1. Subscriber Segmentation: Different ads for Subscribe & Save vs. one-time buyers

2. Engagement-Based Targeting: Create audiences based on product page views

3. Loyalty Programs: Target based on purchase frequency and history

4. Time-Based Targeting: Reach customers who bought X days/months/years ago

What You Can't Do (Yet)

• Create negative audiences for SD ads (sorry, no "everyone BUT these people" yet)

• Direct targeting with SP and SB ads (but hey, bid boosting is still pretty sweet)

The Bottom Line

The days of one-size-fits-all Amazon advertising are deader than a Lightning Deal after 30 seconds. Custom audiences are the future, and the future is now. Whether you're upselling, cross-selling, or just trying to get that one stubborn shopper to finally hit "Buy Now," you've got new tools in your arsenal.

What's Next?

1. Get your AMC account set up (like, yesterday)

2. Start building those custom audiences

3. Test, optimize, and watch your ROAS soar

4. Come back and thank us later