About This Webinar
This session brought together Amazon advertising expert Adam, Reckitt Benckiser's Head of AI and Automation Eric, and eStore Media's Lukasz to tackle the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of Q4 2020. With COVID-19 accelerating e-commerce adoption and multiple major shopping events compressed into 12 weeks, this webinar provides essential strategies for winning on Amazon during the most competitive quarter ever.
As online shopping surged 44% year-over-year and traditional shopping behaviours shifted permanently, brands needed entirely new playbooks for success.
Key Insights
The New Q4 Reality
COVID-19 fundamentally changed the competitive landscape:
Accelerated Timeline: E-commerce growth jumped ahead 3-5 years in just seven months, with consumers spending 80% more time online.
Compressed Calendar: Prime Day moved to Q4, joining Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Chinese Singles Day, and Christmas shopping in a 12-week period.
Permanent Shifts: 24% of US consumers planned to avoid shopping malls entirely in 2020, with 50% of brands expecting Prime Day to be bigger than ever.
Prime Day Preparation Framework
Success requires systematic preparation starting months in advance:
Strategic Planning:
- Define target products and categories early
- Use historical data for backwards budget calculation
- Secure Amazon sponsorship packages 5 months ahead
- Build phased campaigns: lead-up, event day, and post-event remarketing
Execution Excellence:
- Create "war room" scenarios for 48-hour monitoring
- Maintain flexible budgets for competitive responses
- Monitor stock levels and pause campaigns when inventory runs low
- Test custom landing pages vs. product detail pages for basket size optimisation
Data-Driven Search Optimisation
Reckitt Benckiser's approach demonstrates moving from reactive to predictive analytics:
Automation Priorities:
- Budget reallocation when campaigns hit limits with acceptable ROAS
- Keyword optimisation across 200,000+ monthly search queries
- Bid price adjustments within target thresholds
- Content improvements based on paid search performance data
Early Preparation Benefits: Analysis showed 100% year-over-year growth starting five days before Black Friday, proving consumers begin bargain-hunting well before official event dates.
Connected Data Strategy
Breaking down silos delivers maximum performance:
Integration Opportunities:
- SAP supply data informing media spend decisions
- Digital shelf performance guiding advertising focus
- Market basket analysis revealing cross-selling opportunities
- Organic performance data driving content optimisation
Human + Machine Balance: Amazon's "Hands Off the Wheel" initiative demonstrates using automation for mundane tasks whilst freeing humans for creative strategy and real-time decision-making.
The Fundamentals Foundation
Despite advanced tactics, basic execution remains critical:
Current Performance Gaps:
- 14% of products unavailable at crucial moments
- Only 29% content implementation rate
- 58% share of search vs. fair share potential
Investment Reality: Amazon advertising revenues grew to capture one-third of Google's ad revenue by 2020, starting from single digits just four years earlier.
Essential Takeaways
- 2020 ≠ 2019 + 20%: Historical data cannot predict this year's performance - prepare for exponential, not incremental, change
- Preparation Starts Early: Successful Q4 campaigns begin months ahead with budget planning, campaign setup, and creative approval processes
- Automate the Mundane: Use technology for repetitive tasks like budget management and keyword optimisation to free teams for strategic thinking
- Connected Data Wins: Break down silos between supply, content, advertising, and performance data for maximum impact
- Monitor in Real-Time: Events require 24/7 monitoring with ability to adjust campaigns, budgets, and creative based on competitive activity
- Foundation First: Advanced advertising and automation strategies only work when built on solid availability, content, and organic search fundamentals
The brands that succeeded in this unprecedented Q4 were those that recognised the permanent shift in consumer behaviour, prepared systematically for compressed competition, and combined automated efficiency with human creativity and judgement.
Speakers
Adam Palczewski
Amazon Consultant (previously at Philips)
Erik Brignall
Head of eCommerce AI & Automation, RB
Lukasz Stebelski
Head of Business Development, eStoreBrands
Marc Baker
Founder, Tyde
Moderated by:
Marc Baker, Founder. Tyde.