AMCMore than a data clean room, exploring the power of data-driven insightsThe Amazon Ads platform has come a long way. Unlike the managed services available previously with Amazon Media Group (AMG), AMS, & AAP, Amazon Marketing Cloud represents a...

AMC

More than a data clean room, exploring the power of data-driven insights

The Amazon Ads platform has come a long way. Unlike the managed services available previously with Amazon Media Group (AMG), AMS, & AAP, Amazon Marketing Cloud represents a significant progression of allowing advertisers and marketers new pathways for self-service data analytics.

As a result, an Amazon Marketing Cloud solution works harder for advertisers, allowing them to explore and analyze various Amazon data sets and providing deeper insights into marketing campaign performance and customer behavior.

What is Amazon Marketing Cloud?

Here is Amazon’s definition detailing what the marketing cloud is designed to accomplish;

Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is a secure, privacy-safe, and cloud-based cleanroom solution in which advertisers can easily perform analytics and build audiences across pseudonymized signals, including Amazon Ads signals and their own inputs.

Big picture, the AMC has two components: data and tooling to analyze the data. By distinguishing between the data and the tools used to explore, visualize, and report on the data, an advertiser can unlock flexibility and new pathways to discover insights.

By understanding the behaviors, preferences, and purchase history, advertisers can harness data-driven insights to help deliver more relevant and impactful ads, optimize product listings, optimize purchase funnels, and attribute conversions to off-Amazon marketing campaigns.

Key Features of Amazon Marketing Cloud

The following are four key benefits of AMC;

Data Integration: AMC enables the integration of various data sources, providing a holistic view of marketing performance.Customized Analysis: It offers tools for customized data analysis, allowing businesses to tailor their strategies based on specific insights for their on-and-off Amazon marketing campaigns.Privacy-Centric: The platform ensures user privacy, making it a trustworthy tool for businesses and consumers.Data-driven Insights: Provides flexible, powerful analytics capabilities, enabling marketers to make quick, informed decisions.

Whether you are using Amazon’s standalone offering, your private analytics cloud, or a combination of both, a core concept of AMC is tapping into a vast pool of performance data to drive insights that positively impact the bottom line.

Amazon Ads AMC Eligibility

Here are some requirements for using Amazon Ads Marketing Cloud service:

You must have an executed Amazon DSP Master Service AgreementYou must have planned campaigns or run campaigns on DSP in the past 28 daysYou need someone familiar with SQL database language to make queries in the AMC database.You need to have an AWS account.

As you can see, the Amazon Ad’s AMC offering is unavailable if you are not using DSP or AWS. This is why agencies and brands create “owned” Amazon Marketing Cloud solutions. These solutions use tools like Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, and Looker with unified data in trusted, clean rooms from Google, Snowflake, Databricks, and others.

As a result, there are a few options for advertisers;

Use the standalone Amazon Ads developed AMC (requires an Amazon DSP and an AWS account)A private, trusted analytics cloud for AmazonUse both; they are not mutually exclusive!

Unlike the Amazon Ads AMC service (1), private marketing analytics cloud solutions (2) offer flexibility, agility, and alignment with existing people and technology investments. This is why many Amazon Ad agencies and brands choose (2) as it affords flexibility, no spending requirements for Amazon PPC ads, and powerful visualization and reporting capabilities.

What AMC Datasets

AMC’s performance-based marketing data provides a foundation for businesses looking to optimize their Amazon advertising strategies, as they can directly link their marketing efforts to sales outcomes.

The core of the Amazon Ads AMC service is largely based on Amazon DSP. However, if you are leveraging a trusted analytics cloud for Amazon, you have access to many Amazon datasets, all of which are directly available via the Amazon Ads API:

Sponsored ProductSponsored BrandSponsored DisplaySponsored Video (Video Ads)Amazon AttributionAmazon DSPBrand MetricsAmazon Marketing StreamStore Insights

In addition to Amazon Ads data, you can fuse other data sets as well;

Amazon Selling PartnerAmazon Vendor CentralGoogle AdsFacebook AdsEmailCRM, ERP

Amazon Marketing Cloud Analytics

Marketing Cloud Analytics represents a powerful approach to digital marketing analytics that is crucial for tailoring campaigns to target audiences more accurately and improving engagement and conversion rates.

As discussed earlier, advertisers with Amazon Analytics Clouds use private, trusted tools like Tableau, Looker, and Power BI paired with unified data warehouses such as BigQuery, Snowflake, Azure, AWS Athena, or Redshift.

Amazon Marketing Cloud Analytics Architecture

One of the key benefits of this approach to exploring performance data is flexibility, intuitive tooling, and enterprise-wide reporting.

The Amazon Ads AMC service only provides a data exploration tool that supports “AMC SQL.” This may be somewhat limiting, depending on your team's skills in writing SQL.

Amazon Marketing Cloud Insights: Data Visualization and Analysis Tools

Tableau, Looker, and Power BI: These tools specialize in data visualization and business intelligence.Utilizing AMC Data: These tools can connect to the data warehouses to access AMC data, Sponsored Ads, Amazon Retail, Google Ads, Facebook, and many other data sources, providing advanced analytics capabilities and customizable dashboards. This includes sharing user-defined reports via other channels like Slack and email.Tableau Performance DasboardTableau Sharing Performance Reports via Slack

Customization And Flexibility

Tailored Solutions: Each tool offers unique features, allowing businesses to tailor their analytics approach based on specific needs. Advertisers can define their business objectives, definitions, and KPIs and package them as unique offerings to customers, clients, or internal teams.Scalability: As business needs grow, these tools can scale accordingly, handling increased data volume and complexity.Power BI data modeling

Creating Ads Data Hub With Data Warehouses And Visualization Tools

Unified Analytics Workflow: Data from Amazon DSP, Sponsored Ads, Amazon Seller Central, and other sources are stored in a trusted, owned cloud data warehouse like Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, and others. Visualization tools then access this data, allowing marketers to create comprehensive reports and dashboards.BigQuery, Snowflake, Azure, AWS Athena, Redshift: These scalable, secure cloud data warehouses store and manage large volumes of structured and unstructured data.Integration with AMC: Data from AMC can be exported and stored in these warehouses, enabling more complex analyses and historical data tracking.Security and Privacy: This setup ensures data privacy and security, as all tools involved are known for their robust security measures.Custom Looker Dashboards using private Google BigQuery warehouseCustom Ecommerce DashboardTemplate Looker Reports For Agency Clients

AMC SQL

Unlike tools like Tableau, L:ooker, or Power BI, AMC SQL is the principal mode of exploring AMC data within the Amazon Ads environment.

AMC supports basic query operations in Structured Query Language (SQL). The variant of SQL used in AMC is referred to as AMC SQL.

Specific standard SQL commands might not work with AMC. There are particular conventions documented by Amazon that must be used to write the syntax for the SQL expressions, commands, and functions that will work in AMC.

Additionally, you may encounter limitations in obtaining detailed data in your reports. This is due to AMC’s restriction to providing only aggregated and pseudonymized data. All data in your AMC instance is managed strictly with Amazon’s privacy guidelines. Furthermore, Amazon cannot export or access your data signals. To uphold privacy, AMC prevents data export at a level that would breach these privacy measures. The adherence to privacy standards in AMC is ensured through aggregation thresholds.

AMC Clean Room and Cloud DSP

A core element of AMC is the “Amazon Marketing Cloud Clean Room.” However, it is important to note that a data clean room is not limited to AMC. Platforms like Snowflake, Google BigQuery, Azure, AWS, Databricks, and others can also operate as a DCR! Using industry-leading cloud warehouse and data lake solutions as the foundation of an Amazon Ads data clean room is powerful and flexible.

For a deep dive into this topic, see Building An Amazon Marketing Cloud Clean Room.

Learning and Development

Amazon offers various Marketing Cloud learning and development resources. These include webinars, tutorials, and comprehensive guides covering all aspects of Amazon advertising.

Amazon Marketing Cloud Certification

Amazon offers certification for those seeking to demonstrate deeper expertise. This certification program is designed for professionals who want to showcase their proficiency in using AMC for data analysis and campaign management. The certification process involves rigorous training and assessment, ensuring that certified individuals possess the skills and knowledge necessary to leverage AMC effectively.

Amazon Advertising Foundations Certification Assessment?—?United States: The assessment covers various aspects of Amazon advertising, from basic concepts to more advanced strategies involving AMC. It’s designed to ensure that professionals using the platform are equipped with the latest knowledge and best practices in Amazon advertising. By obtaining this certification, marketers can improve their skills and gain a competitive edge in the industry, showcasing their expertise in leveraging one of the most powerful advertising platforms in the digital landscape.

Summary

Amazon Marketing Cloud and the data fueling it empower businesses to drive more efficient and effective marketing campaigns through performance-based marketing, robust reporting tools, and opportunities for professional certification.

By leveraging AMC’s capabilities, especially the underlying datasets, companies can make informed decisions, tailor their strategies to meet consumer needs and achieve a greater return on their advertising investments.

Getting Started With Marketing Cloud Reporting

Openbridge integration is a code-free, fully automated Amazon Ads API and Amazon Selling Partner API integration to your trusted data clean room. By providing advertisers, sellers, and vendors with fast access to their data, they can accelerate the speed to gain valuable insights that deliver data-driven growth and profit.

Get a 30-day free trial of the code-free Openbridge data integration for Amazon Advertising, Amazon Selling Partner, and Amazon Vendor Central.

FAQ: Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)

What is Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)?

Amazon Marketing Cloud is a cloud-based analytical tool designed for advertisers. It enables the integration and analysis of data from various Amazon Ads campaigns, including Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display ads. AMC provides valuable insights into the customer journey, helping advertisers optimize their marketing strategies.

How does AMC work with Amazon Web Services (AWS)?

AMC is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), leveraging its robust cloud infrastructure. This integration ensures high performance and scalability for processing large volumes of advertising data, including impressions, clicks, and conversions. An AMC instance is deployed within AWS.

Can AMC integrate data from cross-channel campaigns?

AMC can integrate data from cross-channel advertising campaigns, providing a comprehensive view of marketing efforts across different platforms, including Amazon and Google Ads, to create a targeted AMC audience.

What are the benefits of using the AMC data clean room?

The AMC data clean room is a secure environment that allows advertisers to analyze sensitive data without compromising user privacy. It’s an ideal place for merging and analyzing customer data from various sources, providing actionable insights while adhering to data privacy standards.

How do sponsored product ads and sponsored brand ads work within AMC?

AMC provides detailed performance analytics for sponsored product and brand ads. An Amazon advertiser can track the effectiveness of a brand, product, or display ad in real-time, gaining insights into their impact on sales and customer engagement.

What is the Amazon DSP Master Service Agreement?

The Amazon DSP Master Service Agreement outlines the terms and conditions for using Amazon’s DSP (Demand Side Platform). It is essential for advertisers who want to execute DSP campaigns, including display ads and streaming TV ads.

How can AMC help with retail media and Amazon seller campaigns?

AMC offers valuable insights into retail media strategies and Amazon seller campaigns. It helps advertisers understand how their sponsored ads perform on Amazon and other retail platforms, providing a clear picture of the marketing funnel and customer journey.

What types of insights can be gained from Amazon Marketing Cloud?

Amazon Marketing Cloud insights include detailed analysis of advertising campaign performance, customer behavior, and marketing effectiveness. These insights are crucial for developing actionable strategies to enhance ad campaign success.

Is there an Amazon Ads API available for AMC?

Yes, there is an Amazon Ads API available for AMC. This API allows for the automated retrieval and analysis of ad campaign data, facilitating seamless integration with other systems and tools.

Who are eligible advertisers for AMC?

Eligible advertisers for AMC typically include those engaged in executing Amazon ad campaigns, such as sponsored products, sponsored brands, and sponsored display ads. Retail dive Amazon advertisers and those using DSP campaigns can also benefit from AMC’s capabilities.

How does AMC help in understanding the customer journey?

AMC provides a holistic view of the customer journey by analyzing data from various touchpoints, including Amazon ads signals, customer interactions, and purchase behavior. This comprehensive view aids in crafting more effective marketing campaigns.

Can AMC be used for Google Ads data analysis?

While AMC is primarily designed for Amazon advertising data, it can provide insights complementary to Google Ads campaigns, especially when analyzing customer behavior and market trends.

What are some examples of actionable insights provided by AMC

Actionable insights provided by AMC include optimizing ad spending, identifying high-performing customer segments, improving ad creativity based on performance data, and understanding how different stages of the marketing funnel contribute to conversions.

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Amazon Marketing Cloud: Unlocking Insights That Drive Growth was originally published in Openbridge on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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