DTC Ads Influence Amazon Search and Sales: Zeenk’s “Halo Study” reveals causal relationship between channels

UPDATE: Amazon Advertising recently published The Halo Study to their case study library.

Summary:

Thrasio, a leading next-generation consumer goods company and large scale Amazon aggregator with over 200 brands, wanted to understand the impact of their multi-channel strategy in order to optimize their spend between their direct to consumer and their Amazon channels. Thrasio engaged Zeenk to design and execute a “Halo” study to quantify the causal relationship between their DTC advertising on Facebook and their impact on branded keyword searches and sales on Amazon.  

Methodology:

Using the Amazon Ads API, Zeenk conducted the study using Thrasio’s brand, Angry Orange (a deodorizing spray), and developed a Halo mechanism that examined the relationship between impressions from outside advertising channels and clicks by keyword on Amazon. Zeenk focused on branded keywords as the most reliable proxy for user intent post-engagement.  The study looked at both the long term relationship over 3 months and at a six week pulse test where Thrasio alternated increasing Facebook ad spend by 33% with business as usual every week, on their Angry Orange brand.  

Before and during the Halo study, Zeenk closely monitored and reviewed Amazon advertising and sales data to measure baseline and subsequent impact on branded search and advertising costs.  Specifically referencing the Amazon Sponsored Brand, Sponsored Product, and Sponsored Brands Video Campaign set of reports.  Zeenk used the Amazon Search Term report to track and measure the impact on relevant Angry Orange search terms within Amazon before and during the pulse test. 

Results:

The Halo Study revealed that Angry Orange’s campaigns on Facebook had positively impacted Amazon revenue in addition to their DTC sales.  Thus, factoring in the incremental sales on Amazon, Angry Orange’s campaign on Facebook actually produced 2x the observed Facebook ROAS. 

Baseline represents the company’s current normal spending, which is low in a historical context.  Each point is a monthly average taken from 3-month rolling windows. These averages exceed the current baseline. Subsequently, x-axis values begin above 100% of baseline.

Conclusion:

Zeenk’s Halo study enabled Thrasio to measure the relationship between their marketing campaigns and their multiple sales channels.  This allows Thrasio to better understand the influence each channel has in the customer journey and to use this information to optimize Thrasio’s advertising spend cross-channel. In addition, the study also demonstrates the benefits of a multi-channel sales strategy. As the study demonstrates, having an Amazon presence can drive incremental sales for a DTC brand.