By Averie Lynch
In today’s data-driven marketing landscape, the ability to ask the right questions is paramount.
Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) emerges as the magic 8-ball of advertising solutions, offering advertisers a robust platform for precise analytics and strategic decision-making. If you’re new to AMC, it’s a secure, privacy-friendly, dedicated cloud-based measurement and analytics solution introduced in 2021.
This article is part of a series where we dive into specific AMC use cases. We’ve previously written about:
- Using Media Overlap Analysis for enhanced conversions
- Using Tentpole Analysis for seasonal strategies
- Examples and trips for AMC’s Audience Builder tool
- Refining full-funnel marketing strategies with the Path to Purchase report
In this installment, we focus on the New-to-Brand (NTB) analysis, guiding you through utilizing this report to address critical business questions, pinpoint key metrics, and strategically apply derived insights. Let’s get started.
What is the NTB Analysis?
The NTB Analysis enables you to compare new-to-brand behaviors across ad types, products, and ad-attribution windows. Customers are considered to be new-to-brand if they purchase from your brand for the first time during the previous 365 day period. Use the NTB Analysis to:
- Evaluate which campaigns types are most effective at driving new customer growth
- Evaluate the performance of your promoted ASINs’ ability to attract new customers
- Compare the Customer Lifetime Value across different ad-attribution windows
Multiple reports are available to help answer key business questions about NTB customer behaviors. Understanding how to apply NTB tactics effectively is essential for scaling your business and achieving incremental growth.
Here are a few examples of the types of questions the New-to-Brand analysis addresses:
- How effective are your campaigns with reaching new-to-brand (NTB) customers?
- Of all the ad-attributed purchases, how much and what percentage of them are new-to-brand (NTB) purchases vs. repeat purchases?
- What is the impact of campaigns in terms of generating NTB purchases?
- What is long-term customer value when moving beyond 14-day ad-attributed metrics such as return on ad spend (ROAS)?
Helpful Reports to Answer the Above Questions:
Gateway ASIN Analysis
The Gateway ASIN analysis shows which products drive the most NTB purchases. The report provides the top converting ASINs from a NTB perspective. To enhance campaign strategies, advertisers can look at the Gateway ASIN analysis to find which ASINs should be promoted with creative to maximize conversion among NTB purchasers.
To use this query, advertisers must have promoted ASIN that resulted in ad-attributed purchases on Amazon. If you have pixel conversions only, this query is not suitable for your use case.
NTB by Ad Type
The NTB by ad type report compares performance across Amazon ad types. This query returns the ad type and the corresponding count of all customers who made a purchase, count of NTB customers and percentage of NTB customers. Advertisers can compare the NTB percentage across ad types to find which ones are most effective for driving growth. For instance, one might find that Amazon Sponsored Display campaigns result in a higher percentage of NTB customers compared to Amazon Sponsored Products ads.
To use this query, your ASINs must be tracked to campaigns. Campaigns used in this query should have the goal of reaching both new and existing customers. Campaigns should target both new and existing customers, instead of one customer type exclusively, for example only existing customers or only customers who never purchased.
NTB Purchases
The NTB Purchases report demonstrates the impact of campaigns on generating NTB purchases compared to repeat purchases. Advertisers can find which campaign type(s) is best for generating repeat purchases versus which campaign type(s) is best for generating NTB purchases. Advertisers can refine their target audience around their campaign goals. If goals are focused around incremental growth, advertisers can focus their media mix on campaigns most effective at driving NTB purchases.
To use this query, your ASINs must be tracked to campaigns. Campaigns used in this query should preferably have the goal of reaching both new and existing customers.
Comparing NTB Performance Across Other AMC Reports
Advertisers can look at reports such as the Media Overlap Analysis and the Path to Purchase Analysis in terms of NTB performance. This perspective can help identify which media mix is most effective for attracting NTB customers. Advertisers can build a stronger media mix for achieving their growth goals.
Flexible Shopping Insights
Flexible Shopping Insights (FSI) includes non ad-attributed conversions to capture a more comprehensive view of a customer’s value. Advertisers can compare the value of NTB versus existing customers with extended ad-attribution dates to provide a wider perspective on long-term customer value. The results of the analysis can drive strategic media buying decisions, providing recommendations on where to invest dollars depending on campaign goals. Once established, AMC audiences can be created to target the customer segment that best suits those goals.
A subscription is required to access Flexible Shopping Insights. Advertisers must have customer ASIN purchases on the Amazon ecommerce site (for example, amazon.com) to query the dataset.
AMC Audience Use Cases
AMC audience segments can be utilized to target NTB customers. For example, the High value NTB Audience segment targets shoppers who organically viewed a brand’s products within the last X amount of days but have not seen an ad. The lookback window can and should be customized depending on the product lifecycle. Account for products with a longer lifecycle with longer lookback dates and vice versa. This audience is available as a template located in Amazon’s IQL (Instruction Query Library). No coding is necessary to utilize this audience segment.
AMC’s NTB Analysis: Key Takeaways and Next Steps for Enhanced Conversions
AMC’s NTB analysis highlights the impact of advertising on NTB behaviors. NTB reports can be used to guide growth strategies around:
- Products
- Budgets
- Customer Lifetime Value
By building AMC audiences around NTB customers, advertisers can target more precise segments for higher returns and engagement. The use of NTB tactics expands a brand’s customer base, increases market share, and reaches untapped segments, which leads to sustainable, long-term growth.
“We use the NTB analysis to understand the most effective ways to reach and discover NTB customers. These insights inform our strategies across campaign considerations from budget allocation to audience targeting, ensuring efficient and scalable growth.”
Matt Harris Senior Strategist, Commerce Media at Tinuiti
If you have questions about NTB analysis or any other AMC use cases, reach out to Tinuiti today.