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Being an advertiser on Amazon can be exciting for a number of reasons. For example, the platform is regularly updating and adding game-changing capabilities for brands. In September of this year, Amazon Advertising released a slew of updates. And one, in particular, has been met with great enthusiasm at MPS; negative ASIN targeting for automatic campaigns. With this, advertisers can be more efficient and worry less about wasting spend on default placements that underperform. Continue reading to learn more and for strategic insight.

What this Means for Brands 

With this new capability, sellers can now ensure certain products aren’t included in automatic campaigns. Doing so will allow advertisers to make the most of their ad spend. Before this update, negative ASIN targeting wasn’t possible for automatic campaigns and ad spend was often wasted. Now many brands take advantage of this and are even more efficient by uploading negative product targets via bulk sheet.

Through negative ASIN targeting, brands can set criteria to qualify a product as 'negative' and be more intentional with ad delivery. For example, once a product aligns with the number of clicks allowed without conversions, a product will be shut off for the campaign. This has allowed clients at MPS to see improvements in conversions and ACOS. 

Strategic Insight 

When this became available, MPS strategists tested negative ASIN targeting with several clients. At first, there wasn’t an obvious improvement in performance when ASINs were negated. However, the longer we ran the test, the clients saw a decrease in ACOS and an increase in ROI and RoAS of about 6%. 

Something to keep in mind is that automatic campaigns are algorithm-based. This means we can see short-term wins, but it’s possible the algorithm will recalibrate and campaigns will deliver on different ASINs to replace those that were negated. With this, mid-term and long-term improvements are more likely, as seen in our initial tests. 

Final Thoughts

Amazon Advertising continues to offer brands more control over their campaigns and strategy. Brands that take advantage of these capabilities and become early adopters will stand out among competitors. We anticipate this feature to evolve and for brands to gain access to additional targeting types.  

If you could use the support of a strategic partner, schedule a free consultation. We’re here to answer any questions about your Amazon Advertising campaigns and efforts across marketplaces.