CRC’s E-commerce Summit’s attendees were 99% brand marketers on the client side with little to no agency folks barring a couple of presenters (they stated this stat in the opening keynote). As an agency media guy, this becomes interesting and a bit threatening when taking into account the heavy discussions and multitude of sessions centered around Analytics and Paid Media.
“Why is this interesting AND why feel a bit threatened?” you might ask. I’ll tell you why later.
Anyways, there was a lot of ground covered in one day. Here’s my top-3:
1. Modern Commerce. Back in the day, there was a separation and a “stay in your lane” gentleman’s rule that governed brands, retail stores, media (like TV shows or networks), and advertising vehicles. So, there were four different entities, killing it with their strategies, and winning together. Throw this away. Due to the huge shift in consumer behavior, brands creating content, the “buy right now and get it to me however I want it” mentality, and the margin pressure at the retailer—the lines are now blurred. The companies that are able to do all four will be the new winners. Ahead of the pack: Amazon. Remember back when Amazon was just a website selling books?
2. The Power of Retailer Websites. Yesterday, eMarketer announced that Amazon is now the Number 3 Ad-platform in the US. US digital ad revenues at Amazon will more than double this year, eMarketer estimates, moving it up the ranks past Oath and Microsoft to take the No. 3 position behind Facebook and Google. Shocking. At the Summit, it was mentioned that brands were going to triple their AMS spend this year “because it’s delivering the best ROAS across ALL touchpoints.” Four little Amazon takeaways: Amazon ASIN’s can be optimized to increase paid marketing run rate, Sponsored Products above the fold is where it’s at, Amazon will soon release an Attribution beta that will allow you to report external media’s effect on internal Amazon sales by allowing you to Amazon-pixel all your external creative (SO smart), and with the right tools, you can know EVERYTHING about what your competition is doing in Amazon and you can beat them. Where are brands pulling money from to fund their Amazon spend increase? TV and Search. Amazon is not the only retailer website worth advertising in, here are others: Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kroger, and Walmart. More on Walmart next.
3. Walmart is Innovating Hardcore. Walmart is not just the People of Walmart’s store of choice. They are ranked #1 in Fortune’s America’s Biggest Companies at $500B in revenue. They got here by innovating. Did you know that Walmart has Pickup Towers that allow you to buy online and pick-up in store in 11 seconds? They have Endless Aisle Kiosks that allow you to shop and pay in-aisle? They are testing a robot-driven pickup location where robots select, pack, and deliver online purchased products to you. Did you know that in Chandler, AZ they’ve partnered with Waymo to transport Walmart shoppers from home to store using autonomous, self-driving cars? They’ve also been ahead of the game in grocery delivery. Finally, the multitude of advertising options within their blue and orange app, including buyer vs. brand advertiser options were mesmerizing—dozens of placements, all with their own rules of bidding and buying, creative content plays, bundling widgets, and all the data you want.
So. Let’s get back to the “interesting and threatening” part of this. As an agency guy, we’ve had our share of competition: from the big consulting firms to the brands creating in-house agencies doing what we do and stealing our talent. Let’s add another notch to the brand belt here. So, who’s handling commerce marketing? Brands are. Brands are developing cross-functional commerce marketing teams with experts in analytics, digital marketing, and strategy. Who’s primarily managing Amazon marketing? 60% internal brand e-com team and 27% internal marketing team. We’re in the other 14%.