Podcast Summary

DTC Podcast – Episode 585

Episode Title: Amazon Marketing Cloud: 5 Audience Plays to Lower ACOS on Competitive Keywords
Date: February 13, 2026
Host: Eric (DTC Newsletter & Podcast)
Guest: Tyler (Head of Amazon at Pilothouse)

Episode Overview

This episode is a deep dive into the recently expanded Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), focusing on how direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands can now leverage AMC audience building and analytics capabilities to lower Advertising Cost of Sales (ACOS), particularly when bidding on competitive keywords. Tyler, from Pilothouse, shares tactical, real-world examples and best practices for building high-converting audiences, navigating analytics, and maximizing efficiency without advanced technical skills.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Amazon Marketing Cloud – What’s New?

• AMC is now accessible to all sellers:
  Previously limited to agencies and large brands, AMC (Amazon Marketing Cloud) is now available more broadly, making its powerful analytics and audience-building tools usable for small and midsize brands.

  • Quote: “Before, it was kind of gatekept... Now everyone has access. So it's worth talking about.” (A, 01:27)

• Core functionalities:
  AMC acts as both a data clean room for deep analysis and an audience builder for advanced targeting overlays in your campaigns.

  • Quote: “Think of AMC as a data clean room where you can analyze your Amazon ad performance in a much deeper way.” (B, 02:27)

2. Audience Building Strategies to Lower ACOS

• Pre-built audiences vs. custom SQL queries:

  • Pre-built audiences/templates are accessible without coding.
  • For advanced targeting (e.g., targeting users browsing certain nodes/products), brands can use AMC’s new AI agent to help write SQL queries—even without high technical skill.
  • Quote: “Anything where a prebuilt audience doesn't help you, that's where you're going to have to use this AI agent.” (A, 03:34)

• Tactical use cases:

  • Retarget high-intent shoppers.
  • Exclude recent purchasers from campaign targeting.
  • Build lookalike audiences, e.g., based on customer LTV cohorts.

• Balancing specificity and scalability:

  • Avoid over-narrowing, which can shrink your audience too much and impact conversion rates.
  • Test new audience overlays in fresh, separate campaigns to compare performance.
  • Quote: “It's super important to keep at least net new campaigns that you build separate from your older campaigns.” (A, 04:36)

• Real-world example:
  For a rugged cooler, instead of bidding on the generic “cooler” keyword, overlay an audience of users who browse sports, outdoors, camping—making generic keyword bids more cost-efficient and relevant.

  • Quote: “… overlay an audience that you selected based on customers that browsed certain nodes... So then you're targeting this audience that might be already qualified...” (A, 06:30)

3. Analytics and Reporting in AMC

• Pre-built reports for most users:

  • Around 15 templates exist; these can reveal how multiple campaigns combine to affect conversions.
  • Even without coding, actionable insights can be drawn (e.g., which campaign combinations drive incremental sales).
  • Quote: “When you go beyond [prebuilt templates] it starts to get very complex... What I would recommend is to stick to the pre built ones that are in the console.” (A, 07:51)

• Practical findings:

  • Combination analysis: See which sets of campaigns amplify conversion, and which don’t.
  • Audience overlays: Use analytics to identify which audiences convert best with which campaigns.

• Accessibility:

  • For deep, custom reporting, brands likely need to be spending $20K+ per month to justify the resource investment.

  • Quote: “From a reporting perspective that threshold is probably higher because there's more development hours... at least like 20k in spend per month...” (A, 11:22)

4. AI Tools and Workflow

• AI aids for SQL and creative ideation:
  • AMC’s built-in AI agent and external tools like Gemini or ChatGPT can help write queries or ideate next-gen creative content.
  • The Pilothouse team mostly relies on AMC’s AI agent or templates rather than direct SQL expertise.
  • Quote: “We don't have any like expert SQL writer on our side.” (A, 12:46)
  • Quote: “It's really helpful in trying to, let's say, think through like the next generation of content... but I wouldn't say it's being used for [reporting] on a daily basis.” (A, 13:17)

5. Testing & Recommendations for DTC Brands

• When to use AMC:

  • For reporting: Wait until monthly spend exceeds ~$20K.
  • For audience overlays: Any campaign with high ACOS where other optimizations have been exhausted.
  • Quote: “Anytime that you have an expensive campaign and you've done everything else... then you can say, okay, this is still an expensive campaign. Maybe I do want to overlay an audience.” (A, 11:22)

• Action steps for listeners:

  • Try a prebuilt audience and run a templated report.
  • Use funnel-position audiences for more granular in-market targeting.
  • Analyze interplay between DSP (Demand Side Platform) and other Amazon ads to gauge true incrementality.
  • Quote: “Now you can actually run a pre built analytics report that says, hey, once they've seen your DSP ad, how do they actually respond to your sponsored brand ad?... That's actually what I would urge people to use it for.” (A, 14:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AMC’s Accessibility:
  “Now everyone has access. So it's worth talking about.” — Tyler (01:27)

• On Audience Overlays vs. Keyword Targeting:
  “You may actually be able to overlay an audience where you're still targeting generic keywords... But then you overlay an audience... camping and hiking... so then you're targeting this audience that might be already qualified…” — Tyler (06:30)

• On Campaign Efficiency:
  “It's super important to keep at least net new campaigns that you build separate from your older campaigns.” — Tyler (04:36)

• On When Brands Should Dive into AMC:
  “From a reporting perspective... at least like 20k in spend per month... but from an audience perspective... the threshold for that is small because if it works, you've now saved yourself money...” — Tyler (11:22)

• On the Amazon–OpenAI Partnership Rumor:
  “OpenAI plus Amazon is the ultimate partnership.” — Tyler (17:08)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – Intro to AMC accessibility and value
• 02:27 – AMC as a data clean room, analytics & audience builder
• 03:34 – Using AI agents for SQL and custom audiences
• 04:36 – Testing, net new campaign strategy, and cost implications
• 06:30 – Example: Targeting rugged cooler buyers with audience overlays
• 07:51 – Analytics: Prebuilt vs. custom reports
• 11:22 – Spend thresholds: When to use AMC reporting vs. audience building
• 13:17 – Using AI agents and external tools for ideation and reports
• 14:27 – Using AMC to measure ad campaign interplay—DSP and sponsored ads
• 16:04 – Discussion on Amazon-OpenAI partnership news

Final Takeaways

• AMC’s data and segmentation capabilities are more powerful and accessible than ever; brands can and should experiment with prebuilt audiences and templates to find cost savings and new optimization angles—especially on broad, competitive keywords.
• Over-customization can narrow audience reach, so new audience overlays should be tested in isolated campaigns.
• For advanced analytics, stick with templates unless you have substantial ad spend and technical resources.
• AI tools lower technical barriers, but most DTC brands today will find the most immediate benefit via AMC’s no-code options.
• The evolving landscape (Amazon-OpenAI) will continue to shape how ads are targeted and measured—brands should pay attention to these macro shifts.