Podcast Summary: The CPG Guys – Live from unBoxed 2025 with Amazon’s Wayne Purboo

Date: December 10, 2025
Hosts: Peter V.S. Bond (PVSB) & Sri Rajagopalan
Guest: Wayne Purboo, Vice President, Amazon Ads Shoppable Videos
Location: Amazon unBoxed 2025, Nashville, Tennessee

Episode Overview

This episode, recorded live at Amazon’s unBoxed 2025 event, centers on the transformative power of shoppable video for CPG brands and advertisers. Hosts Peter and Sri engage Wayne Purboo in a deep-dive on Amazon Ads' innovative video and live shopping technologies, the role of video content in the purchase journey, measurement and best practices for brands, and insights into where the future of commerce-driven media is headed. The conversation is candid, insightful, and weaves together industry expertise with personal anecdotes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Wayne Purboo’s Professional Journey & Role at Amazon

[04:18-06:49]

• Startup to Amazon: Wayne has 30+ years in tech/media, mostly at startups. He’s been part of three major exits before Amazon.
• Joining Amazon: Initially recruited to solve how to make shopping on Amazon more entertaining and help customers make better decisions through shoppable video.
• Current Role: Oversees the video advertising product and ecosystem, focusing on driving video immersion across all shoppable surfaces—product pages, search, livestreams, and more.

  “We want to make sure that there is a video for them to consume everywhere that customers journey touches.” — Wayne Purboo [06:00]

2. The Power and Authenticity of Creator Content

[07:10-08:46]

• Authenticity Drives Conversion: Shoppers trust creators’ authentic perspectives, especially those they follow on other platforms, influencing purchases through relatability.
• Amazon Live Evolution: Explosive brand adoption has shifted Amazon Live from D2C to major B2B applications, featuring creators to build deeper connections.

  “Being able to fortify those decisions with creator content is really, really important.” — Wayne Purboo [07:10]

3. Entrepreneurship & Operating with Scarcity in Large Ecosystems

[09:34-13:21]

• Start-up Lessons at Scale: Wayne applies start-up agility and resourcefulness (“what’s urgent vs. just important”) within Amazon’s vast, but still resource-constrained, environment.
• Scarcity Mindset: The startup experience of making hard trade-offs is invaluable at Amazon, where prioritization is still essential.

  “You never have enough resources… you have to make difficult trade offs.” — Wayne Purboo [10:51]

• “Ugly Baby” Talks: Wayne humorously recounts pitching early mobile video at QuickPlay and learning resilience when others don’t see the vision.

  “It’s your baby but everybody’s going to tell you how ugly it is…and you got to get used to that.” — Wayne Purboo [14:58]

4. Amazon as a Commerce & Media Platform, Beyond Retail

[16:53-17:59]

• Inspiration Through Video: While many still see Amazon as strictly a marketplace, media (especially video) is at the heart of inspiring customers—echoing the legacy of television influencing purchase decisions.

  “Customers are inspired by media, right?...All we’re really discussing is how does that manifest itself in the Amazon marketplace?” — Wayne Purboo [17:16]

5. Common Pitfalls in Brand Video Strategy

[18:36-19:53]

• Lack of Customer Focus: Many videos simply list features rather than solving customer problems or answering their key questions.
• Intentional Content Creation: Brands should identify top customer queries for their product (via Amazon’s Rufus, other data) and create targeted, problem-solving video content.

  “A lot of times the videos that brands create do not answer a customer problem.” — Wayne Purboo [18:36]

6. The Need for Category-Specific & Highly Intentional Videos

[20:28-22:09]

• Not One-Size-Fits-All: The most effective video strategies differ substantially by product and even by ASIN. Each should address specific consumer concerns—e.g., battery life for phones, regimen for skincare.

  “Every product needs to have three or four videos, not just generalized product videos...” — Wayne Purboo [20:28]

7. Measurement: Going Beyond ROAS

[22:33-23:22]

• Full Funnel Metrics: Brands should look at actions beyond immediate conversion—video completion rates, engagements (likes, watches), post-view actions (visits to brand store, new-to-brand purchases).

  “There’s a number of high-value actions that customers can take both during the video…and then there’s a bunch of post consumption metrics.” — Wayne Purboo [22:33]

• Bridging Upper and Lower Funnel: Amazon is working to make video both a conversion and brand-building tool, but acknowledges internal budget “silos” can inhibit holistic investment.

8. Storytelling and Emotional Engagement

[25:42-27:30]

• Experience Over Features: The best videos tell compelling stories that evoke emotion, not just list specs. Wayne cites a long-form Tastemade video for San Pellegrino focused on a family meal—brand only referenced implicitly at the end.

  “Video creates emotions, and emotions last longer than product detail pages.” — Wayne Purboo [27:34]

• Emotional Longevity: Video’s impact on brand memory and purchase intent endures far beyond short-term attribution windows.

9. Feedback Mechanisms & Consumer Engagement

[28:48-29:41]

• Implicit and Explicit Data: Amazon uses a blend of video completions, likes, and later purchase actions to gauge video impact. The ambition is to “remove the glass” and make the consumer feel part of the story through feedback loops.

  “How do we remove the glass…so that the customer feels like they’re part of that experience.” — Wayne Purboo [28:48]

10. Full Funnel & Ubiquity of Video Strategy

[30:26-32:01]

• Consistent Storytelling: Brands should reinforce their story across fragmented customer journeys—on and off Amazon, including livestreams, AI-powered shopping assistants, and PDPs.

  “I think brands need to understand this journey and be able to reinforce that storytelling all over…” — Wayne Purboo [30:26]

• Differentiation: Especially for commodity CPG categories, video offers a chance to communicate R&D and brand values that differentiate products.

11. Best Practices and Frameworks for Success

[32:15-35:25]

• Intentional and Authentic Content: Always craft videos around pains and gains unique to your category/ASIN. Utilize creators for authenticity and to show complementary products in context.

  “Be very intentional with your videos. Address [customer pains and gains] so the customers get what they need and they can make a really good purchase decision.” — Wayne Purboo [32:44]

• Complementary Products & Use Cases: Videos showing how products work together (e.g., microphones with pop filters) are highly valuable, yet often overlooked.

12. Democratizing Video Creation

[37:21-38:48]

• Tools for All Brands: Amazon’s Creative Studio enables lower-budget and smaller brands to produce intentional, effective videos—lowering the barriers to entry for video content.

  “We’re building [Creative Studio] to really democratize video creation for brands… a real low-cost way for them to create those videos.” — Wayne Purboo [37:21]

• Leave R&D in Videos: High-end brands should lean into storytelling about what makes their product special, educating customers on the “why” behind the product.

13. The Future of Video & Commerce: The AI-Driven Journey

[40:01-42:00]

• Multiple Shopping Modes: Traditional retail, hybrid experiences (using AI, social media, and commerce), and agent-driven ("agentic") shopping will coexist, with video content fueling all.
• Agentic Commerce Challenge: Brands will have to adapt to digital agents making decisions for consumers and learn how to ensure agents accurately represent their value.

  “How do brands participate? How do they ensure that the agents understand their best…in this agentic environment? That’s TBD…” — Wayne Purboo [41:13]

Memorable Quotes

• On intentionality:
  “A lot of times the videos that brands create do not answer a customer problem.” — Wayne Purboo [18:36]

• On full-funnel measurement:
  “Video is really full funnel... That’s why building more intentional video can help them through that consideration.” — Wayne Purboo [22:09]

• On emotional branding:
  “Video creates emotions, and emotions last longer than product detail pages.” — Wayne Purboo [27:34]

• On democratizing content creation:
  “We’re building [Creative Studio] to really democratize video creation for brands...” — Wayne Purboo [37:21]

• On evolving commerce:
  "There’s going to be different modes of shopping... And I think...the forward leaning is this agentic [era] and how do brands participate?...That’s TBD." — Wayne Purboo [41:13]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Wayne’s background and Amazon responsibilities: 04:18–06:49
• Creator authenticity and Amazon Live expansion: 07:10–08:46
• Start-up mindset within Amazon: 10:04–13:21
• Amazon as a media/commerce platform: 16:53–17:59
• Mistakes brands make with video: 18:36–19:53
• Category-specific, actionable videos: 20:28–22:09
• Full funnel measurement and metrics: 22:33–23:22
• The power of storytelling and emotional engagement: 25:42–27:34
• Using feedback and consumer signals: 28:48–29:41
• Best practices and category adaptation: 32:15–34:39
• Creative Studio and democratization of video: 37:21–38:48
• AI and the future of agentic commerce: 40:01–42:00

Key Takeaways

• Shoppable video is central to Amazon’s future vision—improving the purchase journey and driving both consideration and conversion.
• Authentic creator content and livestreaming generate trust and engagement.
• Brands must evolve past generic video to answer real customer queries with intent and specificity.
• Measurement should encompass both upper and lower funnel results—engagement, actions, and brand impact.
• Amazon’s tools (like Creative Studio) empower brands of all sizes, democratizing effective video creation.
• Forward-looking brands should prepare for an AI- and agent-driven shopping ecosystem where narrative control and insight into customer journeys are even more critical.