Migration note (Phase 1b) — Reproduced from the legacy article "How to plan my Ad Spend for Event Days". Content is lightly restructured, not yet optimised or fact-checked. For Prime Day specifically, see the dedicated Preparing for Prime Day guide.
Amazon event days — such as Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or seasonal holiday peaks — are pivotal moments for maximising sales through strategic advertising. Planning your ad spend effectively can significantly enhance visibility and drive conversions. This guide is event-agnostic: use it to plan ad spend for any peak event throughout the year.
1. Getting started: use historical data
Product performance and ASIN Focus
Analyse year-over-year (YoY) performance data to understand sales trends and identify top-performing ASINs leading up to the event:
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Product Performance (Vendor / Seller) — create your own table overviews with chosen KPIs for fast current-vs-previous-year comparisons.
Compare advertising performance
Use historical data to compare ad spend and sales metrics YoY, gauging the effectiveness of past strategies during event periods, and assess ROAS to optimise budgets:
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ASIN per Campaign performance — compare your top ASINs' current performance with the previous year, and check which campaigns each ASIN runs in and how it performs in each. For ASINs running poorly in one or more campaigns, create single-ASIN campaigns or reallocate the ASIN to another campaign.
Refine targeting strategies
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Keyword and product targeting: review past campaigns to identify high-converting keywords relevant to event-specific trends, and incorporate event-specific keywords to capitalise on seasonal search behaviour. See Keyword Targeting and the 360 Sponsored Ads Report.
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Campaign-level analysis: evaluate past campaign performance at the targeting level to refine parameters and replicate successful methods.
Assess special campaigns and promotions
Review performance metrics from past special campaigns (promotions, discounts) conducted during event days to assess engagement and sales impact, and analyse targeting effectiveness and ASIN-level performance to optimise for future events.
2. Plan your budget
Determine total budget
Based on historical performance and expected sales uplift, calculate the total ad spend required. Consider past event performance, current market trends, and available inventory.
Distribute budget across campaigns
Allocate a larger portion to high-performing products and ASINs identified through YoY analysis. Set aside funds for special promotions and event-specific keywords to capture increased search traffic.
Dynamic budget adjustment
Prepare to adjust budgets in real time based on performance. Increase spend on top-performing campaigns and reduce spend on underperforming ones to maximise ROI.
To set and track your budget and goals across the year, use the Advertising Budget planner — see Setting Advertising Goals (Setup → Business Goals).
3. Real-time monitoring
Continuously monitor campaign performance during the event and adjust bids, budgets, and targeting in real time. Vendors can use the Rapid Retail Analytics dashboard to evaluate real-time sales and inventory data during peak seasons and event days. If you are not yet using Rapid Retail Analytics, contact your Account Manager for more information.
4. Evaluate performance and learn for future events
Post-event analysis
Conduct a comprehensive post-event analysis covering sales lift, ROAS, and customer acquisition. Use the insights to refine future ad-spend strategies and campaign tactics.
Budget readjustment
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Allocate more to successful campaigns that delivered strong performance and high ROAS.
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Reallocate funds from underperforming campaigns to more effective initiatives.
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Turn off or reduce budget for special-event campaigns that did not perform well.
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Iterative learning: continuously optimise ad spend based on historical learnings, market dynamics, and evolving customer behaviour.
Related: Preparing for Prime Day · Analysing ASIN-Level Sponsored Ads Performance · Setting Advertising Goals (§9 Setup).