Local to global: How Marketing Manager Macha is re-imagining advertising for our smaller customers
Say “Hi” to Macha Sabarly, a Marketing Manager based in France. Here Macha shares how she’s helping re-imagine advertising by supporting smaller advertisers to expand into new countries, discover more customers, and grow their businesses. You can also learn more about Macha’s own Amazon experience and her brilliant advice for people interested in joining Amazon Ads.
Can you tell us a little more about what you do?
Instead of focusing on large accounts with dedicated Account Managers, my team helps advertisers that lack that level of support. So I help mainly small and medium businesses that can self-serve their advertising activity on the Amazon Ads console but often require educational materials and support through scaled communications.
There are essentially two aspects to my job. First, I explain the benefits of global advertising, providing insights on how it can help an organization’s sales growth and visibility across locales. I also help businesses determine the most suitable countries and strategies for their expansion.
Second, I collaborate with Ad Products & Tech teams at Amazon. These teams are responsible for enhancing the user interface of the Amazon Ads console, such as local campaign organization, keyword translations, and easy campaign duplication, all designed to support advertising across multiple countries.
Our ultimate goal is to make advertising across 20 countries as straightforward as it is in an advertiser’s home country.
How do you know if your work has an impact?
We don't simply launch initiatives and hope for the best. We aim to understand the downstream impact of our efforts. For instance, in email marketing or social campaigns, we can track attributions through conversion rates. This allows us to see how many people converted after a new campaign launch, especially when expanding to new countries. Our campaigns are designed to drive decision-making and action for our advertisers, such as expanding abroad.
It's kind of democratizing advertising—; even small advertisers gain access to vast audiences and are able to build their brands.
What is it like to work at Amazon?
Despite occasional challenges, the culture of teamwork and collaboration is unmatched compared with my previous experiences. I collaborate with stakeholders from a wide range of teams, including product, education, and events, which adds real diversity to my work. Diversity and collaboration are two key aspects that stand out.
Has there been anything surprising in your time at Amazon?
The learning curve never flattens! Even if you feel comfortable in your role, change is constant, whether it's due to evolving responsibilities or the fast-paced nature of the business. Some people might find it uncomfortable, but I enjoy the fact that things don’t stay the same. Amazon also allows you to explore new areas of interest. The learning resources range from training videos to exposure to different teams, even those outside your immediate role.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of applying?
Don’t be intimidated by job descriptions and requirements. Often, job postings can seem daunting, but they aren’t set in stone. You might bring skills to the table that aren't listed. So go for it. While the application process can be time-consuming, you have nothing to lose.
Also make an effort to connect with current Amazon employees to understand the company culture, as Amazon has some really interesting ways of working. Take the Amazon Leadership Principles as an example. They’re omnipresent in everything we do.
Amazon is pretty different from other companies; that’s one of the things I like about it.