Case Study
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Amerge boost movie ad performance and efficiency with AMC analytics
Goals
- Optimize advertising approach to reach the right audiences at the right times
- Understand how different advertising channels influence one another
- Improve efficiency and effectiveness of movie ads throughout the release cycle
Approach
- Gathered data from six Amazon DSP entities
- Used Amazon Marketing Cloud to run in-depth analytics
- Implemented direct remarketing and cross-campaign remarketing efforts
- Established frequency caps to maintain optimal ad exposure and engagement
Results
- 190% improvement in conversion rate after midmonth budget adjustment
- 68% decrease in cost per conversion compared to the monthly average
- 6% increase in conversions after one Amazon DSP impression
- 40% reduction in cost per unique user from October 2023 to January 2024
A movie’s lifecycle encompasses multiple stages: the initial cinema release, physical product releases, and digital releases. Each stage requires a tailored approach to effectively engage the intended audiences.
That’s why Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), a subsidiary of the multinational Sony Group, wants to align their ad strategies with each stage, all while balancing cost and impact. This requires the company to understand audience preferences, optimize ad placements across channels, and deliver the right message at the right time to drive ticket sales, physical purchases, and digital rentals or subscriptions.
In the early 2000s, SPE began to sell their physical media on Amazon. The company has since adopted different Amazon Ads solutions, including Amazon DSP and Fire TV ads, to promote movies throughout their release cycles. However, they wanted to make this approach more efficient and effective.
Using AMC analytics to understand cross-channel ad influence
In August 2023, to help achieve their goals, SPE engaged Amerge, an Amazon Ads partner that helps clients achieve sustainable growth on Amazon by boosting sales, reducing operational costs, and expanding into new regions and audience groups. The teams wanted to understand how different advertising channels influenced one another and impacted a customer’s decision to purchase or rent movies, especially in Germany.
Amerge gathered data from six Amazon DSP entities, which are overseen by SPE departments and external partners. Then, they ran the following analytics using Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC):
- Grouping of different Amazon DSP activities
- Path to conversion by device
- Time to conversion
- Path to conversion by campaign type, tracking metrics such as ad spend, unique users, purchases, purchase rate, ad sales, and return on ad spend (ROAS)
- Multitouch attribution, including last touch, linear touch, and first touch
- Overlap and reach of unique users across all campaign types
- Impression frequency for all Amazon DSP activity
Implementing data-driven strategies to engage customers
Through the AMC analysis, Amerge discovered that 19% of ad spend was allocated to the conversion path from the first to the second Amazon DSP display campaign, which reached 22% of total unique users and drove 16% of all ad sales.1 Linear multitouch attribution also showed that the first Amazon DSP display campaign and the Fire TV ads campaign accounted for 41% and 28% of SPE’s ad sales, respectively.2
The analysis also found that customers who interacted with two or more campaigns had a 93% higher conversion rate compared to those who engaged with only one campaign.3 The data revealed that customers converting through TV devices yielded a higher ROAS compared to those converting on a desktop, with TV-exposed customers being 129% more likely to convert.4 Similarly, customers exposed to ads on phone and tablet devices were 216% more likely to convert.5
Based on these insights, Amerge devised an action plan for SPE. They implemented direct remarketing from prerelease to postrelease activities and established cross-campaign remarketing efforts. They established frequency caps to prevent audience saturation, which limited the number of times a unique user would see an ad. Amerge also shifted the focus of Amazon DSP campaigns toward phone and tablet devices.
I was very impressed by the detailed AMC analysis that the Amerge team provided. The analysis ‘path to conversion by campaign type’ showcases the different touchpoints our customers have before they purchase our movies, proving the importance of both upper-funnel and lower-funnel advertising.
— Jürgen Thumm, director digital GSA, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Driving better movie ad performance with AMC insights
Using insights from AMC analytics, SPE experienced a significant boost in conversions and ad efficiency. By enforcing frequency cap recommendations, they managed to strike the optimal balance between ad exposure and engagement. As a result, from October 2023 to January 2024, the volume of conversions increased by 6% after just one Amazon DSP impression.6
SPE’s commitment to data-driven optimization led to further improvements. Based on a midmonth AMC analysis, SPE strategically adjusted their budget allocation in December 2023. This optimization led to a 190% improvement in their conversion rate compared to their monthly average.7 Moreover, the cost per conversion decreased by 68%.8
Moving forward, Amerge and SPE will continue to monitor ad performance and customer behavior to further optimize their approach. Using AMC analytics, they plan to explore the most successful paths to conversion and activate those journeys using Amazon DSP.
We offer our clients more than just organized AMC data presented in a transparent and comprehensible manner. Our consultancy and varied analyses provide a thorough understanding of the opportunities AMC offers, empowering clients to adapt their strategies accordingly.
— Miriam Sodergren, global category lead, entertainment, Amerge
1-8 Amerge, DE, 2023