LSM Global helped Square Japan introduce their product to Amazon Japan with a comprehensive sponsored ads strategy

Square Japan helps businesses process transactions using their POS devices, offering a range of contactless, chip reader, and magstripe solutions. When the brand began to sell on Amazon Japan, they encountered a two-part advertising challenge: POS solutions were relatively new to Japanese audiences, and Amazon Japan did not have a product category for them yet.

At the same time, the existing POS space was dominated by competitors who rented out hardware. Potential customers were more accustomed to this model than the idea of purchasing POS hardware directly from a brand. To grow sales, Square Japan needed to build awareness of and consideration for not just their products but their business model itself.

LSM Global undertook this challenge with a nuanced approach, crafting a sponsored ads strategy that addressed all stages of the customer journey. They set several goals for the campaigns, such as taking advantage of January’s high traffic and seasonal trends within the business category to enhance brand awareness and consideration, achieving a cost per acquisition (CPA) below $20, and upholding Square as a leading brand in the Japanese digital payments industry. Throughout the collaboration, the partner used insights from the Amazon Ads API to optimize campaigns and maximize efficiency.

First, LSM Global focused on early-funnel Sponsored Display campaigns. By reaching specific categories and audiences, particularly businesses, they generated palpable interest in Square’s POS systems. Then they identified complementary products, such as cash registers, that would naturally pair with Square’s credit card readers. These products were not only used to identify similar brands but also to expand the audience reach for Sponsored Display and Sponsored Products campaigns. For the middle of the funnel, they conducted keyword analysis and testing to identify which terms yielded the best balance of consideration and relative cost.

Using a combination of keyword, audience, and complementary category strategies, LSM Global ran Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Brands video ads for Square Japan. These sponsored ads campaigns helped bolster product awareness even further, effectively engaging potential customers. Given the functionality and aesthetics of Square Japan’s products, Sponsored Brands video was particularly effective at helping to deliver a compelling narrative to potential buyers. Much of the Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Brands video campaign traffic went directly to Square Japan’s Brand Store, which helped further educate customers about their product range.

After LSM Global’s campaign, Square Japan saw impressive results. Sales soared at 990% year over year (YoY), far surpassing the initial goal of 250%.¹ Impressions, clicks, and conversion rate (CVR) all exceeded expectations, growing by 90%, 167%, and 372 bps YoY, respectively.² Square Japan also saw a 74% YoY reduction in their CPA, far outpacing the goal of 10% established at the outset of the campaign.³ And despite their 9x sales growth, the brand’s costs only increased by 110%.⁴

Thanks to LSM Global’s expertise, Square Japan has defined a new product category on Amazon Japan.