The holiday season keeps starting earlier and stretching longer. That means brands can’t just focus on Black Friday and Cyber Monday anymore — they need a strategy that carries through continuous deal weeks. In this episode of The Ad Project, Joe Shelerud and Maarja Hewitt walk through a 7-step Q4 checklist:

• Budget pacing across a longer season
• Inventory planning and forecasting
• Creative testing with urgency messaging
• Strengthening full-funnel advertising
• Monitoring competitors and share of voice
• Expanding beyond Amazon to Walmart & Target
• Measuring and adapting with AMC

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DSP can feel like a big leap—but it’s becoming a must-have for growth-oriented brands. In this episode, Maarja Hewitt welcomes Tony Miller, Director of Programmatic Strategy at Ad Advance, to break down what Amazon DSP actually is and how it works. You’ll learn:

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• What makes DSP different from Sponsored Ads
• Key benefits like audience targeting and creative flexibility
• When a brand is ready to layer on DSP
• Real success stories and recent updates (like AI tools and Disney/Roku inventory)
• How DSP ties in with Amazon Marketing Cloud for better attribution

Whether you're DSP-curious or ready to scale, this episode lays the foundation.

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AI is changing advertising—and fast. In this episode, Joe and Maarja break down how AI is impacting the world of Amazon and retail media, from generative creative tools to AI-driven customer journeys and predictive campaign optimization. They explore what’s real, what’s hype, and what it all means for brands and marketers.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Amazon’s creative tools and generative AI are speeding up campaign execution and testing.
• Conversational AI is changing how consumers shop, moving discovery beyond traditional search.
• AI is pushing retailers toward campaign automation, shifting human focus to strategy.
• Traffic is dropping from search engines, but AI is boosting high-intent site visits.

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In episode 164 of The Ad Project, Joe Shelerud (CEO) and Matt Wiklund (CTO) break down how to select the right KPIs for your Amazon advertising strategy—whether you’re selling high-ticket one-time purchases or repeat-consumable goods. They explore how ROAS, TACoS, new-to-brand metrics, and customer acquisition costs should flex based on your brand’s goals and product lifecycle.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• ROAS isn’t always the north star—context is key.
• TACoS is your go-to for measuring incrementality.
• New-to-brand ROAS and CAC matter more for consumables and repeat-purchase brands.
• Use LTV analysis to identify your highest-impact gateway products.

👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.

In this episode of The Ad Project Podcast, Joe Shelerud and Maarja Hewitt break down Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) in the simplest terms yet. AMC has become a buzzword in the advertising world — but what is it really, and why should brands care? Joe and Maarja cover everything from what a "data clean room" actually means, to how AMC allows advertisers to unify data across Sponsored Ads, DSP, and even Streaming TV.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• AMC offers a full-funnel view beyond last-click attribution.
• New tools and AI make AMC more accessible than ever.
• Brands can justify upper-funnel spend with detailed customer journey data.
• Audience creation within AMC allows for more refined targeting and strategy.

Whether you're brand new to AMC or looking to refine your data strategy, this episode is your go-to primer.

👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.

Retail media is having a moment — and facing major growing pains. Joe and Maarja dive into why so many retailers are launching networks, how fragmentation is creating operational headaches, and what advertisers should focus on now. From privacy shifts and first-party data goldmines to the need for standardization and consolidation, they share actionable insights on navigating this evolving space. Learn how to prioritize, test, and measure smarter as retail media matures.

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Prime Day 2025 is going from 2 to 4 days—and advertisers need to be ready. In this episode, Joe Shelerud and Maarja Hewitt break down what this longer event means for budget pacing, conversion trends, and media planning. They explore performance data from past Prime Days, how the extended format could shift buyer behavior, and what strategies will help brands win this year.

🔑 Key Takeaways include:

• Budget pacing strategies across four days
• How deal participation impacts conversion and ROAS
• Why Day 1 will likely still dominate in traffic
• Post-Prime Day opportunities for retargeting and LTV gains

👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.

Prime Day 2025 is stretching into four days, opening up huge opportunities — and new complexities — for brands on Amazon. In this special guest-hosted episode, Tony Miller (Director of Programmatic Strategy) and Isaac Shelton (Sr. Account Manager) lay out a tactical, AMC-powered strategy to win across each phase of Prime Day.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Learn from past Prime Day data: 3x impressions, 2.6x sales
• Why AMC outperforms traditional reporting
• The 3-stage approach: Lead-In, Deal Days, and Lead-Out
• How to build and layer audiences for precision targeting
• Use AMC to guide spend pacing, retargeting, and repeat purchase strategies

If you’re not using AMC this Prime Day, you’re leaving valuable performance on the table.

👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.