Pictured Above: The Bezos’-signed Clear Puzzle Piece award my INSITU launch partners and I received for our bespoke rollover offset technology.

INSITU transformS how Amazon approacheS on-package advertising

Streamlining processes and empowering creatives to innovate more efficiently across global campaigns.

THE OPPORTUNITY

As Creative Director on a variety of co-branded Amazon box and bag campaigns, I was baffled by the number of hours and disconnected communication streams surrounding our global On-Package Advertising (OPA) executions. Creatives were irritated by the missing processes surrounding management of large design files and account teammates were frustrated by the time spent managing approval email chains from EIGHT separate approval teams.

I conducted a US-based survey with those who managed OPAs to understand current processes and related timelines. The results revealed that Creative Directors, designers, and product managers were spending an average of 33 hours per project on admin items I saw the opportunity to automate.

THE IDEA

After gut checking the idea for INSITU with Allan Bathurst, former head of the Amazon Ads UX team, I wrote a PRFAQ intending to answer the question: “Is it possible to create a tool that helps creatives create and account counterparts account for every step along the development and approval process?” My vision extended beyond immediate needs, aiming for long-term impact. We would start with support for the most common box sizes in the US, expand globally, then expand our product offerings. Ultimately, I wanted this tool to be external-facing, so that clients (like Disney+) who had been through creative training by designated OPA Subject Matter Experts, could access every feature we could access internally.

THE RESULTS

Within six months of launching, INSITU streamlined workflows, cutting process time by 1,500 hours, saving Creative Directors, designers, and product managers an average of 33 hours per project. INSITU eliminated the need to manage 8 separate stakeholder approval chains by consolidating feedback from 8 separate approval chains into a single project-based location and ensuring full team transparency. As an added bonus, archived INSITU projects served as inspirational case studies for every new design.

YEAR ONE (2020)

We launched INSITU in the US, initially supporting only box designs. Over the next year, we expanded to include Fresh and Whole Foods bags, padded mailers, and polybags across MX, EU, and AU.

YEAR TWO (2021)

The original INSITU team—including Allan Bathurst (former Head of UX), Joe Brust and Scott Thiessen (Design Technologists), and Nick Fritz) (former OOH Product Manager)—earned a Clear Puzzle Piece award for their successful patent application tied to the tool's innovative features.

YEAR THREE (2022)

My ultimate goal for INSITU was to make it accessible to both internal and external teams. The first step in achieving this was creating excitement around the tool’s value. Partnering with Amazon Content Marketing Manager, Dora Wang, we crafted two compelling advertorial pieces highlighting the success of INSITU: