Agency: Amazon
Roles: Inventor, Researcher, Pitch Team Lead, Creative Director, Sales Material Writer
Teammates: Clay Anthony (Product Owner), Nick McLachlan (Product Marketing Mgr), Scott Thiessen (Design Technologist), Alekhya Polina (Motion Design), Cassandra Krul (UX Design), Kenneth Herrera (Account Lead)

THE ASK

Come up with never-been-done-before ideas for Amazon Advertising clients.

THE IDEA

Clients who sell products on Amazon often utilize the Amazon “Buy X, Get Y” rewarded ads model to increase visibility and basket building. This works great for tangible products and services, but gets trickier when it comes to digital entertainment. After listening to my clients repeatedly express their desire to connect more deeply with Fire TV customers, I proactively approached the Rewarded Ads team with a question: “Can we create a Watch X, Get Y model on Fire TV?” The answer was yes, but the “how” was up to me.

THE RESULTS

I collaborated with entertainment clients, creative partners, the Rewarded Ads team, the Amazon Homepage team, and the Fire TV team to transform the "Watch X, Get Y" (WXGY) concept into a successful ad product.

Our journey began with the launch of the first WXGY digital execution on the homepage of Amazon.com for FOX. Partnering with engineers, designers, UX experts, and sales leads, I developed user flow details, creative and advertiser guidelines, and pitch deck materials. After extensive A/B testing, we launched the first WXGY ad product on the Amazon homepage hero in 2021 and were thrilled that FOX reported video completion rates of over 99%!

In late 2022, after rigorous testing with STARZ, we successfully launched the new ad product on Fire TV.

In 2023, Coca-Cola became the inaugural Fire TV WXGY partner, setting the stage for subsequent partnerships with industry leaders such as Lincoln, Lexus, Baskin Robbins, and Kellogg's. Notably, in 2023, the product surpassed the Acura click-through-rate benchmark by an impressive 75%. The success of this initiative has paved the way for transitioning the platform from a managed to a self-service ad product, reflecting its continual evolution and growth.

PHASE 1: Watch X, Get Y on Amazon.com

Our first execution occurred in September 2021. I helped FOX launch the first “Watch X, Get Y” rewarded advertising campaign on the Amazon homepage. Upon completing any of the 3 featured trailers, customers received a $5 Amazon Moments store credit. For 48 hours, the promotion was housed in the most prominent ad space on Amazon.com (the Homepage Hero/H1) making this the first-ever multi-day H1 sponsorship. Customers don’t always watch a video from start to finish, which can make it challenging for advertisers to tell their story and capture interest. But when offering Amazon credit as a reward, FOX reported video completion rates of over 99%.

“With the landscape for content at an all-time high, creating a deeper awareness of our new releases is more important than ever. Combining high-impact placements with a reward from rewarded advertising was a great way to engage with and credit intent among our audience, and ultimately helped convert interest into viewership.”

Natalie Park, SVP, Marketing Strategy and Media, Fox Entertainment, as cited in:
”How Amazon Ads is helping advertisers succeed with rewards-based ads”

PHASE 2: WATCH X GET Y ON FIRE TV

Inspired by these results and armed with frequent Entertainment client requests for new Fire TV ad products, I proactively consulted with key stakeholders to introduce the “Watch X Get Y” ad product to Fire TV. I partnered with Design Technologist teammate, Scott Thiessen, to develop interactive wireframes for the Fire TV interface, worked with the Fire TV, Sales, and Rewarded Ads team to determine initial pricing and launch timing, then went on a road show with Moments Sr. Product Marketing Manager Nick McLachlan and Product Owner Clay Anthony to pitch this potential solution to clients. With a goal of evolving this ad product into a self-service tool (one an account manager doesn’t have to set up, but that clients can set up on their own through an intuitive drag and drop interface), we focused on simplification in both design and messaging.

Below are screens from the interactive wireframes we presented on our road show.