Case study
Amerge, Performance Optimization Partner Award winner, helps e.l.f. grow 106%
Amerge leveraged comprehensive cross-channel insights to help e.l.f. Cosmetics unlock scalable growth and leadership positions in two competitive European beauty regions.
key insights
#1
e.l.f. became the top Amazon mass cosmetics brand in the U.K. within 3 months
53.8%
increase in ad-attributed sales in the U.K., with only a 9.5% increase in spend
41%
new-to-brand Amazon DSP-attributed orders surged 41% in the first month and 55% in the second month
The Amazon Ads Partner Awards celebrate ingenuity and innovation in digital advertising. The Performance Optimization Award category recognizes partners who demonstrate how they used Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) and Amazon DSP to optimize performance across Amazon and premium apps, delivering scalable advertising success. Amerge is the winner in this award for their use and continuous optimization of AMC and other Amazon Ads solutions for e.l.f. Cosmetics which delivered 106% growth in sales and earned them top positions on the Amazon store in two regions within three months.
Goals
e.l.f. Cosmetics, a global beauty brand known for high-quality, accessible, and 100% vegan products, needed to increase growth in the U.K. and Germany. Despite strong return on ad spend (ROAS), their previous strategy focused heavily on branded search and reengagement, while leaving an untouched opportunity to utilize Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) insights.
They partnered with Amazon Ads advanced partner Amerge to evolve e.l.f.'s media approach to focus on customer acquisition. The challenge was to prioritize connecting their brand to relevant audiences and driving brand purchases at scale—strategically shifting away from their focus on top-of-search—without sacrificing their ROAS. Their goal was to become the #1 mass cosmetics brand on Amazon UK while also improving their position in Germany.
Approach
Amerge developed a comprehensive strategy beginning with a deep analysis of e.l.f.'s historic ad performance, sales insights, full product portfolio, and category dynamics to uncover growth opportunities. They combined AMC signals with e.l.f.'s first-party insights to understand cross-channel behavior and time to purchase. They strategically integrated Amazon Marketing Cloud and Amazon DSP to unlock incremental growth with a setup designed to reach new audiences.
They continuously optimized based on full-funnel insights, ad-to-organic sales ratios, and category cost per click (CPC) trends. This sophisticated approach included up to 800 daily bid adjustments through Amazon Marketing Stream and the Amazon Ads API, with region-specific spend allocation based on performance patterns, such as higher performance for one metric in urban areas versus higher performance for a different metric in high shopping activity regions. They shifted from a top-of-search focus to scalable, cost-effective growth that prioritized total sales.
Rina Yashayeva, Senior Director, e.l.f. CosmeticsOur partnership has been transformative. Amerge helped us apply advanced AMC analysis to scale new markets.
Results
The campaign helped deliver both business growth and brand impact by improving ROAS, accelerating customer acquisition, strengthening brand equity, and laying the foundation for long-term growth. In the U.K., ad-attributed sales increased 53.8% with only a 9.5% increase in spend, while Germany achieved 106.3% growth from a 49.6% spend increase.1 New-to-brand Amazon DSP-attributed orders surged 41% in the first month and 55% in the second month.2 Subscribe & Save enrollment increased by 25%.3
Within just three months, e.l.f. became the #1 Amazon mass cosmetics brand in the U.K. and #2 in Germany, demonstrating the power of their insight-driven, cross-supply strategy while delivering both immediate and long-term performance gains.
Sources
1-3 e.l.f. Cosmetics, DE and UK, 2024-2025.