In the evolving landscape of consumer packaged goods, a leading global snack manufacturer found itself at a critical juncture. With over a decade of successful partnership with Mars United, a Publicis Groupe Company, and Amazon Ads, this renowned brand had built a strong foundation in digital advertising. However, despite its established presence and diverse portfolio of popular snack products, the company faced an unprecedented challenge: consecutive year-over-year revenue declines across all segments.

Exploring extended shopping insights

The transformation began when the brand recognized the need to dive deeper into shoppers’ behavior patterns. Through their partnership with Mars United Commerce, they leveraged Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)'s powerful capabilities to explore five years of purchase signals. This extended visibility went far beyond the traditional 12.5-month measurement window, offering a revolutionary perspective on long-term shopping patterns.

Strategic innovation through insight-driven decision making

The comprehensive strategy developed by the team showcased the true potential of advanced analytics in modern advertising. By utilizing Amazon DSP and Amazon’s Retail Purchases dataset, they conducted detailed cohort analyses to identify critical points of shopping engagement and product switching behaviors. This deep dive revealed fascinating patterns in shopper retention, portfolio migration, and brand transitions that had previously gone unnoticed in shorter-term analyses.

The team's sophisticated approach to audience development created behavioral segments based on purchase frequency, timing, and patterns. Particular attention focused on first-time buyers, brand switchers, and repeat shoppers, allowing for highly relevant messaging and engagement strategies. This deeper understanding of shopping patterns enabled the development of more relevant and effective advertising initiatives.

Execution excellence: A month of engaged connections

Armed with these insights, the brand launched a strategic one-month Amazon DSP campaign that engaged high-value audiences surfaced through the long-term behavioral analysis. The campaign utilized responsive eCommerce ads featuring top-selling products that were carefully mapped based on historical engagement signals. This informed approach allowed for tailored strategies for different audience segments, with high-value switcher audiences receiving awareness campaigns while one-time purchasers engaged with conversion-focused messaging.

Breakthrough results and performance metrics

The results of this insight-driven approach were remarkable. The campaign achieved a significant 90%¹ increase in ROAS compared to their previous Amazon DSP performance, more than doubling the Amazon DSP benchmark. The strategic implementation also led to improved purchase rates and a notable 26%² reduction in CPM.

Particularly impressive was the performance of the high-value seasonal shopper and variety shopper segments. The latter achieved a 42%³ new-to-brand rate, demonstrating successful reengagement of long-term lapsed customers. This success validated the power of leveraging extended historical insights for more relevant engagement strategies.

Transformative insights for future success

The campaign's success highlighted a crucial learning: the limitation of using only one year of signals had previously masked important patterns around purchase frequency, seasonality impacts, and retention behaviors. By exploring five years of signals through Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), these patterns became clear, enabling more effective media planning and strategy development in an increasingly complex shopper environment.

These results demonstrate the transformative power of combining advanced analytics with strategic advertising execution. By leveraging the full potential of Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) and Amazon DSP, the brand not only reversed its declining revenue trend but also established a new benchmark for insight-driven advertising excellence in the competitive snacking category.

Sources

^1-3 Mars United, U.S., 2025.