Case study
SHEBA® wanted to share their mission to restore coral reefs. Amazon Ads helped them reach millions.
In 2025, the SHEBA brand connected with the Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab to tell the story of the Sheba Hope Grows™ program on a wider scale and connect with customers.
Key learnings
42,200
Unique streams and 1.5 million total minutes watched
24.2M
Unique viewers with 291.9 million impressions
10.4%
Sales lift in physical stores
A man sits in a small boat, fishing by hand as the sun sets behind him.
He's remembering a lifetime living on the coast in Bontosua, Indonesia alongside the reef—the abundant fish, and how, in more recent years, everything has changed. He's seen firsthand the destruction of the planet's tropical coral reefs, which scientists estimate could be 90% gone by 2043 if no action is taken.1 Such a collapse of "the rainforests of the sea," as they're called, could be catastrophic—not just for ocean life or for coastal neighbors on land, but for the entire world. About 25% of marine life depends on healthy coral reefs, and a billion people worldwide are estimated to benefit either directly or indirectly from the ecosystem services they provide.2
This is all detailed—alongside colorful, blooming scenes of healthy coral reefs and grey lifeless fields of dead ones—in Reef Builders, a new documentary on Prime Video presented by the SHEBA brand. The documentary details the concerning state of the world's coral reefs, how it's changing life on the planet, the ongoing threat it poses, and how scientists are working to reverse the damage.
For SHEBA, part of the Mars family of brands, this environmental challenge presented both a moral imperative and a chance to connect with their customers through authentic sustainability action. Through the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Program and the Sheba Hope Grows™ program, they have established 124 reef restoration sites in 17 countries, including Indonesia, Hawai'i, The Maldives, and Australia, alongside more than 50 restoration partnerships around the globe.3
And in 2025, the SHEBA brand connected with the Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab to tell the story of the Sheba Hope Grows™ program on a wider scale and connect with customers.
"While the power of this program lies in the coral, it also lies in the people and the inspiring coastal communities who are forming an army of reef builders to help protect and restore the world's reefs. We wanted an opportunity to be able to tell this story in a way that could enable customers to build an emotional connection to the program, and long form content was a way to do that," says Mindy Barry, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Mars Pet Nutrition North America. "Amazon then became a great opportunity to collide the world of content and commerce, by telling this powerful story through Prime Video, and then building a connection back to the brand and business through the Amazon store."
Reef Builders is a new documentary on Prime Video presented by the SHEBA brand
A story worth telling
The brand had a powerful story to tell: nearly two decades of coral restoration work that most customers had never heard about.
"The SHEBA brand believes in the power of storytelling to inspire real-world change. And this is a story that needed to be told. It's a story about hope, resilience, and the people on the front lines of one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time," Barry explains.
The team developed a comprehensive strategy that would weave together content and commerce across the Amazon canvas. From April through July 2025, they launched a full-funnel experience that included Fire TV, Prime Video, display advertising, search, online video, and social media. At the heart of it all was Amazon's Stream It Forward sustainability program—in the United States, for every hour someone watched the documentary, Amazon donated $1 to Kuleana Coral Restoration.
"Prime Video was the perfect choice to reach our audience given the strong insights we can gain, and the ability to leverage ad formats to drive awareness and viewership of the documentary, while also being able to accurately measure the impact on brand interest and sales," Barry notes.
When purpose meets performance
The campaign's impact would prove that authentic storytelling could drive both environmental change and exceptional business results.
The results exceeded every expectation. The Reef Builders documentary found its audience, generating 42,200 unique streams and 1.5 million total minutes watched—directly translating to a $65,000 donation for coral restoration efforts from across the U.S. and Canada. But the impact rippled far beyond the documentary itself.4
The campaign reached 24.2 million unique viewers with 291.9 million impressions. Even more impressive was what happened offline—despite being an Amazon-focused campaign in the U.S., the campaign generated a 10.4% sales lift in physical stores.5
"We were very pleasantly surprised to see the offline uplift on sales in the U.S., despite the campaign in this market being solely focused on Amazon, emphasizing the power of Amazon media in driving conversion both on and off the marketplace," Barry reflects.
The full-funnel approach proved its worth through multi-exposure effectiveness. Customers who encountered the campaign across five different ad types showed 10.7x higher purchase rates compared to single exposure, while new customer acquisition peaked at 20% during May and June.6
Building lasting connections
The campaign's success extended far beyond metrics to create genuine emotional connections with customers. "We've had a phenomenal response from customers about the campaign, with over 70% positive sentiment shared," Barry says. The campaign proved that sustainability messaging could break through when delivered authentically and repeatedly across touchpoints.
And this impact extended to the very communities the campaign aimed to support.
"We're deeply grateful to the Amazon Stream It Forward campaign and everyone who engaged with the Reef Builders documentary," said Blake Nowak from Kuleana Coral Restoration. "The funds raised will support bold restoration efforts in 2026, including expanding Reef Star installations across degraded reef areas. More than just a fundraiser, this partnership spotlighted the power of community-led coral restoration."
Today, many consumers choose to support brands that take meaningful climate action. According to the 2025 Higher Impact Report from Amazon Ads, 75% of consumers said they are tired of brands acting like they are exempt from environmental responsibility. And 59% of consumers said it’s important that the companies they buy from are committed to sustainability.
For Barry, the campaign validated years of authentic commitment to environmental action. "It is not easy, and success doesn't come overnight. We are proud to share our efforts in Coral Reef Restoration, which is underpinned by nearly 20 years of research and development. Staying true to the authenticity of this program, and leveraging the opportunity to delve deeper into the impact of the work, focusing on the long-term benefits has proven impactful."
The Reef Builders campaign proved that when brands connect genuine environmental action with compelling storytelling, they can create something transformative—campaigns that don't just drive sales, but drive change. In a world where customers increasingly seek brands that align with their values, SHEBA showed that the most powerful marketing doesn't just sell products—it helps restore hope.
Sources
1 The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), 2025.
2 NOAA, 2025.
3 Data monitored by the MSS team and MSS partner network, 2025 IMPACT REPORT FINAL.
4-6 Advertiser-provided data, 2025