Test, Adopt, Optimize, and the Amazing Amazon Retail Media Story

Amazon’s advertising game has evolved at breakneck speed. We’ve gone from bidding on a handful of keywords to running data-driven campaigns that hyper-segment target and maximize conversions. If you're still thinking of Amazon advertising as a “set-it-and-forget-it” operation, you’re in for a reality check—or at least, you should be evolving.

On this episode of The Longer Game, we sit down with Joon Choi, Senior Vice President of Sales at Xnurta, who was at Amazon when Sponsored Ads launched. Yeah, that’s right—he was there from day one. He walks us through how Amazon’s advertising ecosystem has evolved and why today’s brands need to rethink their approach. It’s not just about getting in front of customers anymore—it’s about understanding them, optimizing the path to purchase, and using Amazon’s tools to gain an unfair advantage.

Let’s break down how Amazon went from a simple marketplace to one of the most sophisticated retail media networks in the world.

🛍️ From Simple Listings to Hyper-Targeted Advertising

Amazon used to be a digital flea market. You threw up a product listing, crossed your fingers, and hoped for sales. Those days are long gone. Now, brands have access to an insane level of data that lets them segment audiences with surgical precision.

Want to retarget shoppers who abandoned their carts? ✅

Curious about how long it takes a customer to buy after their first click? ✅

Looking to find new audiences with high purchase intent? ✅

With AMC (Amazon Marketing Cloud) and a well-thought-out media plan, brands can track consumer behavior, refine targeting, and optimize ad spending like never before.

🎯 Amazon Ads: The Ultimate Intent-Based Network

Amazon’s Retail Media Network isn’t just another ad platform—it’s a goldmine of consumer intent. People don’t browse Amazon for fun (well, most don’t). They search because they’re looking to buy. That means every ad impression has a higher chance of converting compared to other platforms.

If you’re selling kitchen gadgets, your Amazon ad isn’t competing with someone’s cousin’s baby photos or a cat video—it’s showing up, if you’re targeting correctly, in front of people actively searching for “best air fryer” or “nonstick frying pan.”

Brands that lean into Amazon’s ecosystem and embrace its advanced advertising tools gain a competitive edge. It’s not about throwing money at ads—it’s about strategically testing, learning, and optimizing.

🔥 Where Most Advertisers Get It Wrong

Amazon advertising is not about picking an ad type and hoping for the best. The real game is in targeting.

A common mistake? Focusing too much on targeting types—like Auto vs. Manual campaigns—instead of asking the right questions:

• Who is my ideal customer?

• What are they searching for?

• How do I reach them at the right moment?

Instead of obsessing over ad formats, brands need to fine-tune their targeting strategy first and then build their campaigns around that. Test. Learn. Adjust. That’s how you stay ahead.

🧪 Advertising on Amazon is One Giant Experiment

The best advertisers on Amazon aren’t necessarily the ones with the deepest pockets. They’re the ones who treat advertising like a science experiment.

Every campaign is a test—and the smartest brands:

• Do their research
• Identify key metrics before launching campaigns
• Track what works (and what flops)
• Optimize over time

You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room—you just have to pay attention, test aggressively, and keep optimizing.

📊 How Data-Driven Teams Win Faster

The most successful brands don’t just throw data into a black hole. They build teams that can extract insights and take action.

Example: Instead of making a marketing manager guess what works, hire a data analyst who can dig through the numbers and provide real insights. That data then gets passed to advertisers who can execute smarter strategies.

It’s a small shift in approach but can mean the difference between:

🚫 Wasting thousands on ineffective ads

✅ Scaling profitably and staying ahead of the competition

🎬 Ready, Set, Advertise

Amazon’s advertising landscape isn’t slowing down—it’s getting more complex and competitive by the day. But brands that test, adopt, and optimize will always have the upper hand.

Joon Choi breaks down all of this (and more) on The Longer Game. Want the full breakdown on how to crush it with Amazon ads? Follow our page and watch the full conversation here.