From Declining Performance to 709% Sales Growth: Spectrum Brands' Amazon Turnaround

The Challenge

Heading into July 2023, Spectrum Brands was facing a challenging period on Amazon Australia. Year-on-year comparisons with July 2022 showed a clear decline in advertising efficiency, with return on ad spend (RoAS) deteriorating, sales trending downward, and cost-per-click (CPC) continuing to rise. With Prime Day and end-of-financial-year sales driving significant revenue opportunities, July was a critical month.

The challenges weren't limited to media performance. Competitors were increasing spend and gaining share of voice across key categories, stock issues were limiting the visibility of top-performing ASINs, and internal pressure around margins was growing.

Spectrum Brands needed a strategy that could improve advertising efficiency, maximize sales during Prime Day, and deliver stronger returns.

Our Approach

Podean developed a strategy built around two priorities: restoring efficiency in existing media and systematically driving new-to-brand (NTB) customer acquisition.

To ensure the campaign was set up for success, Podean used missed-opportunity reports to propose an appropriate budget and leveraged Top of Search and impression share metrics to allocate spend toward the most efficient placements.

From there, the strategy was built around four key workstreams:

• Keyword optimization: Thorough keyword analysis identified high-performing search terms and incorporated them strategically across campaigns. Bid adjustments were informed by Top of Search Impression Share and other relevant signals, which allowed budget to flow toward the most valuable placements while reducing average CPC.

• Content quality uplift: Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display media were refreshed with high-quality imagery and video that clearly communicated each product's key benefits. This ensured that impressions were backed by creative strong enough to convert.
  
  

• Purchase and view remarketing: Sponsored Display was deployed to re-engage shoppers who had previously viewed product pages or made prior purchases. This proved particularly effective in driving renewed consideration around discounted and new product lines during high-intent shopping periods.

• Amazon audience targeting for NTB acquisition: Carefully selected audience segments, aligned to Spectrum Brands' target customer profiles, were activated through Sponsored Display and Sponsored Brands. Messaging was tailored to reach new shoppers during peak purchasing windows and drive them into the Remington, Russell Hobbs, and George Foreman brand stores.

The Results

The campaign delivered a decisive turnaround, with performance exceeding Spectrum Brands' objectives across every key metric.

Overall sales grew by 709% year-over-year by the end of July 2023, reversing the decline that had built in the months leading up to Prime Day. RoAS, which had depreciated by 19% year-over-year in 2022, improved by 5.5%. The improvement not only halted the decline but re-established Amazon advertising as a productive part of the brand's marketing mix.

The standout result was new-to-brand performance. Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display activity drove a 917% increase in NTB sales compared to the prior year. This demonstrated the effectiveness of a structured audience-led approach in attracting and converting new customers at scale.

Ready to Grow Your Brand?

At Podean, we help ambitious brands like Spectrum Brands turn challenges into growth opportunities through data-driven Amazon advertising strategies. Whether you’re looking to reduce wasted spend, capture new customers, or make the most of key retail moments like Prime Day, we will help you win across every stage of the shopper journey.

Let’s build your next phase of growth on Amazon.