Prime Day July 12 and 13, 2022: Your Ad Plan

Prime Day is back in July this year. Amazon has confirmed it will run on July 12 and 13, 2022. After two unusual years, with an October event in 2020 and a June event in 2021, we are back to the more familiar summer timing.

Here is our ad plan for the weeks before, during and after the event.

Four weeks out: the foundations

Inventory

Check days of cover on every product you plan to push. Shipping is still slower and more expensive than before the pandemic, so send any remaining stock now. Do not plan to push products that will run out on day one.

Margins

Costs have risen this year, including the new FBA fuel and inflation surcharge. Recalculate your margins before choosing discounts. A deal that made sense last year might lose money now.

Listings

Refresh main images, titles and A+ Content on your top products. Use Manage Your Experiments results if you have them.

Two weeks out: build the lead-in

• Clean up campaigns. Cut waste and harvest proven keywords into exact match.
• Raise budgets slightly on your best campaigns.
• Run Sponsored Brands video and product collection ads on category keywords. Our guide to Sponsored Brands formats explains which to use.
• Grow audiences with Sponsored Display views remarketing.
• Confirm deals and coupons are approved.

July 12 and 13: the event

• Raise daily budgets on top campaigns so they last all day.
• Bid up on exact match keywords with strong conversion.
• Keep branded campaigns and defensive Sponsored Display fully funded.
• Check budgets and stock several times a day.
• Pause ads on products that are close to selling out.

After the event

• Lower budgets gradually over one to two weeks.
• Retarget shoppers who viewed but did not buy.
• Harvest new search terms and add negatives from event traffic.
• Compare total sales, TACoS, new-to-brand orders and organic rank before and after.

A note on this year’s shoppers

With prices rising across the economy, many shoppers are hunting for value. Deals and coupons may matter more than usual this Prime Day. At the same time, your margins are probably tighter. Pick discounts carefully, and focus them on products that can win new customers who will come back.

The bottom line

Prime Day 2022 is a return to the familiar July event, but in a more expensive environment. Protect your stock and margins, build momentum before the event, push hard on proven keywords and keep going afterwards. If you want help with your Prime Day ads, see our Amazon PPC management service or request a free audit.

FAQs

When is Prime Day 2022?

Prime Day 2022 runs on July 12 and 13.

How much should I spend on Prime Day ads?

Many brands raise daily budgets on their best campaigns by two to three times during the event. Set the total based on stock, margin and goals.

Should I run deals on Prime Day 2022?

Deals can be powerful, especially with shoppers looking for value. Check your margins first, as costs have risen this year.