wiki/clients/current/doudlah-farms/2026-04-05-amazon-ad-review.md · 629 words · 2026-04-05
Amazon Ad Review — 2026-04-05
Overview
Weekly Amazon advertising review for [1], covering campaign ROAS performance, margin trends, inventory health, and [2] campaign results. Review conducted between Mark Hope and Gilbert Barrongo.
ROAS & Sales Trends
- Sales are on an exponential upward trajectory over the lifetime view despite a notable drop in impressions
- The impression drop is intentional: Gilbert reduced bids on exact-match campaigns that had high CPCs, shifting ad placement from top-of-page to rest-of-page positions
- ROAS has been increasing following the bid adjustments — spend and sales are growing at roughly the same rate
- Advertising units growth has slowed in the most recent month; organic units continue to perform well
Margin Analysis
- Current margin is approaching 40%, up from approximately 30% in June — roughly a 25–30% improvement
- The graph appears flat due to spike distortion; the underlying trend is positive
- One large shipment cost wiped out profit for a single day, contributing to visual noise in the margin chart
- Goal: push margins above 40% where possible; the business needs as much profit as it can generate
- AWD (Amazon Warehouse & Distribution) is currently unavailable due to capacity constraints (likely pre-Christmas demand); shipments are going directly to FBA instead
Bid Strategy Notes
- Exact-match campaign bids were reduced to lower CPCs and improve ROAS
- Further testing underway to determine whether bid reductions meaningfully reduce spend without hurting sales volume
- Current approach: accept lower impression share in exchange for better conversion efficiency
Inventory Review
Target Inventory Level
- Ideal stock: 2–3 months on hand
- Holding more than ~4 months is costly due to FBA storage fees
- Fast-moving products carry some risk of stockout if inventory drops too low; 2 months is considered a safe floor
Products Needing Attention
| Product |
Months on Hand |
Action |
| 1.5 lb Yellow Cornmeal |
~1.5 months |
Monitor closely; may need reorder soon |
| Pink Beans, 1 lb |
~50 months |
Increase discount to 30% |
| Small Red Beans |
~57 months |
Increase discount to 30% |
| Navy Beans |
Previously >24 months, now <24 |
Coupon reduced from 20% to 15%; improving |
| (Additional items >20 months) |
>20 months |
Increase discount to 30% |
Decision: Any product with more than 20 months of inventory should be discounted to 30%. Products at risk of expiration are better sold at a deep discount than written off entirely.
Top-Selling Products (30-Day)
- 5 lb Yellow Cornmeal — #1 product; ~3.56 months inventory (1,000 units recently shipped in)
- White Popcorn, 3 lb — inventory levels acceptable
- Black Beans, 5 lb — ~4.47 months
- Black Beans, 25 lb — ~2.9 months
Old World Popcorn
- Now the second top-performing campaign across all Doodla Farms ad accounts
- ROAS improved from 2.5 → 3.91 over the past two months
- Top individual campaign ROAS figures: Old World Phrase (5.2), Cornmeal (5.28)
- Overall account ROAS: 3.91
- Strategy: continue current approach; no changes needed
Action Items
- [ ] Gilbert — Increase discount coupons to 30% for all products with >20 months inventory (5 products identified)
- [ ] Gilbert — Monitor 1.5 lb Yellow Cornmeal inventory; flag for reorder if it drops below 1.5 months
- [ ] Gilbert — Continue observing impact of reduced exact-match bids on spend and ROAS
- [ ] Mark — Retry AWD shipment when capacity becomes available post-holiday season