How To Use Amazon Marketing Cloud During Peak Events

Prime Day isn’t just another sales event. It’s a high-stakes sprint where impressions surge, competition peaks, and every click carries weight. The 2024 edition generated over $14.2 billion in sales engaging more than 180 million shoppers.

Brands that win a major share of this revenue don’t just spend more, they spend smarter. That’s where Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) comes in.

AMC lets advertisers cut through surface-level metrics and see what’s really driving performance across ad types, across the funnel, and over time. 

It replaces gut feeling with granular insight. It’s not just about who clicked, it’s about who converted, when, how many times, and what led them there.

This guide is for sellers and advertisers who want to make the most of that advantage.

We’re not here to teach you what AMC is. If you need a refresher, this primer on what is Amazon Marketing Cloud covers the basics.

What you’ll find here is different: a focused breakdown of what to do, when to do it, and how to do it using AMC before, during, and after Amazon peak events like Prime Day. 

No theory. 

Just practical strategy drawn from real campaigns and seasoned operators.

Let’s get into it.

Your Prime Day AMC Game Plan — What to Do When

The smartest AMC strategies aren’t built on tactics alone. Timing is everything. Knowing when to act is just as important as knowing what to do.

Prime Day isn’t one moment. It’s three: the ramp-up, the peak, and the come-down. Each phase gives you a different kind of opportunity and AMC gives you the tools to spot it and act fast.

We’ll walk through each stage, one at a time. Each with its own priorities, plays, and AMC-powered moves.

2–3 weeks before peak event

This is where the groundwork gets done. The goal here isn’t to chase conversions—it’s to build the foundation that will drive them when the floodgates open. If you wait until Prime Day to act, you’re already late.

Start by digging into your AMC data from past peak events. 

Look for three things:

• Path to purchase: How long does it usually take a shopper to buy after first seeing your ad? If it’s five days, you need to start priming that audience now, not the day the sale starts.
  
  

• Top-performing ad formats: Use AMC to compare how Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and DSP performed last Prime Day. What delivered the strongest return? Where did dropoff happen?
  
  

• High-converting segments: Which audiences actually bought? AMC can show whether conversions came from brand loyalists, deal hunters, or casual browsers who needed a few nudges.
  
  

If you’ve lost access to older reports or need to recover data, this guide on how to recover Amazon ads historical data can help.

Once you’ve got the insights, it’s time to build the audiences that will matter the most.

• High-intent browsers: These are shoppers who viewed your products multiple times or added to cart but didn’t buy. AMC makes it easy to isolate and retarget them.
  
  

• Loyal customers: Use historical purchase data to re-engage repeat buyers. These are often your most cost-effective conversions.
  
  

• Lookalikes of your best customers: AMC can help you build new audiences based on your top converters’ profiles. It’s great for reaching shoppers who don’t know you yet, but should.

Need help with audience setup? Read our guide to AMC custom audiences that covers the basics. For more nuanced targeting ideas, check out these 8 targeting strategies for AMC audiences.

Align your ad pacing to how long it actually takes people to convert. 

If your data shows a three-day lag between first click and purchase, start those campaigns early. Don’t let timing be the reason a buyer slips through.

And if you're still deciding between display formats, this breakdown of Amazon DSP vs Sponsored Display can help you choose the right tool for the job.

7–10 days before peak event (Lead-in period)

This is the warm-up. Shoppers are active, browsing, building carts, but most aren’t buying just yet. Your job is to get in front of them now so that when the deals go live, they’re already primed and ready to place an order.

Start by activating your awareness and consideration campaigns. The goal here isn’t to drive immediate conversions, it's to build intent.

• Target high-intent audiences: Use the AMC segments you built earlier to reach shoppers who’ve shown interest. Think: people who’ve viewed your product multiple times.

  
  

• Focus on impressions, not efficiency: Don’t waste time chasing the perfect ACoS. What you want right now is exposure. This is about getting your product into carts, wishlists, and top-of-mind spots.

Next, use AMC to track early engagement. Pay attention to:

• Carting activity

• Wishlist adds

• Page views with repeat frequency

These signals tell you which audiences are warming up. atom11 AMC audience reports from atom11 AMC suite can help surface these patterns without having to run custom queries every time.

Don’t forget to tighten up your audience exclusions. If some segments are being hit too often with the same ad creatives, pull back. Overexposed shoppers either convert or burn out. AMC makes it easy to filter those out, so your budget stays focused on fresh, high-potential traffic.

This phase isn’t about sales, it’s about setup. Peak event success starts here.

During the peak event (The Prime Day sale)

This is where it all needs to click. You’ve built the audience. You’ve warmed them up. Now it’s time to convert.

Shift your focus to conversion campaigns. You’re no longer just driving visibility, you're closing.

• Increase budgets for what’s working: Use AMC to identify the audiences and keywords that are already converting. These are the segments worth pouring into. Give them more budget, and don’t hesitate.
  
  

• Pull back on fatigued segments: If an audience has seen your ad five times and still isn’t acting, stop spending on it. AMC can flag these patterns. Reallocate the budget to the audiences that are still responsive.
  
  

• Use AMC + Dayparting to stay sharp mid-day: Monitor performance throughout the day. If certain campaigns are stalling, pause them. If others are spiking, feed them more. Prime Day isn’t set-it-and-forget-it. You’ve got to adjust as the data rolls in.

Together, AMC and dayparting can help you pinpoint when your audience is most active, and time your spend around those peak conversion windows.

Here’s a tactical guide on Amazon dayparting if you need it.

Keep an eye on performance signals like cart completions, checkouts, and add-to-wishlist spikes. AMC analytics may not be real-time, but it gives you enough of a signal to know when to act.

This is where momentum builds. Don’t coast. Push what’s working. Cut what’s not.

3–7 days after peak event (Lead-out period)

Prime Day may end, but buying intent doesn’t. Many shoppers still actively revisit their cart, browse similar products, or follow up on deals they skipped. 

This is a valuable window that most brands waste. Don’t be one of them.

Start by targeting high-intent non-converters from your AMC audience.  

Use low lookback periods to find shoppers who:

• Viewed your product but didn’t buy

• Added items to cart or wishlisted without checking out

These people are warmed up. A well-timed follow-up can close the loop.

Next, turn new customers into repeat customers. 

The peak event likely brought in a surge of first-time buyers. Don’t let them disappear. 

Use AMC to segment and re-engage them with cross-sell or upsell campaigns. 

Think: "Bought Product A? You’ll probably need Product B next."

There’s also a quiet opportunity to improve your Best Seller Rank (BSR). If you keep the momentum going after the Amazon peak event with conversions and continued engagement, your organic rankings can rise and stay high even after ad budgets taper off. 

Most brands lose this edge by pulling back too soon.

Also worth noting: cost-per-clicks often drop in this period. Competitors pause. Less bidding means cheaper traffic. 

Stay active, and you’ll catch high-intent buyers at a discount.

Finally, use AMC to analyze your actual lift:

• Did the campaign drive new-to-brand buyers?
  
  

• Which audiences were worth the spend?
  
  

• How long did it take most customers to convert?

That’s the data you’ll use to sharpen your next big event.

Best Practices for Using Amazon Marketing Cloud Effectively During Prime Day

Knowing when to act is good. Knowing how to act with precision is better. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting the most out of Amazon Marketing Cloud.

1. Use conversion lag to time your campaigns

Every product has a different path to purchase. AMC can tell you whether your average customer takes 1 day or 5 days to convert after first seeing your ad.

Why it matters:
If there’s a 3-day lag and your conversion campaign starts on Prime Day, you’ve already missed the window.

What to do:

• Run historical queries in AMC to find average time-to-convert for key ASINs.

• Use that lag as your signal to start upper-funnel and mid-funnel campaigns earlier.

• Time bottom-funnel push (retargeting, offers) to hit right before the peak.

  
  

2. Build smarter, layered audiences

Not all “interested” shoppers are equal. Instead of targeting one segment per campaign, combine multiple high-signal traits.

Why it matters:
Layered audiences narrow the targeting to people who are actually ready to buy, not just browsing.

Example of layered audiences you can find with AMC data:

• Cart abandoners + new-to-brand customers

• Repeat viewers + people who bought similar items last year

• Recent product clickers + those who added to wishlist but didn’t purchase

  
  

3. Set frequency controls to avoid burnout

Just because someone can see your ad ten times doesn’t mean they should. AMC can help you spot overexposed segments, those who’ve seen your ads a lot, but haven’t engaged.

Why it matters:
Too much exposure without conversion increases costs and hurts click-through rates.

What to do:

• Use AMC to identify audiences with high impression counts but low action.

• Suppress them from active campaigns or move them into a nurture track.

• Apply frequency caps if you’re using Amazon DSP.

  
  

4. Match audience to ad format for full-funnel wins

AMC audience insights aren’t tied to one campaign type. Use them across all Amazon ad formats for better reach and efficiency.

Why it matters:
This gives you coordinated coverage. Every ad format plays its role in nudging the shopper forward.

How to use them across the funnel:

• Sponsored Products → For warm traffic and mid-funnel search queries

• Sponsored Brands → For awareness and consideration-stage targeting with your brand story

• Amazon Display Ads → For retargeting cart abandoners or re-engaging lookalikes

• Amazon DSP → For precise control and deep targeting, including frequency capping

These aren’t just “nice to have” tactics. 

They’re the operational backbone behind sellers who consistently win big on peak events like Prime Day. 

AMC gives you the data. This is how you put it to work.

Common AMC Targeting Pitfalls to Avoid

Even good campaigns fall short if you miss the basics. These are the most common mistakes brands make around peak events like Prime Day and what to do instead.

1. Skipping the prep

What goes wrong:
You launch campaigns without looking at what worked last time.

Why it matters:
Without AMC historical data, you’re guessing. You won’t know which audiences convert fastest, which ad formats perform best, or when people actually buy.

A few hours in AMC can save you thousands in wasted spend.

2. Burning through the budget too early

What goes wrong:
You spend too much too fast and run out when conversions peak.

Why it matters:
The Prime Day traffic curve builds over time. Most shoppers don’t buy in the first few hours; they browse, compare, and convert later.

Prime Day is a marathon, not a sprint. Budget like it.

3. Going silent after Prime Day

What goes wrong:
You stop all campaigns once the event ends.

Why it matters:
Shoppers are still active. Some didn’t buy yet. Others just bought for the first time. And your cost-per-click is usually lower once the frenzy dies down.

This “quiet” period often gives you the cheapest conversions and the clearest data.

4. Under-delivering to AMC audiences

What goes wrong:
You create high-converting audiences in AMC but don’t focus much on your outreach plan.

Why it matters:
Even strong audiences won’t convert if they can not see you. Low delivery means wasted segmentation effort.

Ensure at least 20% of campaign clicks come from AMC audiences. Expand lookback windows and increase bids to boost impression share.

Avoiding these pitfalls isn’t about being perfect. It’s about thinking ahead, staying flexible, and letting AMC guide your decisions.

Win the Clicks That Actually Convert with atom11

You don’t get second chances on Prime Day. Every impression, every cart addition, every conversion has to count.

Amazon Marketing Cloud isn’t just another analytics tool. It’s how smart brands run tighter campaigns, build sharper audiences, and unlock hidden wins others miss.

This guide gave you the playbook on how to use Amazon Marketing Cloud for peak events. Now it’s about execution.

If you want a partner that makes all of this doable—without writing queries or wrangling data—an Amazon PPC software like atom11 can help. 

We turn raw AMC signals into a ready-to-act strategy, built for brands and agencies who want results. Book a demo with atom11 today.

FAQs

What is Amazon Marketing Cloud used for during Prime Day?

AMC helps you understand the full customer journey, optimize audience targeting, and fine-tune campaign timing—so you spend smarter and convert more during peak sales surges like Prime Day. It gives you a clearer view of what’s working and where to double down.

How can I build AMC audiences without knowing SQL?

Platforms like atom11 offer a no-code AMC suite that lets you build, segment, and activate AMC audiences through an intuitive interface—no SQL or tech team needed. You get full control without the learning curve.

Can small sellers benefit from AMC, or is it only for big brands?

AMC is valuable for any seller running ads at scale. Even mid-sized brands can use it to reduce waste, improve targeting, and uncover missed revenue from warm or lapsed shoppers. 

When should I start using AMC ahead of Prime Day?

Start 2–3 weeks before Prime Day. Use that time to analyze past performance, build audiences, and align ad pacing with your average conversion lag. Early setup gives you the breathing room to test and adjust.

What’s the difference between AMC and standard Amazon ad reports?

Standard reports show isolated metrics. AMC connects the dots—linking impressions, clicks, and conversions across the funnel to reveal deeper patterns, like multi-touch paths and audience overlap. It’s the difference between a snapshot and a storyline.

Is AMC data privacy compliant?

Yes. AMC only uses anonymized, aggregated data. Advertisers can’t access any personally identifiable information, making it fully privacy-safe and compliant with global data protection standards. It’s built to answer your questions without compromising user trust.