Even though the social media world may have panned Amazon’s first Prime Day on July 15, leadership made at least three good marketing decisions when creating and planning this first big event.
1. It didn’t forget loyal customers while chasing new ones. Sometimes retailers and publishers get so excited about campaigns for net-new business that they wind up penalizing loyalty. Magazine publishers, for example, are notorious for making “new subscriber only” offers at much lower rates than those given to existing subscribers who renew. In this case, existing Prime members got access to special deals and shipping rates.
2. Amazon chose a date with organizational meaning. Prime Day was staged in honor of Amazon’s 20th anniversary. So rather than creating an event that was only about moving merchandise – think “Christmas in July” – Amazon could weave in stories from its history, invoke some nostalgia and even have some fun during the buildup to Prime Day through avenues such as Throwback Thursdays.
3. It avoided cannibalizing events that already generate massive revenue. Although Amazon compared Prime Day’s results to those from Black Friday, Amazon wasn’t trying to compete with Black Friday. Recognizing that Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day will generate purchases anyway, leadership separated Prime Day from those other big retail times on the calendar.
