Growth Marketing

Playbook
February 2024

X X
CONTENT
01. Introduction

Marketer outlook - key priorities

02. and challenges

03. Growth strategies

recommendation

04. Case studies

05. Summary

2
EXECUTIVE
Amazon Ads, Publicis Commerce, and e4m brings to you the first edition of Digital
Growth Marketing Playbook. Growth marketing takes a fundamental relook at how
marketing adds to the business outcomes, and focuses disproportionately on
driving overall growth rather than individual campaign performance. This requires a
shift in focus from customer engagement towards customer experience, expand

SUMMARY
the marketing funnel from conversion to conversion and retention, track long-term
results as against immediate outcomes, and go beyond ROAS to also look at
metrics such as Customer Lifetime Value.

This playbook aims to present a marketer outlook towards growth marketing

(based on a survey among 100 senior marketers), and provide directional steps that
a brand can take when enabling growth marketing. Short-to-mid term growth is
top of mind among marketers, with growth marketing seen as a critical factor to
unlock business growth for companies across sizes. 97% marketers today prefer
digital channels for growth marketing, and most of them recommend a equal split
between performance and brand building campaigns in order to optimize for
growth.

Marketers often tend to focus significantly on customer acquisition, missing out on

other opportunities to deliver growth for their business. We see three levers for
business growth – acquire new customers, improve share of wallet, and increase
loyalty. These three business growth levers lend into five growth marketing levers
which this playbook highlights. Focusing on each of these levers would require
marketers to customize their marketing strategy, tweak execution, and redefine
how they measure success. Further, given the different business conditions and
challenges faced by different cohorts of businesses, the playbook presents a
customized approach for large brands, SMB brands, and D2C brands.

3
 INTRODUCTION TO GROWTH
MARKETING
Traditional Digital Marketing Growth Marketing

Primary focus Customer engagement Customer experience

Marketing objective Conversion Conversion and Retention

Time period for results Immediate results Long-term results

Key metric ROAS ROAS and LTV

4
Marketer outlook
key priorities and challenges

5
 Short to mid-term growth
is top of mind among marketers

Key business challenges for next 2 years Key marketing priorities for next 12 months

Changing consumer 55%

preferences / behaviors
Increase sales 68%

Increasing competitive
intensity
51%
Build brand awareness 60%

Technological disruptions /
42%
changes
Improve customer
retention / loyalty
58%

Uncertain demand 40%

challenging growth

Reach more customers 56%

Rising costs 36%

Increase traffic 27%

Do not see any challenge 2%

6
Source: IN, 2023 Brand marketer survey conducted by exchange4media (n=100)
 Growth marketing is seen as a critical factor
to unlocking business growth

Expected change in Growth Marketing budgets by marketers

in 2024

8.2/10
12% 6%

24%

Importance of growth 58%

marketing to advertisers

Decrease Increase Likely to remain same Can't Say

7
Source: IN, 2023 Brand marketer survey conducted by exchange4media (n=100)
 A balanced approach for growth
marketing is seen as essential

Levers for unlocking growth over 12-24 months

Marketing budget to support growth
marketing
New customer acquisition 86%

New product launches /

category expansion
57%

50% 50% Improve customer retention 56%

Drive more premium products 44%

Cross-sell other categories 38%

Performance Marketing Brand Building

Drive larger volume packs /

16%
frequency of use

8
Source: IN, 2023 Brand marketer survey conducted by exchange4media (n=100)
 Digital is the preferred channel for
growth marketing
Key considerations for publisher evaluation
Preferred media channels for growth marketing

Availability of target
74%
audience

Engagement level of
69%
audience

97% 50% 32% Scale of audience reach

Full-funnel measurement 54%

66%

Digital Television Print Media

Suitability of content 51%

Speed and cost of

40%
experimentation

Controls for traffic quality

39%
and brand safety

16% 10%
Availability of ad format(s) 32%

Intent of consumer on the

22%
publisher (e.g. research)
Others Radio

9
Source: IN, 2023 Brand marketer survey conducted by exchange4media (n=100)
 Retail media channels are popular
for growth marketing

97%
Key benefits of retail media for growth marketing

Access to ‘intent’ audiences 84%

Relevant context 67%

Marketers are aware
of retail media
Speed (ability to experiment and scale fast) 42%

69%
Holistic measurement 40%

Innovative ad formats 33%

Safe environment to test 31%

Of them are using it or have used
in the past for growth marketing

10
Source: IN, 2023 Brand marketer survey conducted by exchange4media (n=100)
RELEVANCE OF RETAIL MEDIA
CHANNELS FOR GROWTH MARKETING

“ Embracing the digital evolution, Growth Marketing has found its true
catalyst in the realm of eCommerce. I've witnessed firsthand how the
synergy of technology, data, and content is reshaping the landscape of
business growth. Today, Growth Marketing is not just about acquiring
customers; it's about creating dynamic, personalized journeys that “ For ITC, Growth marketing is of paramount as it drives brand visibility,
seamlessly integrate the online shopping experience. In this era of customer acquisition and revenue growth through data driven
transformation, eCommerce isn't just a platform; it's a paradigm shift strategies, optimizing consumer journeys and maximizing ROI. It ensures
that empowers us to craft narratives, harness insights, and engineer each products unique value is effectively communicated, fostering
growth in ways previously unimagined. ” sustained growth. ”

Debashis Mohapatra Aritra Mukherjee

Associate Vice President – Commerce, Publicis Manager (Brand Commerce) - ITC Foods

11
 Recommended
growth marketing strategies

12
These recommendations are based on a brand marketer survey conducted by Amazon Ads along with exchange4media, and expert opinions of leaders from Publicis Commerce and brand marketers
 STRATEGIC GROWTH LEVERS
Key business growth levers Key growth marketing levers

1.1 Balance long-term growth with short-term performance

1
Acquire new customers
over sustained period
of time 1.2 Leverage key events (e.g. festive)

2.1 Expand the audience base by driving effective ‘new launches’

2
Improve share of wallet
by delivering consistent
value 2.2 Focus on ‘high value added’ customer experiences

3
Increase loyalty of
customer through 3.1 Ensure sustained revenue by retaining customers
customer delight
13
These recommendations are based on a brand marketer survey conducted by Amazon Ads along with exchange4media, and expert opinions of leaders from Publicis Commerce and brand marketers
 Balance long-term growth with short-term
1.1 performance

STRATEGY Balance marketing budgets across brand building and

What needs to be done? performance marketing

Enterprise/D2C SMB

60% : 40% 10%-30%

Brand-building and Brand building
performance (based on competition
intensity and aspirations )

14
Peter Field and Les Binet, the B2B Institute
 Balance long-term growth with short-term
1.1 performance

EXECUTION Enterprise
How to deploy the strategy? o Maintain an SOV across all scaled marketing channels
• Offline
• Online

D2C
o Build a sizable* SOV among across all impact channels

• Marketplaces
• Hyperlocal
• Niche segments (e.g. B2B)

o Drive conversion and loyalty through marketplaces and own

website

SMB
o Focus primarily on marketplaces for both visibility and
performance

15
*Higher than market segment share
 Balance long-term growth with short-term
1.1 performance

MEASUREMENT
How to measure the impact?
Enterprise/D2C
o SOV across marketing channels
o YOY revenue growth
o Uplift on brand metrics for brand building
• BLS
• Brand Track
o ROAS for performance

SMB
o Share of branded search
o Revenue growth
o CAC
o ROAS

16
 CASE STUDY

B Natural expanded its overall market segment

1.1 share in the category using a 360° strategy

OBJECTIVE
B Natural - India’s 5th largest fruit juice in the offline segment enjoyed a strong position on Amazon. Brand wanted
to drive higher growth in short term leveraging 1st week of every month to attract new and existing shoppers during
Amazon’s Super Value Days (SVD) sale and drive long term growth by increasing overall basket penetration

APPROACH
B Natural and Publicis came together to build a 360-degree campaign with all the elements for a full funnel strategy
• Reached grocery buyers using display ads in partnership with Amazon SVD Labs to drive awareness.
• Showcased the entire product range using video and static banners ads to fruit juice buyers to build consideration
• Consumer queries indicated higher volume of flavor specific searches and hence, reached them with relevant products.
• Ads were focused to showcase combo packs when consumers showcased a stock up behavior
• With an ‘always-on’ full funnel approach, B Natural acquired audiences looking for top-up purchases

CAMPAIGN IMPACT

+46% +50% +25%

Increase in new customer Growth in brand’s share of Increase in post SVD BAU
(new to brand) share of category GVs business
category

17
* Publicis Data; (SVD Apr‘22) vs (SVD Mar‘22) ; India
 1.2 Leverage key events (e.g. festive) Enterprise & D2C brands

DRIVE VISIBILITY ACROSS PHASES AND DIGITAL TOUCHPOINTS

Impact visibility to Build Consideration & Conversions with

active festive shoppers Drive remarketing
build recall

Festival days start

3-4 weeks prior

1-2 weeks prior

Fire TV Homepage takeovers sponsored tiles

End
Stores Sponsored Brands Video

Remarket on Remarket on
amazon.in non amazon.in
Content Marketing inventory inventory
Livestreaming, miniTV integration, Programmatic video
Drive sales from search through native placements

Pre-festive period During period Post-festive period

18
 1.2 Leverage key events (e.g. festive) SMB brands

DRIVE VISIBILITY ACROSS PHASES AND DIGITAL TOUCHPOINTS

Expand audience Build Consideration & Conversions with

active festive shoppers Drive remarketing
reach

Festival days start

3-4 weeks prior

1-2 weeks prior

End
Stores Sponsored Brands Video

Interest signals’ based Remarket on Remarket on

self-serve display ads amazon.in non amazon.in
inventory inventory

Drive sales from search through native placements

Pre-festive period During period Post-festive period

19
 CASE STUDY

Fabelle drove higher visibility and acquired

1.2 shoppers during festive season
OBJECTIVE Display ads during Diwali

Fabelle wanted to build visibility for its brand by increasing reach among grocery buyers and increase overall sales
on Amazon.in. The brand faced stiff competition from peer brands on awareness, discoverability and pricing

APPROACH
Publicis built a campaign strategy along with Amazon Ads around -

1) segmenting product portfolio in mass, luxury and gifting segments

2) reaching browsers and past purchasers for similar priced products
3) focus on top converting keywords and excluding zero order keywords
4) reaching gifting shoppers during Diwali, Christmas, New year and Valentine’s day

• Display campaigns for buyers/browsers of peer brands and gourmet sweets.

• Increased Sponsored Brands atop search results bid by 50%
• Leverage contextual targeting with Sponsored Display and Sponsored Products.
• Created separate campaign for high ROI campaigns & allocating 25% higher budget.

CAMPAIGN IMPACT

1.3x +50% +1.5x +27%

Increase in Conversions
Increase in GVs during Improvement in CTR during Improvement in ROAS
Diwali ‘22 vs Pre-Diwali ‘22 vs during Pre-Diwali ‘22 vs
during Diwali ’22 vs
Pre-Diwali ’22* Pre-Diwali ’21* Pre-Diwali ’21*
Pre-Diwali ’22* Sponsored Brands atop search results

20
Publicis Data ; * Diwali ‘22 : 13th – 24th Oct ‘22 ; Diwali ‘21 : 23rd Oct – 4th Nov ’21 ; Pre-Diwali ‘22 : 22nd Sep – 12th Oct ‘22 ; Pre-Diwali ‘21 : 1st - 20th Oct ‘21 ; Conversion – Orders / Clicks ; India
 Expand the audience base by driving effective
2.1 ‘new launches’

STRATEGY
What needs to be done? Enterprise
o Drive cross-category purchases among current user base
o Reach a fair share of relevant audiences across internet

D2C
o Build a fair share of voice among category in-market audiences

SMB
o Build a fair share of voice among product in-market audiences

21
 Expand the audience base by driving effective
2.1 ‘new launches’

EXECUTION
How to deploy the strategy?
Enterprise
o Leverage mix of video streaming (in-stream/ CTV), programmatic,
social, and audio to drive reach
o Focus on immersive assets to deliver product features (e.g. brand
integrations)

D2C
o Drive awareness through video streaming (in-stream/ CTV) and
display (Marketplaces / programmatic)
o Build branded pages/ custom stores on marketplaces to educate in
case building a new category

SMB
o Drive awareness through in-search video formats
o Drive consideration / sales through native formats (e.g.
sponsored ads) and remarketing

22
 Expand the audience base by driving effective
2.1 ‘new launches’

MEASUREMENT
Enterprise
o Category Share of Voice across digital channels
o Media efficacy
How to measure the impact? • Cost per reach
• Cost per video completion
o Top-of-mind recall (share of branded searches)
o Market segment share 3-6 months post launch

D2C
o Share of voice (1st page share) within 3-6 months
o Share of considerations in the category
o New-to-brand customer uplift
o Return on Advertising Spends (ROAS)

SMB
o Click –through rate (CTR)
o Sales uplift
o New-to-brand share
o Return on Advertising Spends (ROAS)
23
 CASE STUDY

The Man Company expanded shopper base through its

2.1 new range of caffeine and vitamin C based products
OBJECTIVE
The Man Company, a D2C men’s grooming brand wanted to acquire new-shoppers and drive trials across its new
launches of caffeine and vitamin C range.

APPROACH
A 360 degree campaign approach was planned by Publicis during July-August’22 which encompassed Raksha Bandhan
festival, Prime & Independence Day sale event to leverage the high traffic period on Amazon.in
• Amazon DSP was used to build awareness around brand launches and existing products among in-market male grooming shoppers.
• Sponsored ads campaigns with contextual targeting and category, competition keywords were used to drive higher conversions.
• Creative & communication emphasized top sellers like Beard & Body products & in-trend products such as Caffeine & Vitamin C face
wash with brand ambassador Ayushmaan Khurana. All the creatives followed a minimalistic & suave look & feel with clear CTA.
• Consumers were redirected to brand store, showcasing all products and rich content educating consumers on male grooming products
& its benefits.

CAMPAIGN IMPACT

+62% +28% +50%

Increase in new to brand Increase in overall Higher share in overall
shoppers orders vs previous product pages viewed
month

24
Publicis Data ; Jul-Aug 20 vs May-Jun 20 ; India
 2.2 Focus on ‘high value added’ customer experiences

STRATEGY Indian consumers are increasingly seeking high

What needs to be done?
value added products and experiences.

Focus on engaging with them across categories -

o High-Tech & Feature led products
(e.g. Smartphones, laptops & other electronics)

o Aspirational & Emotional products – Fashion & beauty

(e.g. Branded/high value beauty & cosmetics, jewelry, apparels)

o High Quality consumable products

(e.g. Organic, gluten free, herbal)

o Comfort & Ease of Living focused products

(e.g. Kitchen appliances, home décor & small appliances)

25
 2.2 Focus on ‘high value added’ customer experiences

EXECUTION Consumers spend higher consideration time

How to deploy the strategy?
when purchasing higher value added products

Engage them using :

• Video ads highlighting product demos and benefits

• Remarket brand audiences through programmatic /

native ecommerce display ads

• Upsell by product demo at intent touchpoints (e.g.

Sponsored Brands video)

• Immersive website pages and custom brand pages on

marketplaces for immersion

• Engage relevant celebrities/ influencers with an appeal

among relevant audiences

26
 2.2 Focus on ‘high value added’ customer experiences

MEASUREMENT
How to measure the impact?

o Lift in average order value

o Incremental brand awareness over time

o Share of new-to-brand customers

purchasing high value added products

27
 CASE STUDY

Aashirvaad Atta drove sales of their

2.2 value added products with Amazon Ads

OBJECTIVE
Aashirvaad Atta had strong presence on Amazon in the regular range of atta (like Shuddh Chakki & Superior MP
Atta) and wanted to create a stronger presence, upsell its value added range (like Select, Multigrain & Organic Atta).

APPROACH
Brand in collaboration with Publicis leveraged Amazon Ads products suite to reach consumers across touch points at different
stages of consumer buying journey with a full-funnel strategy
Top Funnel: Mid Funnel: Bottom Funnel:

• To drive visibility and scale our reach
among browsing audiences that are also
engaged in monthly basket-building
during Super Value Days, we used Amazon
DSP ads.
• Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Brands video ads
were launched to reach audience in the category, to
drive consideration towards Aashirvaad from other
brands.
• To expand category visibility & share of shelf, we used
product targeting through sponsored products and
sponsored display.
• For the highest-intent audience ready to
purchase (basis search signals), branded and
generic search terms were targeted via
sponsored products to drive conversions.
• To increase loyalty through repeat purchases
sponsored display ads were launched for
remarketing and upselling.

CAMPAIGN IMPACT

24% 47% 40%

Premium portfolio sales New customer share of
22%
Higher new to brand
Growth in sales of
contribution category* shoppers
premium portfolio*
vs.32%

28
* Publicis Data ; (Q3 ‘22) vs (Q2 ‘22) ; India
 3 Ensure sustained revenue by retaining customers

STRATEGY
What needs to be done?

3 categories by frequency of purchase

o Always-on (e.g. FMCG products)
o Seasonal (e.g. sunscreen)
o Long-frequency (e.g. consumer durables)

Estimate size of brand & category audiences and

set a target “retention rate” based on estimated
brand loyalty and industry standards

29
 3 Ensure sustained revenue by retaining customers

EXECUTION
How to deploy the strategy?

Re-engage and defend

o Leverage remarketing display ads with offers and
testimonials
o Deploy a defensive search strategy

Community building
o Campaigns aimed at community building
o Retention / repurchase offers campaigns
o Leverage expert/influencer reviews and testimonials

30
 3 Ensure sustained revenue by retaining customers

MEASUREMENT
How to measure the impact?

o % subscribers’ share
o % repeat customers share (overall brand, within
category)
o Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)
o TACOS* over longer periods (few quarters)

31
*Total Advertising Cost of Sales = Total Ad spends / Total sales for a brand
 CASE STUDY

3 Engagement with shoppers for health care products

OBJECTIVE

With launch of a new health product, the brand wanted to help patients counter rising blood sugar level. Brand wanted to engage more shoppers and
increase the sustained usage of product. The major challenges to overcome were lack of awareness/skepticism, premium pricing and high competition.

APPROACH

Brand in collaboration with Publicis leveraged Amazon DSP, Amazon Display and sponsored ads in their full funnel strategy and scheduled campaigns phase
wise (SVD vs BAU vs ART). They reached shoppers searching for specific keywords relevant to the brand as well as those who searched for peer brands.

• Increase awareness by reaching affinity and core audiences through Amazon DSP.
• Reach contextual audiences with Sponsored Display and Sponsored Brand video in health and nutrition category.
• Creatives had messaging around blood sugar control.
• Increased frequency and visibility on key ad placements in 1st week of every month.
• Upselling with larger packs for branded searchers.

CAMPAIGN IMPACT

16% 29%
Category product views
50%
Increase in sales through
45%
Increase in sales from new
Organic SOV increased
share increased branded keywords and to brand shoppers
from 3%
from 5.5% remarketing

32
Publicis Data ; (Jun ‘23 ) vs (Feb ‘23) ; India
 OTHER TIPS & TRICKS
Use multiple formats to Leverage new-age native/ Always-on advertising
increase reach and storytelling formats
performance (e.g. cube ads, quad card ads)
(e.g. Display + Sponsored ads)

Unique Reach in BAU campaigns

+20%
Incremental growth in branded
(Indexed values) searches for consistent advertisers

12
Indexed Growth in Branded
10 Searches

8 135 155
6
100 100
4
2
Sporadic Always on
0
Total Display Sponsored Both Q1'20 Q1'21
Ads only Ads only
* Amazon Marketing Cloud data, India, Q1’22 * Amazon data, India, 2021

33
5
THE FUTURE OF
GROWTH MARKETING
“Growth marketing goes beyond a mere collection of brand awareness
and general promotional marketing strategies; it signifies a complete
mindset shift in the approach to marketing, placing comprehensive
growth at its core. Growth marketers meticulously navigate the entire
customer journey, utilizing data analysis to formulate precise
hypotheses. They then design experiments to test these hypotheses,
ensuring the efficiency and scalability of their results. This methodology
has become pivotal for achieving success in today's fiercely competitive
market. The future of growth marketing is poised to be influenced by
emerging trends such as highly personalized and automated marketing,
localized vernacular approaches, predictive analytics, immersive
shopping encounters, voice-activated commerce, conversational
marketing, and innovative payment methods. Armed with playbook’s
strategic insights, marketers can fully harness the potential of growth
marketing to elevate their businesses to unprecedented levels of
success.”
Anshul Garg
Managing Partner & Head– Publicis Commerce
“ In the evolving landscape of the digital era, growth marketing stands
at the intersection of technology, psychology, and data analytics. As we
look into the future, growth marketing is poised to become a critical
element in any marketing or brand plans being even more data-driven,
personalized, and holistic. As it focuses on entire consumer life stage
emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine
learning will play pivotal roles in deciphering consumer behaviours and
predicting trends to drive outcomes. Consequently, this will allow
businesses to create hyper-targeted campaigns that cater to individual
preferences at scale. Additionally, the integration of augmented and
virtual reality into marketing strategies will offer immersive brand
experiences, fostering deeper customer relationships. The definition of
growth marketing will expand, no longer being restricted to customer
acquisition but encompassing the entire customer journey. Brands that
harness these technological advancements while maintaining genuine
human connections will lead the future of growth marketing. ”
Krishna Mothey
VP, Commerce Practice at Publicis
34
Contributors
Amazon Ads Publicis Commerce Exchange4Media

Kapil Sharma Anshul Garg Nawal Ahuja

Director, Growth Customer Sales Managing Partner & Head, Commerce Co-founder and Director
Practice

Jacob Kuruvilla Krishna Mothey Sunil Kumar

Head, Marketing VP, Commerce Practice President

Suhen Singhal Debashis Mohapatra

Senior Marketing Manager AVP, Commerce Practice

Neeraj Rai
Senior Marketing Manager

Abhishek Kumar
Senior Marketing Manager

Shaunakraj Deshpande
Marketing Manager
X X