Goals and objectives
Amazon Ads, a widely recognized brand, sought to increase awareness and understanding of its upper-funnel advertising capabilities—particularly among marketers who do not sell directly on Amazon.com.
The campaign aimed to disrupt the routine of B2B marketers with an engaging, gamified experience that would leave a lasting impression. The primary objectives included:
- Driving awareness of Amazon Ads’ full-funnel solutions
- Increasing brand favorability and consideration
- Educating B2B audiences on the breadth of Amazon’s advertising offerings
Business Insider, in collaboration with its in-house creative team, Insider Studios, leveraged its owned media platforms—including BusinessInsider.com and its expansive distribution network—to deliver high-impact messaging and reach Amazon Ads’ key audiences through a combination of editorial integration, social amplification, and premium video placements.
KPI's
The campaign demonstrated that B2B advertising can be both entertaining and effective. It achieved:
- Over 165,000 page views
- More than 5,300 hotspot clicks
- An average watch time of 3 minutes, indicating deep viewer engagement
Social and supporting media delivered strong performance:
- Instagram post reached 1.1 million views with a click-through rate (CTR) 20% above Business Insider’s benchmark
- Video cutdown units garnered 8 million impressions, with the top-performing unit achieving a CTR 170% above benchmark
An independent brand lift study revealed substantial impact:
- 23-point lift in unaided brand awareness
- 12-point increase in brand favorability
- 13-point lift in consideration intent
- 17-point increase in recommendation intent
These results confirm that the campaign exceeded expectations across all key performance indicators, successfully driving awareness, consideration, and education among B2B decision-makers.
Target audience
Geography: United States
Demography: Senior marketing decision-makers at enterprise brands and advertising agencies
Psychography: Results-oriented, innovative professionals seeking customer-centric and data-driven digital marketing strategies
Strategy
Amazon Ads’ ecosystem spans a wide range of consumer touchpoints—from streaming and podcasting to gaming and package delivery. To reflect this scale, Insider Studios conceptualized a first-of-its-kind interactive video that would allow viewers to explore how Amazon Ads integrates into everyday life.
Using proprietary Business Insider audience data, the team discovered that the target audience was 3.7 times more likely than the average BI reader to have a strong affinity for pets. Nearly half of BI readers reported having a dog at home. These insights inspired the creative direction: a narrative led by a dog, designed to resonate emotionally and stand out in the B2B landscape.
Creative idea
At the heart of the campaign was Tucker, a charismatic Golden Retriever. Insider Studios developed “An Advertising Tail,” an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure video that followed Tucker through a day in his life. Viewers were invited to guide Tucker’s decisions—whether to go for a walk, run errands, or relax on the couch—each choice revealing different Amazon Ads touchpoints embedded in daily consumer experiences.
Interactive hotspots within the video allowed users to explore Amazon Ads solutions in greater depth, blending entertainment with education. The video’s universal appeal and gamified structure ensured high engagement while effectively communicating Amazon Ads’ value proposition.
Channels
To maximize reach, the campaign was hosted on a custom interactive page on BusinessInsider.com and amplified through Business Insider’s extensive distribution network. Promotional tactics included:
- Social media promotion across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter)
- High-impact video units, including cutdowns from the interactive video
- Native placements across Business Insider’s editorial ecosystem
These channels were selected to ensure the campaign reached Amazon Ads’ target audience of senior marketing professionals across platforms where they consume content.
Learnings
The campaign offered several key learnings:
- The interactive format required 27 unique storyline permutations, necessitating meticulous UX testing and quality assurance at every stage of development
- To maintain authenticity while avoiding intellectual property conflicts, the team created fictional brands and ad campaigns, including a staged Twitch stream featuring a dog DJ
- Two lookalike Golden Retrievers were cast to play Tucker, allowing for adequate rest and adherence to humane filming guidelines
- Each storyline included educational hotspots, which had to balance informative content with engaging, non-intrusive design
The complexity of the execution underscored the importance of cross-functional collaboration, agile production processes, and user-centric storytelling in B2B marketing.
Surprising Insights
The campaign revealed that B2B audiences are not only open to—but actively engage with—creative, emotionally resonant storytelling. By centering the narrative around a relatable, universally appealing character, the campaign was able to cut through traditional B2B noise and deliver measurable brand impact. It also demonstrated that gamified, interactive formats can serve as powerful vehicles for education and brand lift when grounded in audience insights and supported by robust distribution strategies.