Insight From Amazon Ads SMART Challenge 2022 Runner-up ISB

Amazon Ads brought the S.M.A.R.T Challenge 2022 back this year for it second edition. The challenge name is the acronym for Strategize, Market, Advertise, Reign, and Transcend. These words define and summarize the intent and goal that form the foundation of this case study competition. The opportunity garnered 15,71,629 impressions, a considerable hike from 2,17,173 impressions in its first edition. There were 10,676 registrations, which consisted of the national runner-up Team C’est la Vie from ISB. In this article, we will hear about the experience from the team itself.

Amazon Ads S.M.A.R.T Challenge is one of the most awaited case study competitions out there. All three of us, Ria Chatterjee, Nithin Sai Nellepalli, and Soumith Kasetty, were ecstatic to hear about the launch of the challenge this year. The competition was open for first and second-year MBA students from select institutions. We are from the Indian School of Business, which was included in the list. So we quickly formed a team, called ourselves C’est La Vie, and geared up for the competition. Participating in and being a part of the competition was a brilliant experience, but winning the national runner-up title naturally felt even better.

S.M.A.R.T Challenge 2022- Competition Structure

The framing of the competition was quite straightforward and very clear from the beginning. It was built to optimize the experience for everyone who was interested in learning about digital marketing. It consisted of the following rounds:

• Live Session
• Online Treasure Hunt
• Online Quiz
• Case Study: Approach Note Submission Round
• Grand Finale

We began with the live session and online hunt where we got the opportunity to meet the Amazon Ads team, and attained a better understanding of what the competition was about. We then moved on to the online quiz round where everyone member of our team had to participate individually. The questions were based on fundamentals of digital marketing, advertising, and Amazon Ads. Our efforts panned out when we soared through the quiz and moved to the case study round. This is where the real challenge began, but we had a strategy in place, that helped us perform to the best of our ability and win the national runner-up title.

The Strategy For Winning Case Study Competition

Our approach to solving the case at hand can be divided into the following steps/ pointers:

• We thought from the point of view of the customer and figured out which of their needs were being met by our product. This formed the foundation of our solution for the case problem.
• In developing a marketing strategy, we made sure to create something that was simple to understand and whose implementation would not exceed the budget.
• After establishing a broad idea of what we wanted to do, we divided the mass of work into smaller tasks/ areas. These were customer persona design, Amazon DSP tools, and budget allocation.
• Each one of us took on one of these areas according to our expertise and concentrated on it. We met consistently for about a week to compile what we had worked on. 

This strategy of taking a structured path and dividing the tasks worked extremely well for us. However, this does not mean there were no challenges. There were some issues, but we managed to overcome them with hard work, dedication, and persistence. For example, we faced challenges in estimating the conversion rates as we wanted to carefully pick our target audience because we couldn't be everything to everyone. Even though it took a lot of contemplation and brainstorming, we managed to figure out the right fit for our solution.

Check this out: Challenge Yourself With These B-school Competitions

S.M.A.R.T Challenge 2022 Taught Us?

The experience of participating in the S.M.A.R.T Challenge 2022 was one of a kind. We found the resources provided in the learning console to be very useful, not just for this competition but also in general. Here are a few things that we learned during our S.M.A.R.T journey:

• We learned how to curate creatives and target audiences based on the existing users for specific social media platforms.
• Understood the importance of designing product descriptions and appealing to the emotions of the customers.
• Learned about the various steps that make a successful digital marketing strategy. For example, the use of Facebook, Google, and Amazon DSP tools such as display ads, sponsored products, and sponsored brands.

We'd also like to add that the judgment quality and organization of the event were commendable. The panelists were very encouraging and gave us useful feedback. This feedback did not only help us improve our solution for this challenge, but will also help us formulate robust marketing strategies in our future endeavors. We could not have asked for a better mentor and jury panel.

How Did We Work as a Team?

Our experience of working together as a team was quite smooth. We were able to combine our key competencies to put our best foot forward for the solution. The traits that helped us perform well were:

• We had worked together before, and from experience, we knew it is best to assign clear roles and clear deadlines to move ahead.
• Whenever there was a conflict, we would talk it through to make sure that we exhausted all alternatives and were satisfied with the final plan.
• All of us were extremely practical in seeking the solution. We always asked questions about how the final customer would think about the product, whether the hand sanitizer was a high-involvement or low-involvement purchase, and the user's journey to purchasing the product.

Another very important factor that worked in our favor was the team itself. Our team had Nithin who had experience in the financial sector, Ria who had experience in store operations, and Soumith with ed-tech marketing experience. Nithin's research on the learning console and Soumith's experience in marketing were our strengths. In the end, it all boiled down to the fact that we were a diverse team, who worked hard and followed a structured approach. 

A Few Final Words

The competition was memorable, to say the least. Of the 10 teams that made it to the finale, Team The Circle and Team SMART Friends were both tough competitors because they were very thorough in their approach to the problem statement and had the perfect balance of numbers and creativity.

The moment when our name got announced was special for all of us. The acknowledgment by Mr. Vijay Iyer, that it was a close fight for first place, left us feeling more satisfied and our efforts validated. All the small and big things made this journey a memorable one, and it will always remain close to our hearts.

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