RIO Amazon Case Study: Full-Funnel Advertising for a New-to-Amazon Brand
We are proud to work with Reach International Outfitters and help them sell their unique scratch-off adventure bucket lists on Amazon. We assist Reach International Outfitters, RIO, with increasing their brand’s presence so that more people can learn about the adventure bucket lists and can begin exploring their state. The biggest challenge for RIO was getting their products in front of new customers that weren’t familiar with their brand. Since they created a niche product that’s unlike anything else available, identifying advertising targets was more difficult. Goat Consulting helps brands with developing their detail pages and merchandising, including A+ content creation, copywriting, and setting up an Amazon storefront. We also provide monthly reporting and help clients manage their FBA inventory with tailored shipment recommendations. Our advertising services include strategy development, campaign creation, and ongoing optimizations to improve efficiency. Through a full-funnel, comprehensive strategy, we were able to increase Reach International Outfitters’ brand presence and improve advertising efficiency on Amazon.Key Takeaways
Building a brand on Amazon can be challenging when promoting new, innovative products that customers don’t have a pre-defined search intent
Full-funnel advertising utilizing Amazon Marketing Cloud and Sponsored Ads helped Goat Consulting identify and reach new customers
A scientific approach to merchandising through A/B testing that educates and excites customers helps convert customers from consideration to purchase
Between February and 2025 and May 2025, Goat Consulting’s Amazon Ad approach helped RIO increase Return on Ad Spend (RoAS) from 4.04 to 10.8 and increase new-to-brand customers by 52%
| Metric | Change |
|---|---|
| Return on Ad Spend (RoAS) | 4.04 to 10.8 |
| New-to-brand customers | +52% |
| Advertising spend | -65% |
The Challenge: Getting a Niche Product in Front of New Customers
The biggest challenge for RIO was getting their products in front of new customers who were not already familiar with the brand. RIO created a niche product unlike anything else available on Amazon, which meant identifying advertising targets was more difficult because shoppers did not have a pre-defined search intent for scratch-off adventure bucket lists. Before working with Goat Consulting, RIO had set up specific campaigns for each SKU in their catalog with an automatic targeting campaign and a manual keyword campaign per SKU. After reviewing the search term reports and campaign KPIs, we found that the top-performing keyword targets were almost always branded searches, which indicated the advertising campaigns were mostly reaching shoppers who were already familiar with the brand. Their products already ranked very high on those branded search terms, which meant they were possibly cannibalizing organic sales.
Goat Consulting’s Approach
We worked with RIO across three connected areas: detail page merchandising, inventory management, and Amazon Ads strategy.
Amazon Detail Page Merchandising
RIO's scratch-off activity cards come in a decorative storage box with beautiful illustrations. Before working with Goat Consulting, RIO's detail pages included all the essential attributes (bullet points, a product description, multiple images, basic A+ content, and a link to the brand's storefront), but we knew we could elevate their landing pages to help their unique products stand out further.
Product listing copywriting: We optimized the bullet points to ensure that the features most important to shoppers were thoroughly described and easy to understand. We set up A/B tests to compare the original content with the new bullet points and used the performance data to make the final decision.
A+ Enhanced Brand Content: We took the necessary action to get access to premium A+ content and created a few new templates. We set up A/B tests to compare the different versions. With access to premium A+ content, we were able to incorporate more engaging material and digital assets, including videos, a comparison chart, more lifestyle images, and interactive modules.
Expanded Storefront: The original storefront had one page with a product grid linking to most of their ASINs. We added additional modules to the home page, including graphics that detailed how the products work and more information about the brand. We added subpages organized by region to make the shopping experience easier to navigate. We added an "About Us" page that provides background information about the brand and its mission. Across all pages, we incorporated videos, shoppable images, and links to every ASIN.
We utilized the colors and fonts from their developed style guide to create a cohesive brand presence across all merchandising and communication on Amazon. We continue to make updates as RIO releases new products and optimize performance through A/B testing.
Inventory Management and Demand Forecasting
Inventory management, shipping, and fulfillment can be a big challenge for new sellers on Amazon. With limited sales history, forecasting demand and keeping products in stock is difficult. RIO already sold their products directly through their website but was not sure how their sales and Amazon FBA fees would compare on Amazon. In addition to being a new seller, their products experience more seasonal demand around the holidays, which made it even more challenging to predict how much inventory to send to fulfillment centers. Before working with Goat Consulting, they did not have a specific schedule for sending in FBA shipments, which caused products to be out of stock.
Goat Consulting analyzed initial sales and developed a process for tracking and managing FBA inventory levels. To allow for quick adjustments to demand fluctuations, we developed a schedule to send in weekly FBA shipments. These smaller, more frequent shipments allowed us to be proactive with inventory planning and prevented large quantities of inventory from being unavailable in cases where a shipment was delayed. At the beginning of each week, we shared a spreadsheet with the current FBA inventory (including available, inbound, and reserved quantities) along with recommendations of the number of units to send in for each SKU. Since RIO's products are small and have a lower storage fee, we aimed for an inventory level of 60 days.
Leading into Prime Day, we prepared shipments so that 90 days of stock would be available, understanding that we were likely to sell through more inventory. Heading into the holiday season, we adjust recommendations to include AWD shipments for the top-selling products.
Amazon Ads Strategy and Continuous Optimization
We discussed the top goals RIO hoped to achieve through their Amazon advertising efforts. Although sales growth was always important, they also wanted to reach new-to-brand shoppers and increase their brand awareness on Amazon. Since they offer a unique product that many shoppers may not know exists, finding creative ways to reach more people was important.
We started by adding their brand name and variations of it as negative keyword targets to their automatic campaigns. Goat Consulting conducted market research and identified key competitive ASINs that offer somewhat similar products, including date night ideas and state-specific travel guide books. We also expanded targets to include gift-related keywords.
Beyond updating keyword and ASIN targets, we increased advertising reach by employing more campaign types. We utilized Sponsored Brand Video campaigns to grab attention and tell the brand story. Through Sponsored Display campaigns, we increased ad exposure with shoppers who had viewed the detail pages in the past. Goat Consulting gained access to Amazon Marketing Cloud in order to create custom audiences and increase bids for shoppers that were more likely to purchase.
We continue to audit the search term reports and adjust bids on a regular basis. We review Amazon's search term reports to identify irrelevant keywords and ASINs that can be added as negative targets. We also review bids and increase them for top-performing targets. Using AMC audiences, we experiment with increasing bids for specific shoppers that have shown interest in the brand or viewed ads in the past. Leading up to a promotion, we increase advertising budgets and ensure the campaigns have enough spend to run through the end of the day.
Results
Between February 2025 and May 2025, Goat Consulting's Amazon Ad approach helped RIO increase Return on Ad Spend (RoAS) from 4.04 to 10.8 and increase new-to-brand customers by 52%. Despite decreasing advertising spending by 65%, we still achieved that increase in new-to-brand customers. By defining specific advertising goals and creating a full-funnel strategy, we were able to reach new customers and improve advertising efficiency.
In Their Own Words
"Amazon has never been our core focus, so partnering with Goat Consulting has been incredibly valuable. With past agencies, we were the ones expected to come up with the ideas and lead the strategy. Goat Consulting is the opposite. They consistently bring new ideas, run thoughtful tests, and proactively push the brand forward. It is truly a hands off experience for us and the results speak for themselves." -Trent Anderson, Reach International Outfitters
Wrapping Up the RIO Amazon Case Study
Building a brand on Amazon is challenging, and even more so when promoting new, innovative products that shoppers are not familiar with. For Reach International Outfitters, we recognized that this unique product would be a success on Amazon if we were able to reach the right audience. By combining detailed, informative content on the listings with engaging storytelling across the A+ content and storefront, we were able to build RIO's brand awareness on Amazon. Establishing a consistent schedule for auditing and replenishing FBA inventory kept products available for purchase. Advertising was the key project that helped us identify potential customers and promote products on relevant search terms. This holistic approach helped achieve more page views, higher sales, and more efficient operations on Amazon.
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About the Author
This post was written by Reed Thompson, the CEO at Goat Consulting. Reed helps lead the Goat Consulting team and their clients sell on Amazon by increasing sales, mitigating risk, reducing costs, and solving problems. If you want help with Amazon Advertising or assistance with other aspects of selling on Amazon, please reach out through our Contact Us form.