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What does full-funnel advertising mean to you?
With so many conflicting perspectives from e-commerce professionals, you could think the conceptual definition shifted in the past years. But it didn’t. The world of retail media is evolving rapidly, and with it, so is the way brands approach full-funnel advertising.
One of the most significant shifts has been in the role of streaming TV (STV) as a performance-driven advertising channel. What was once considered a purely upper-funnel brand awareness play is now proving to have a measurable impact across the entire customer journey.
At Acadia, we recently completed a case study with a major beauty brand that highlights the power of strategic STV campaigns. By refining audience targeting, optimizing inventory sources, and integrating advanced measurement techniques through Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), we saw remarkable improvements in return on ad spend (ROAS), branded search, and customer acquisition.
In this week’s blog, we’re breaking it down. Here’s what we learned.
Understanding Full Funnel Advertising
Before diving into the case study, it's essential to clarify what “full-funnel” truly means in today’s retail media landscape. At its core, a full-funnel strategy includes advertising campaigns that serve distinct objectives at different stages of the customer journey:
- Upper Funnel: Building awareness and attracting new customers
- Mid-Funnel: Nurturing engaged audiences toward purchase
- Lower Funnel: Driving conversions and customer retention
Simply put, full-funnel advertising is about strategically guiding consumers from initial brand awareness to long-term loyalty through targeted campaigns at every stage of their journey.
But over the years, a key distinction has emerged between "on-platform full-funnel" strategies—those executed entirely within ecosystems like Amazon—and "off-platform full-funnel" approaches, which use broader programmatic advertising while maintaining the measurable performance typically associated with on-platform campaigns.
This blending of brand marketing and performance marketing is reshaping traditional advertising strategies. If in the past full-funnel strategies on Amazon primarily relied on Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display, today, brands are expanding their approach, incorporating tools like Streaming TV.
Traditionally, brands have viewed STV as strictly an upper-funnel tool. However, as our case study shows, STV can now be effectively leveraged across all stages of the funnel, generating both brand lift and direct conversions.
Streaming TV’s Role as a Key Advertising Strategy
Streaming TV ads can help brands reach new customers when they watch their favorite TV shows, movies, and live entertainment.
STV, or Connected TV (CTV), has emerged as a sophisticated channel for both brand building and measurable customer engagement.
Amazon struck a balance between traditional TV advertising principles and its customer-first approach by enabling attractive metrics like add-to-cart or purchase options within STV ads. This changes the game for advertisers who bridge upper-funnel objectives with direct performance outcomes.
Moreover, Amazon’s approach to defining STV—while overlapping significantly with industry standards for CTV—also includes enhanced audience guarantees via Prime Video Premiere and STV+ inventory.
The result? Advertisers gain access to premium placements with curated supply options.
This is part of Amazon's signature tactic of branding services within broader advertising categories (e.g., ACOS and ROAS metrics), but doing so in a way that centers on exceptional customer targeting behaviors.
Case Study: A Tale of Two STV Approaches
Acadia’s Director of Retail Media, Ross Walker, and his team of experts analyzed data from 2023 and 2024 to highlight this case study, illustrating how carefully strategized STV campaigns can drive massive behavioral and economic shifts for the brand.
Let’s break down the surprising insights from their work with a major beauty brand:
CAMPAIGN EVOLUTION ACROSS TWO YEARS
2023 vs. 2024
Our initial streaming TV campaign followed a conventional approach—leveraging Amazon’s “off-the-shelf” inventory packages, which include broad publisher packages like Amazon properties (e.g., IMDb TV) alongside Discovery, Paramount+, or others.
While the results were promising, we saw clear opportunities to optimize performance. In 2024, we made three key changes that significantly impacted our outcomes:
1) Strategic Inventory Selection
Instead of relying on standard STV placements, we focused on three premium inventory sources:
- Prime Video Premiere – Exclusive placements within Prime Video’s top shows
- Streaming TV Plus – A curated mix of high-performing inventory, including some Prime Video placements
- Shopper Insights Deals – Custom inventory tailored to where our audience spends the most time
This refined approach ensured our ads were appearing in the most relevant, high-impact environments.
2) Advanced Audience Targeting
While in-market audiences were effective, they lacked the specificity needed to drive efficient conversions. In 2024, we incorporated:
- AMC Lookalike Audiences – Based on high-value customer behaviors
- Competitor Viewer Targeting – Engaging shoppers researching competing brands
- Retargeting STV Viewers – Reinforcing brand recall through lower-funnel ad placements
- Behavioral Bid Adjustments – Increasing investment in shoppers who showed high engagement signals
This shift resulted in a nearly 2x increase in purchase rate and a 30% higher detail page view rate compared to off-the-shelf targeting.
3) Engagement-Driven Creative Optimization
Amazon’s latest STV ad formats offer interactive elements, such as QR codes and direct “Add to Cart” functionality. By integrating these features, we transformed passive brand exposure into an actionable conversion opportunity.
The results? Higher engagement, improved ROAS, and a measurable lift in branded search.
The Multiplier Effect of Full-Funnel STV
One of the most compelling takeaways from this case study was the multi-touch impact of STV.
While many brands assume STV is only effective as a first-touch awareness driver, our AMC analysis revealed something different:
- STV often served as a mid-funnel reinforcement tool, keeping the brand top-of-mind for shoppers already in-market.
- In some cases, STV was the final touchpoint before conversion, outperforming traditional lower-funnel ads.
- The combination of STV exposure and subsequent retargeting drove nearly double the total purchases compared to single-touch interactions.
THE RESULTS
2023 vs. 2024 STV Campaign Results
- Detail Page View Rate: 214% Increase
- Add to Cart Rate: 250% Increase
- Purchase Rate: 246% Increase
- ROAS: 300% Increase
- New to Brand ROAS: 360% Increase
💡 GET MORE INSIGHTS
The Key Role of AMC in Unlocking Multi-Touch Strategies
As highlighted in the case study, Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is redefining how brands measure the impact of multi-touch advertising strategies, moving beyond last-touch attribution to provide deeper insights into the full customer journey.
Traditional ad campaigns often undervalue upper-funnel tactics like STV, but AMC enables brands to connect the dots between awareness-driven efforts and conversion outcomes.
These findings highlight a major shift in e-commerce advertising, demonstrating how streaming TV can enhance lower-funnel, high-intent engagements like Sponsored Products.
With AMC’s insights, brands can optimize their full-funnel strategies to drive both awareness and measurable performance.
Key Takeaways for Brands Considering STV
If you’re considering STV for your brand, here’s what you should keep in mind:
Don’t Underestimate STV’s Full-Funnel Impact – With the right targeting and measurement, STV can influence purchase decisions at all stages of the journey. Brands must use robust lower and mid-funnel campaigns to ensure that the upper funnel efforts of STV trickle down successfully. STV works best as part of a cohesive full-funnel strategy.
Invest in Advanced Audience Segmentation – AMC-powered audiences outperformed standard targeting in both engagement and conversion. Use AMC as a measurement backbone to visualize the interplay of touchpoints. Invest in targeting highly refined and specific audiences to outperform broad, generic buys.
Leverage Amazon’s Interactive Ad Features – Direct response elements like QR codes significantly improved campaign effectiveness.
Commit to a Minimum Investment for Meaningful Insights – A recommended budget floor of $20K–$30K per month ensures enough data to drive actionable learnings. These budgets allow enough reach to test for statistically meaningful impacts while accounting for the higher CPMs of curated inventory.
Test, Learn, and Optimize Continuously – One campaign isn’t enough; iterative testing over time unlocks the true potential of STV.
Matching Goals to Outcomes – Before running an STV campaign, align internally on your business goals: Is it to drive site traffic? Build long-term brand awareness? Boost new-to-brand metrics?
The Future of Streaming TV in Retail Media
As STV continues to evolve, we expect to see even greater convergence between brand and performance marketing. The ability to measure STV’s direct impact on eCommerce sales through AMC and other advanced attribution tools is a game-changer for brands looking to scale efficiently.
For brands still on the fence, the message is clear: STV is no longer just an awareness play. When executed with precision, it’s a powerful driver of customer acquisition, brand lift, and revenue growth.
Are you ready to unlock the full-funnel power of STV? Let’s talk.
Give It a Listen
You can tune in for the full discussion with Ross Walker and Pat Petriello on the Ecommerce Braintrust hosted by Julie Spear and Jordan Ripley.
This show gives you access to the world's best brains when it comes to building momentum online for established consumer brands. Join in and listen to discussions with expert guests about e-commerce strategies, trends, and innovations.