The Marketplace MOAT

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In this newsletter, you’ll find:

🌍 The Marketplace Moat: Controlling the Buyer Journey Before Amazon

🧠 Consumers Are Getting Better at Spotting AI Content

🏆 Ad of the Day

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Together with Levanta

PPC costs keep rising. Affiliate marketing gives you another path.

If you sell on Amazon, you’ve seen it firsthand—PPC costs are up, and returns are getting harder to justify. But there’s a smarter way to scale without burning through budget.

More sellers are shifting to affiliate marketing—a model that brings in external traffic, boosts your organic rankings, and only costs money when it drives a sale.

How?Amazon rewards sellers who drive traffic from outside platforms—like blogs, review sites, and social posts. That traffic helps your listing perform better and convert higher.

The result:

✅ Lower ad spend
✅ Higher rankings
✅ More sales

Levanta has put together a free guide that breaks it all down:

• How to set up an affiliate program that works
• Which networks are best for Amazon sellers
• How to find quality affiliates
• Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Get your exclusive guide now!

🌍 The Marketplace Moat: Controlling the Buyer Journey Before Amazon

Amazon gives you shelf space—not control. You don’t get the customer data. You can’t retarget carts. And you definitely don’t dictate the narrative.

But here’s the unlock: your greatest power isn’t on Amazon—it’s in everything that happens before a shopper ever lands on your listing. That’s where the Marketplace Moat lives. And it’s the most under-leveraged growth channel in 2025.

1. The Algorithm Starts Before the Click

Shoppers arrive on Amazon pre-sold. They’ve seen a creator’s video, scanned a Reddit thread, read a review on Google, or heard a podcast shoutout. These moments are invisible to Amazon—but invaluable to your brand.

Elite brands don’t chase impressions. They orchestrate trust across channels before search intent is born. That’s the new edge: owning the moment before the marketplace.

2. Architect the Pre-Amazon Funnel

Most sellers obsess over product pages. But if you shape the upstream journey, conversion becomes inevitable. Ask:

• What problem does my product solve in their words?
• Who introduces it—and how?
• What mental state are they in before the search?

Example: A wellness brand mapped top Amazon reviews to their YouTube funnel and found “sleep routine” was more persuasive than “melatonin.” They rewrote content, seeded it with creators, and saw a 32% lift in Amazon CVR.

Amazon shouldn’t be the starting line. It’s the final stop of a narrative loop you control.

3. Creators as Context Engines

Treat creators like media franchises—not ad slots. Assign them specific entry points:

• “New Mom Gift Guides”
• “Budget Wellness for 9–5ers”
• “Skin Repair Post-Summer”

Each creator becomes a guided tunnel into your listing—with context pre-installed. It’s like retargeting, without the pixel.

Platforms like Levanta help brands manage this at scale—sourcing creators, aligning use cases, and syncing performance data across the funnel. Download their free guide now to architect your own pre-click moat.

4. Intent Wins More Than Bids

Amazon favors listings with high-converting external traffic. When you send pre-qualified clicks, you:

• Boost organic rank
• Reduce ACoS
• Increase Best Seller momentum

In a bidding war, intent is the unfair advantage.

You can’t outspend everyone on Amazon. But you can out-influence them. The brands that build trust before the click don’t just survive the algorithm—they make it work for them.

That’s the Marketplace Moat. Build it now.

🧠 Consumers Are Getting Better at Spotting AI Content
Insights from Joe Youngblood and Hookline&

In a study by Joe Youngblood, over 71% of U.S. consumers correctly identified AI images, with even higher detection rates for celebrities, landscapes, and animals. Similarly, Hookline& found 82% could detect AI-written content, rising to 88% among Gen Z and young millennials.

The Breakdown:

• Brands and Writers Risk Credibility with AI Use - Consumers aren’t just noticing AI—they're judging it. Half of respondents said they’d think less of writers using AI, and 40% would view brands more negatively for doing the same. Only 10% reacted positively. Poorly matched or low-quality AI visuals especially risk damaging brand perception.
• AI Is Better Behind the Scenes - While public-facing content may benefit from a human touch, AI still plays a powerful role in support. Tasks like research (55.8%), brainstorming (53.7%), editing (50.8%), and data analysis (50.1%) were seen as ideal AI applications. Visual AI is more accepted in memes or diagrams—but not in decision-critical media.
• Know Your Audience’s Tolerance - Younger consumers are more forgiving of AI content, while older decision-makers remain skeptical. Campaigns should segment content strategies accordingly—leveraging AI where invisible, and relying on human creativity.

AI can enhance productivity, but transparency and quality are key to preserving brand credibility. With detection rates rising, marketers must strike a balance—using AI to accelerate work, not replace the human touch where it truly matters.

🏆 Ad of the Day

What Works:

The punchline isn’t loud — it’s observational genius. The second frame says “Knife after Nutella” but shows no Nutella on the knife. That’s the joke. Anyone who’s eaten Nutella knows: you don’t leave Nutella on the knife.

This subtle gag plays on an unspoken, near-universal behavior, which creates instant relatability. It’s not just funny — it’s shared truth, and that’s what gives it viral power.

Nutella isn’t just featured — it is the punchline. Its logo placement anchors both frames, reinforcing brand memory without needing to explain anything.

Two knives. Two lines. One product. The simplicity ensures zero cognitive load and allows the humor to land in under two seconds

What Could be Better:

While the visual is strong, adding a simple copy like "The joy you can’t resist" would add more emotional appeal, making the campaign more memorable.

Broader Insights:

This Nutella ad is an excellent example of relatable, humorous marketing that drives brand awareness through visual storytelling. With AI-powered tools, the concept could evolve into personalized ads based on user-generated images, further engaging the audience.

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