The Strategy Illusion One thing I've noticed recently, and it's an easy trap to
By Simon Ellicott · May 30, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
The Strategy Illusion
One thing I've noticed recently, and it's an easy trap to fall into:
The more Amazon agencies I speak to who position themselves as "strategic partners", the more I realise many of us have become a little loose with what strategy actually means.
And honestly, it's understandable.
For years, brands have rewarded agencies for execution.
Better PPC performance.
Better PDPs.
Better reporting.
Better processes.
So naturally, many agencies evolved to define strategy as doing those things really well.
The problem is that execution and strategy aren't the same thing.
Optimising an ad campaign is important.
Improving a listing is important.
Refining a DSP audience is important.
But they're tactics. They're the actions.
Strategy is the commercial framework that determines why those actions matter in the first place.
It starts with an objective.
It forces trade-offs.
It aligns teams around a common outcome.
And most importantly, it connects activity to commercial reality.
This is becoming increasingly apparent as AI begins to automate more of the execution layer.
Because when optimisation becomes faster and easier, the question shifts from:
"How do we do this?"
To:
"Should we be doing it at all?"
That's a strategy question.
And nowhere is this more obvious than in 1P.
I've seen plenty of "strategies" focused entirely on driving sales growth.
More traffic.
More conversion.
More revenue.
Yet no consideration given to:
• Amazon's Net PPM requirements
• Upcoming AVN negotiations
• Terms support expectations
• Promotional funding commitments
• Vendor profitability
In reality, if a plan isn't anchored to a robust P&L and an understanding of how Amazon views the commercial relationship, it's not really a strategy.
It's a collection of well intentioned activities.
And that's not a criticism, it's simply where much of the market has historically been.
The agencies creating the most value today are starting to bridge that gap, they're moving beyond optimisation.
Beyond execution.
Beyond reporting.
And becoming genuine commercial partners.
Because as execution becomes increasingly automated, the value won't sit in knowing what buttons to press.
It will sit in knowing which decisions should be made, why they matter, and what commercial outcome they're designed to achieve.
That's strategy.
Everything else is execution, and both are important, they're just not the same thing.
#AmazonAgency #AmazonStrategy #Amazon
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