While Black Friday might have peaked years ago and is experiencing diminishing returns year on year, it would appear Mr Bezos is expected to spend his honeymoon enjoying a major boon. Indeed, all signs seem to point towards Prime Day 2025 eclipsing all previous events.
Amazon’s mid-summer sales spectacular now spans four days (July 8–11) and US consumers alone are projected to spend over $17 billion in that four-day span, topping last year’s record $14.2 B (up 11%). Early July has effectively become a new retail season (what analysts call “retail’s most concentrated month outside of the holiday season”) as all major retailers scramble wildly for consumer attention.
But a crowded deals calendar and cautious shoppers make victory far from assured. More than half of consumers report being more careful with their spending this year, so even big discounts no longer guarantee a sale.
The digital space is also saturated: ads of every kind vie for attention, and only about one-third of people truly trust the brands they use (81% say trust is a key factor in buying decisions). In this environment, brands can’t rely on Amazon’s hype alone; they need genuine connections and creative magic to win attention.
That’s why savvy marketers are looking beyond the screen. Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising – from billboards to transit posters – offers a powerful way to cut through the clutter with real-world impact. OOH is public, unavoidable, and inherently credible: one study found 49% of people trust OOH ads more than social media.
Programmatic technology now lets brands change those outdoor messages in real time (for example, swapping a digital billboard ad based on weather or inventory). These high-impact outdoor brand moments can spark interest and drive online searches at precisely the right moment, bridging the gap between physical inspiration and digital action.
Looking ahead, industry experts say Prime Day shouldn’t be treated as just a brief sale or a two-day flash event. Instead, the four-day format rewards creativity, experimentation, and strategic thinking.
To set up Prime Day success, they highlight tactics like blending eye-catching outdoor campaigns with laser-focused digital buys; using AI and real-time data signals to tailor creative for each individual impression; targeting high-intent audiences via predictive triggers (for example, reaching people moving into new homes when they’re furnishing their space); and rigorously measuring incrementality so that every marketing dollar is justified.
In short, the best-performing brands will treat Prime Day as both a sprint and a marathon: an intense creative sprint to stand out immediately, and the start of a longer journey toward lasting customer loyalty. To unpack more, I spoke to a handful of creative leaders to pick their brains on how to stand out during the Prime Day frenzy.
Charmaine Tavassoly Moss, Business Development Lead, Europe at Bauer Media Outdoor UK
"This year marks the first time Prime Day will span four days – giving brands and advertisers an extended window to influence purchase decisions and drive meaningful results. But with more time comes more competition for attention in an already saturated online environment.
“While e-commerce remains a vital growth channel, consumer spending is under pressure, and digital clutter is at an all-time high. Out of Home (OOH) advertising offers a powerful way to cut through, delivering timely, high-impact brand moments in the real world. It’s not just about awareness – searches prompted by OOH are 38% more likely to result in a purchase, making it a key performance driver during retail peaks like Prime Day.
“Programmatic OOH (prOOH) takes this further, enabling brands to run contextually relevant, data-driven campaigns in real-time. With access to rich first, second, and third-party data, advertisers can target their audiences with precision at key moments – bridging the gap between physical presence and digital action.
“In a climate of consumer scepticism, where 36% still don’t trust online-only brands, OOH brings trust and visibility. It’s public, credible, and proven to be more trustworthy than social media – offering brands an edge as they compete for attention and conversion over the extended Prime Day period."
Guy Jackson, Chief Commercial Officer, RAAS LAB
“As consumers look to make the most of Prime Day discounts, the big challenge for advertisers will be rising above the noise. There is one key answer to this, and that is pushing creativity to stand out and deliver campaigns that truly resonate.
“This means leveraging enriched, impression-level signals to deliver more precise and relevant creative messaging. While traditional segmentation can work for broad groups, by harnessing real-time, granular signals, retail advertisers can tailor their creativity in the moment and to consumers most likely to purchase, thereby increasing the likelihood of meaningful engagement. Crucially, it’s AI that makes this level of hyper-relevance possible, digesting vast streams of data in real-time to inform dynamic, context-aware creative decisions.
“Those retail brands who are leveraging agentic AI tools to combine their creative with these insights will see their Prime Day media reach its full potential. This innovative brand storytelling, powered by impression-level signals, will enable retail advertisers to differentiate themselves, cut through the noise, and achieve lasting impact for Prime Day and beyond.”
Graham Field, Chief Revenue Officer at Outra
“Prime Day is a powerful reminder of the importance of timing in marketing. But the most forward-thinking brands know success isn’t just about hitting the right date – it’s about connecting at the right moment in someone’s life.
“Moving house is one of the most significant life events consumers experience, sparking a surge in home-related purchases. In fact, movers are 60% more likely to purchase new furniture than the average consumer, making them a high-value audience for home goods brands looking to cut through the noise during peak retail periods.
“By harnessing predictive signals to identify likely movers before they start actively searching, marketers can position their brand right at the moment shoppers are ready to invest in their new space. Combine that with high-traffic retail events like Prime Day, and you’re not just reaching more people – you’re reaching the right people at exactly the right time.
“That’s the difference between reacting to demand and getting ahead of it – and it’s how brands can turn Prime Day from a short-term spike into a catalyst for long-term customer growth.”
Maor Sadra, CEO & co-founder, INCRMNTAL
"Prime Day is a sales frenzy, but it’s also a trap for lazy measurement. Just because revenue spikes doesn’t mean your ads deserve the credit.
"At INCRMNTAL, we’ve analysed more than $2 billion in ad spend, including Prime Day campaigns across industries like gaming, retail, and finance. What we consistently find is this: Prime Day generates huge sales spikes, but much of that revenue isn’t truly incremental. In many cases, brands see a lower return on ad spend during Prime Day than they do during regular seasonal activity. Why? Because consumers are already primed to purchase, whether or not your campaigns run.
"This year, brands are investing across a myriad of channels and platforms including CTV, linear TV, DOOH, retail media, and social, but as spend spreads, so does the risk of misattribution. Without always-on incrementality measurement, many marketers are unknowingly over-crediting platforms that simply benefit from timing.
"Advertising on Prime Day is expensive. Amazon, in particular, sees a significant portion of merchant sales flow straight back into its own pockets through ad spend. If marketers don’t understand what’s truly driving conversions, they risk mistaking correlation for causation, and consequently wasting serious budget.
"Now more than ever, accurate, privacy-safe measurement is essential to cutting through the noise and making every dollar count."
Julie Selman, SVP, Head of EMEA at Magnite
“Commerce media is rapidly becoming a foundational pillar of modern marketing, and Prime Day is one of the most powerful moments to activate its full potential. With retail media spend in the UK rising by 17.7% each year, the next frontier isn’t just about media, it’s about data.
“What sets retail data apart is its ability to drive performance and precision in off-site advertising. For retailers, it represents a major monetisation opportunity. But unlocking that potential at scale means having the right technology partner – one that simplifies activation and ensures smooth, effective execution.
“Prime Day brings together high consumer intent, elevated advertiser demand, and impressive audience attention. For advertisers, it creates a powerful moment to deliver real value to brand partners through curated, contextually rich experiences – whether on CTV, display, or programmatic channels. By aligning with retail media networks and embracing commerce-driven formats, advertisers can not only drive tangible outcomes for brands, but also tap into new and meaningful revenue streams.”
Philip Acton, Country Manager, UK, Adform
“With inflation on non-perishable goods easing and household confidence proving resilient, consumers are approaching shopping occasions like Prime Day with a savvier, more value-driven mindset. As Barclays points out, shoppers are becoming adept at making the most of discount-led moments, creating a clear opportunity for brands to meet this demand and deliver value where it matters most.
“Prime Day represents a unique moment for brands to capture attention and drive results at scale. In an environment where consumer journeys span more touchpoints than ever, from CTV and retail media to DOOH, mobile, and beyond, brands that embrace this complexity as an opportunity rather than a challenge will emerge ahead.
“The key lies in relevance and consistency. Brands that deliver high-quality omnichannel experiences tailored to where audiences are and how they behave can break through the noise and build lasting impact. Identity-driven solutions make this possible, enabling brands to optimise campaigns across channels and create meaningful connections at scale.
“This Prime Day, the brands that succeed will be those that invest in smart omnichannel strategies and put identity at the heart of their approach. Do that and the results won’t just be felt today, they’ll set the foundation for long-term growth.”
Conclusion
For creative professionals, the takeaway is that breaking through the Prime Day frenzy takes both creativity and strategy. Out-of-Home media still plays a starring role – half of consumers trust a billboard or poster more than a social feed, giving outdoor ads a credibility edge.
A dramatic OOH campaign (say, a viral-worthy transit ad or a city-wide poster series) can reinforce your message in the real world and prime customers for online engagement. These physical touchpoints anchor your brand in the consumer’s mind and make your digital efforts more effective.
Meanwhile, RAAS Lab’s Guy Jackson reminds us to harness data-driven creativity. Ads should adapt on the fly: use AI and impression-level signals to swap in different images, headlines or offers based on context.
Research backs this up – roughly 80% of shoppers are more likely to engage with offers that feel personally relevant. So instead of one static banner, your team might build dozens of creative variants. The AI does the heavy lifting, and designers ensure the creative stays on-brand and compelling.
Graham Field’s insight highlights another angle: timing matters. By using predictive analytics to identify life events (like people moving homes), brands can reach audiences exactly when they’re most receptive. Imagine Prime Day ads featuring aspirational living-room setups served to recent homebuyers – the creative hits the target.
This turns Prime Day into not just a short-term sale push, but an opportunity to start a long-term relationship with high-value customers. And of course, Maor Sadra’s caveat stands – always measure incrementality to verify that your work drove real lift, not just coincidental sales.
Julie Selman and Philip Acton take the 10,000-foot view: unify your channels. Blending in retail media means your creative must fit partners’ ecosystems – for example, designing shoppable video ads that integrate with online storefronts.
Because consumers bounce between DOOH, CTV, mobile and desktop, consistency is crucial. Identity-driven tools can help ensure the same user sees a unified message everywhere. In practice, this means defining a single creative concept (colours, logos, typography and tone) that seamlessly covers all channels. The result feels like one powerful story, not a scattered collection of ads.
In sum, Prime Day 2025 is a creative marathon disguised as a sprint. The event rewards teams who wow first but also who think long term. This means running a bold, unforgettable campaign on Day 1 and using the data and learnings to fuel growth beyond the sale. For creative leaders and freelancers, the mission is clear: let data guide the strategy, but let creativity steal the show.
Whether it’s a towering billboard, a heartfelt video, or a seamless omnichannel story, make it memorable. After all, the real victory comes from turning the Prime Day sprint into momentum that lasts far beyond July.