Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) Sandbox is a powerful tool designed to help advertisers explore and leverage the advanced features of AMC in a risk-free environment. It provides a unique opportunity to experiment with different strategies, test queries, and analyze data without affecting live campaigns or incurring any costs.
At the heart of AMC Sandbox lies the concept of synthetic data. This artificially generated data mimics the structure and statistical properties of real-world AMC data, including Amazon Ads signals from Amazon and third parties. This means that advertisers can explore the full potential of AMC using realistic data without compromising the privacy of actual customer information.
By utilizing AMC Sandbox, advertisers can gain a deeper understanding of how AMC works, experiment with different features, and develop sophisticated strategies to optimize their advertising campaigns.
Whether it’s testing complex queries, or simply gaining hands-on experience with AMC, the sandbox provides a safe and effective environment for mastering advanced advertising techniques.
Tailored Use Cases for Advertisers
AMC Sandbox caters to a variety of use cases specifically relevant to advertisers:
Deep Dive into Signal Investigation:
AMC Sandbox allows advertisers to go beyond aggregated metrics and delve into granular, event-level data using the Aggregation Controls feature. This enables a deeper understanding of user behavior, campaign performance, and attribution.
For example, advertisers can analyze individual user journeys, identify patterns in conversion events, and optimize targeting strategies based on detailed insights.
Mastering Query Iteration for Advanced Analysis:
The sandbox provides a safe environment for advertisers to test and refine complex queries without impacting live data. This empowers advertisers to create custom reports, conduct in-depth analysis, and uncover valuable insights.
By iterating on queries in the sandbox, advertisers can identify trends, optimize campaign performance, and discover new opportunities for growth.
Effortless Access and Navigation
Accessing and navigating AMC Sandbox is designed to be straightforward for advertisers:
Streamlined Access to AMC Sandbox UI:
If you already have access to AMC, your sandbox instance should be readily available within your AMC account. Simply log in using your existing credentials and navigate to the instances page.
The sandbox instance will be conveniently located at the top of the list, easily identifiable with the suffix ‘sandbox’. In case you can’t locate your sandbox instance, reach out to your AMC account admin to be added.
API Access for Advanced Integration:
For advertisers who prefer programmatic access or need to integrate AMC Sandbox with their existing workflows, AMC offers comprehensive API support. The sandbox supports all AMC API features, including ad hoc workflows, schedule creation, and workflow creation.
By modifying AMC API endpoints to include specific parameters, advertisers can seamlessly interact with the sandbox programmatically. Refer to the AMC API documentation for detailed instructions and examples.
Understanding Sandbox Data and Features
AMC Sandbox provides advertisers with a range of synthetic data and features relevant to their advertising needs:
Essential Signals for Advertisers:
The sandbox includes synthetic versions of key signals that are crucial for advertisers, such as Amazon Ads signals and Subscription signals. These signals are artificially generated to closely resemble real-world data, allowing advertisers to gain accurate insights and test strategies effectively.
For a comprehensive understanding of the available data sources, refer to the “Amazon Marketing Cloud data sources” document in the Amazon Ads Advanced Tools Center.
Key Features for Advanced Advertising:
AMC Sandbox offers a variety of features that empower advertisers to perform advanced analysis and optimization. These include functionalities like custom parameters, the Instructional Query Library (IQL), data upload capabilities, and more.
While most features available in the live AMC environment are also present in the sandbox, there might be minor differences. It’s important to note that specific features like Aggregation Controls and Table Preview are unique to the sandbox and offer enhanced capabilities for data exploration and analysis.
Limitations and Considerations for Advertisers
While AMC Sandbox offers a powerful environment for experimentation, advertisers should be aware of certain limitations:
Scenarios Where Sandbox Might Not Be Ideal:
Due to the nature of synthetic data, AMC Sandbox may not be suitable for all query testing scenarios. For instance, testing queries that rely on specific custom parameters or campaign IDs might not yield accurate results since the sandbox data doesn’t include these specific identifiers. In such cases, it’s recommended to use the live AMC environment for accurate testing.
It’s crucial to remember that AMC Sandbox is primarily designed for learning, experimentation, and feature exploration. While it provides valuable insights, it’s not a substitute for testing with real-world data in the live AMC environment.
Key Differences from Live AMC Data
It’s important to understand that AMC Sandbox operates with synthetic data, which has key distinctions from the live AMC data:
Setting the Right Expectations
The synthetic data in AMC Sandbox is not tied to real campaigns, user IDs, or actual events. While it accurately reflects the structure and statistical properties of live data, it doesn’t represent actual customer behavior or campaign performance. Therefore, advertisers should interpret results from the sandbox with this distinction in mind.
The primary purpose of the sandbox is to provide a safe and realistic environment for experimentation and learning. It allows advertisers to explore AMC features, test queries, and develop strategies without the risk of impacting live campaigns or incurring costs. However, for definitive analysis and decision-making, utilizing live AMC data is essential.
Unique Sandbox Features for Enhanced Analysis
AMC Sandbox offers two unique features that empower advertisers with enhanced capabilities for data exploration and analysis:
Aggregation Controls Toggle
This feature, exclusive to AMC Sandbox, allows advertisers to seamlessly switch between viewing aggregated and event-level data. By toggling the Aggregation Controls, advertisers can gain a comprehensive understanding of user behavior and campaign performance.
For instance, they can analyze aggregated metrics to identify trends and patterns, then switch to event-level data to understand the individual user journeys contributing to those trends. This granular control over data aggregation provides valuable insights for optimizing targeting and campaign strategies.
Table Preview
The Table Preview feature enables advertisers to quickly explore and understand the schema of the available data tables in the sandbox. By clicking on the ‘Preview’ button next to a table name, advertisers can view a snapshot of the table’s data, including column names and data types.
This feature streamlines data discovery and helps advertisers familiarize themselves with the structure and content of the sandbox data, facilitating more efficient query building and analysis.
By providing a risk-free environment with synthetic data, AMC Sandbox empowers advertisers to explore advanced features, test complex queries, and develop sophisticated strategies without impacting live campaigns or incurring costs.
While it offers a wealth of opportunities, it’s important to remember that it’s a learning and experimentation tool. The synthetic data, while realistic, is not a substitute for real-world data in the live AMC environment.
