Dentsu Aegis launches Amazon-focused consulting firm Sellwin in New York

Denstu Aegis Network, the UK-based media and digital marketing subsidiary of advertising giant Dentsu, has launched an Amazon-focused consultancy in New York City. The firm will help clients build successful strategies on the Amazon e-commerce platform. 

Since its foundation in 1994, Amazon has grown at a staggering pace and expanded into sector after sector. From its roots as an online bookseller, the company has grown into a technology giant: a pioneer in artificial intelligence, a cloud services market leader, and the largest e-retailer in the world. Sectors continue to fear disruption from Amazon, as it eyes further expansion into areas such as healthcare, banking, and even brick-and-mortar stores. At the heart of everything is innovative technology, low prices, and customer-centricity.

The e-retailer has, of course, garnered its fair share of criticism over the years, from poor wages and working conditions for warehouse workers, to an impressive avoidance of corporate taxation. Others worry about the devastating effects of retail consolidation behind one mega-corporation, whether that’s the destruction of mom-and-pop shops or a sudden lack of competition – a conversation similar to the handwringing over Walmart’s expansion and dominance in decades past.

For brands that can join Amazon as it continues its spiral upwards, the platform offers vast opportunities. Simply getting their products onto Amazon.com, however, probably won’t give companies the best results.

A new Amazon-specific consulting firm launched by Dentsu Aegis hopes to woo clients that want to get the most out of their Amazon strategy. Sellwin will offer advisory support in retail, product setup, reviews and loyalty, logistics and warehousing, and advertising and marketing. The company argues its services will “set your brand apart from the more than three billion products sold and advertised on the platform.”

The move marks a significant investment in Amazon from Dentsu Aegis, and will build on the company’s expertise in media, commerce, data, and SEO. Based in New York, Sellwin will draw in e-commerce and marketing experts from Dentsu Aegis, as well as a number of external hires from Amazon and eBay. The firm’s more than 130 specialists will initially start with 12 clients sourced from previous Dentsu engagements, according to news site AdExchanger.

“Sellwin provides marketers with an agile, multi-disciplinary consulting resource for navigating the complexities of Amazon,” Nick Brien, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network, Americas, said. “By aligning talent from Dentsu Aegis Network’s specialist agencies and external hires, we’ve been able to create a dedicated business to imagine and execute successful, integrated Amazon business solutions for our clients.”

Sellwin will be led by Travis Johnson, who was previously the global CEO of ad giant IPG’s mobile agency Ansible. Before that, he was Australia CEO at Ansible, and head of IPG Media Lab, the innovation arm of the advertising group. Johnson has more than 20 years of experience leading teams focused on brand innovation and transformation.

“As Amazon continues to expand at a rapid pace, so do the opportunities for brands,” Johnson said. “By harnessing the individual agency skills across Dentsu Aegis Network – and adding new retail-focused skillsets – we offer clients something they haven’t had before: robust and comprehensive strategies that consider the full breadth of opportunities with Amazon, seamlessly plugging into overarching marketing plans, and meeting their business goals.”

As consulting firms – Accenture foremost among them – expand into the digital marketing arena, incumbent agencies are looking to diversify their offerings. A specialized consulting focus, in this case for Amazon, allows battered traditional agencies to mirror the models – and hopefully the financial success – of the consulting giants that are trying to “drink their milkshake.”