Overview

On May 30, 2024 Helium 10 launched the inaugural podcast edition of its TACoS Tuesday series, delivering a live question‑and‑answer session focused on advertising strategies for Amazon and Walmart. The discussion, led by Vendo’s Director of Media Buying Gefen Laredo, offered sellers concrete guidance on budgeting, keyword tactics, and cross‑market testing—information that directly influences how they allocate ad spend and gauge profitability on the two largest e‑commerce platforms.

Key Points

• Audio‑only launch — The series shifted from a video webinar to a podcast format, enabling participants to tune in via any streaming service without needing a webcam or high‑speed connection.
• Industry‑seasoned guest — Gefen Laredo, who manages Vendo’s media buying, broke down the campaign architectures that have helped brands scale on both Amazon and Walmart.
• High engagement — Over 120 sellers submitted live questions, ranging from the nuances of exact‑match versus phrase‑match keywords to strategies for pacing daily budgets.
• TACoS clarified — The host reiterated that Total Advertising Cost of Sale equals total ad spend divided by overall sales, not merely the sales generated by ads, underscoring its role as a profitability gauge.
• Platform inventory contrast — Sponsored Products dominate Amazon’s ad ecosystem, while Walmart’s Sponsored Search inventory is still maturing, offering sellers lower competition and potentially higher impression share.
• Three‑step testing blueprint — Listeners received a repeatable framework for launching a new SKU on both marketplaces, emphasizing incremental spend, performance thresholds, and data‑driven scaling decisions.

How the Podcast Session Operates

1. Question gathering before the show — Sellers fill out an online form with their most pressing advertising queries; for instance, a vendor asked how to determine a safe ACOS ceiling for a newly released kitchen gadget.
2. Live expert answers — During the broadcast, Laredo reads each submission aloud and delivers a concise recommendation, such as starting with an ACOS target of 30 % while monitoring weekly TACoS to ensure the campaign remains profitable.