Strategy Guide

Campaign Strategies

15 min read
Last updated: December 2024

Master Every Campaign Strategy Available in WallyPilot

WallyPilot offers 8 prebuilt campaign strategies designed to automate and optimize your Walmart advertising. Each strategy serves a unique purpose, from automatic discovery campaigns to sophisticated inventory-driven optimization.

This comprehensive guide explains all available strategies, when to use them, and how to maximize their effectiveness for your business goals.

Strategy Categories Overview

Automation

Set-and-forget strategies that handle targeting and optimization automatically

Keyword Targeting

Precision targeting using different match types for optimal reach and relevance

Performance

Advanced strategies focused on maximizing conversions and ROAS

Audience & Brand

Customer-focused campaigns for retargeting, brand building, and conquest

1. Automatic Campaign

Automation

What It Does

Lets Walmart's algorithm automatically target your products to relevant searches. The system uses machine learning to discover keywords and placements that match shopper intent with your products.

Key Features

  • No keyword research required
  • Walmart handles targeting automatically
  • Discover new keywords and search terms
  • Great for new products or testing
  • Easy to set up and manage

Best For:

  • • Brand new products without performance data
  • • Sellers who want to start advertising quickly
  • • Testing new product categories
  • • Building initial keyword research data

2-4. Scavenger Campaigns (BROAD, EXACT, PHRASE)

Keyword Targeting

What They Do

Scavenger campaigns capture additional traffic from Walmart's suggested keywords using different match types. They work as "cleanup crews" to catch high-intent searches your main campaigns might miss.

All Scavenger Campaigns Include

  • Use all Walmart suggested keywords
  • Fixed $0.31 bid per keyword
  • One ad group per product
  • Automatic keyword discovery

Scavenger BROAD

Maximum reach with broad match targeting. Captures wide range of search variations.

Best for: Discovery and broad keyword testing

Scavenger EXACT

Precision targeting with exact match. High-intent conversion focus.

Best for: Converting proven search terms

Scavenger PHRASE

Balanced targeting with phrase match. Optimized reach and relevance.

Best for: Middle-ground targeting strategy

Pro Strategy: Run All Three Together

Many successful sellers run all three scavenger match types simultaneously to capture traffic at different intent levels, then promote winning keywords to their main performance campaigns.

5. High-Intent Conversion

Performance

What It Does

Targets proven, high-value keywords with precision match types for maximum conversions. This is an advanced strategy that harvests your best-performing keywords from existing campaigns and optimizes them for profitability.

Key Features

  • Harvest keywords from existing campaigns
  • Exact, Phrase, and Broad match segmentation
  • ROAS and ACOS targeting
  • Negative keyword management
  • Granular bid control per keyword

Best For:

  • • Established products with conversion history
  • • Sellers focused on maximizing profitability
  • • Accounts with significant ad spend looking to optimize ROAS
  • • Products in competitive categories requiring precise targeting

6. Pivot Targeting

Audience Targeting

What It Does

Leverages audience-focused campaigns with Display and Sponsored Display targeting. Goes beyond keyword-based advertising to target specific customer segments and behaviors.

Key Features

  • Retargeting shoppers who viewed products
  • Competitor conquesting campaigns
  • Complementary product targeting
  • Lookalike audience expansion
  • Advanced audience segmentation

Best For:

  • • Brands looking to recapture cart abandoners
  • • Products with high consideration cycles
  • • Cross-selling and upselling strategies
  • • Competitive categories where conquest matters

7. Brand Awareness & Loyalty

Brand Awareness

What It Does

Builds brand recognition and loyalty with premium ad placements. Focuses on top-of-funnel visibility and creating lasting brand impressions rather than immediate conversions.

Key Features

  • Sponsored Brands at top of search
  • Display Ads across Walmart.com
  • Category and demographic targeting
  • Track brand search lift
  • Build long-term customer loyalty

Best For:

  • • Established brands launching on Walmart
  • • New product category expansions
  • • Building brand equity in competitive markets
  • • Long-term brand building campaigns

Different Success Metrics

Brand awareness campaigns are measured differently than conversion campaigns. Focus on impressions, brand search lift, and assisted conversions rather than direct ROAS.

8. Inventory-Driven Optimization

Automation

What It Does

Automatically syncs advertising with inventory levels to prevent stockouts and clear excess inventory. The most sophisticated automation strategy that connects your supply chain to your advertising.

Key Features

  • Prevent stockouts by pausing ads
  • Clear excess inventory with aggressive bids
  • Adjust based on sales velocity
  • Monitor days of stock remaining
  • Custom automation rules

Best For:

  • • Products with variable inventory levels
  • • Seasonal products needing aggressive clearance
  • • Preventing costly stockout scenarios
  • • Optimizing inventory turnover rate

Advanced Business Intelligence

This strategy requires integration with your inventory management system. It's ideal for sellers with sophisticated operations who want to eliminate manual ad adjustments based on stock levels.

How to Choose the Right Strategy

Decision Framework

If you're just starting out:

Start with Automatic Campaign to build initial data, then add Scavenger campaigns to capture missed opportunities.

If you have established products:

Use High-Intent Conversion to maximize profitability on proven keywords, while running Scavenger campaigns to find new opportunities.

If you're building brand awareness:

Combine Brand Awareness & Loyalty with Pivot Targeting for maximum visibility and customer retention.

If you have inventory challenges:

Implement Inventory-Driven Optimization to automatically adjust ad spend based on stock levels.

Pro Tip: Layer Multiple Strategies

The most successful advertisers don't use just one strategy — they layer multiple strategies to create a comprehensive advertising system:

  • Foundation: Automatic Campaign for discovery
  • Growth: All three Scavenger campaigns for keyword testing
  • Optimization: High-Intent Conversion for proven winners
  • Scale: Pivot Targeting and Brand Awareness for market expansion

Getting Started with Strategies

1

Navigate to Strategies Page

Go to the Strategies section in your WallyPilot dashboard to view all available options.

2

Select Your Strategy

Click "Set Up Strategy" on the strategy that matches your business goals.

3

Configure Settings

Follow the setup wizard to select products, set budgets, and configure strategy-specific parameters.

4

Monitor & Optimize

Track performance in your dashboard and adjust settings as needed to maximize results.

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