The Pencil Grip’s shipped COGS and average sales price trend from 2019 through 2021.
The Pencil Grip entered 2021 with several connected Amazon challenges. Pandemic-related school closures disrupted normal demand, the brand had inventory it needed to move, and catalog problems limited the performance of key products.
SalesDuo began supporting The Pencil Grip in March 2021. Instead of treating advertising as a separate issue, the team reviewed the wider Amazon account. The work covered Vendor Central management, catalog repairs, product content, compliance guidance, promotions, operations, and sponsored advertising.
The account delivered growth in 2021. This was cross-vertical work, the vertical result came from the combined efforts rather than from a single campaign isolation.
| Case-study detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Brand | The Pencil Grip |
| Marketplace | Amazon.com |
| Account | Vendor Central |
| Core challenge | Pandemic disruption, inventory pressure, suppressed ASINs, variation issues, listing gaps, and advertising inefficiency |
| SalesDuo’s work | Account management, catalog support, compliance guidance, content, promotions, operations, and sponsored advertising |
| Engagement start | March 2021 |
| Measurement period | 2021 |
| Reported result | Reported account growth during 2021 |
| Attribution | Combined account-level work rather than advertising alone |
The Pencil Grip develops educational, writing, creative, and classroom products. Its Amazon catalog serves parents, teachers, schools, and shoppers looking for tools that support writing, learning, and creative activities.
When SalesDuo joined the account in March 2021, The Pencil Grip was facing more than an advertising problem. Several important ASINs had been suppressed, product variations were affecting sales, listings needed improvement, and the brand had inventory it wanted to sell without placing unnecessary pressure on margins.
These issues spanned multiple phases of the user experience. Catalog problems could reduce product availability and visibility. Incomplete information could also make products more difficult to assess. Promotions were affected by stock pressure, and sales by the quality of the detail pages (i.e., how many people were browsing them).
So the account required a pan-business approach across catalog, content, compliance, promotions, operations, and advertising.
The Pencil Grip’s Amazon performance was being affected by several problems at the same time. Increasing advertising spend alone would not have addressed the underlying account issues.
| Challenge | Business effect |
|---|---|
| Suppressed ASINs | Important products could lose visibility or become unavailable |
| Weak variation structure | Shoppers could be directed toward a different or lower-priced product |
| Incomplete product information | Customers had less information to evaluate products |
| Inventory pressure | The brand needed to improve sell-through without uncontrolled discounting |
| Advertising inefficiency | Campaigns were sending traffic to products with unresolved catalog or content issues |
| Fragmented account work | Catalog, operations, promotions, and advertising required shared priorities |
SalesDuo began by reviewing The Pencil Grip’s Vendor Central catalog. The team used an internal account-review process called “Walk the Store,” starting with products responsible for a large share of sales before moving into the rest of the catalog.
The review identified suppressed ASINs among some of the brand’s important products. It also uncovered product-data, listing, and variation issues that could interfere with discoverability and sales.
One high-selling product had experienced a sudden decline. The account review indicated that its variation structure was contributing to the problem. Similar items with different prices had been grouped, giving shoppers the option to select a lower-priced product instead of the established higher-priced item.
SalesDuo separated the products from the variation so each item could be evaluated on its own. According to the account narrative, sales for the affected product began to improve after the change.
The Pencil Grip entered 2021 after a year of pandemic-related uncertainty. School closures had affected normal buying patterns, while the brand still had inventory available for sale on Amazon.
The company needed to improve sell-through, but simply lowering prices or increasing advertising spend could have reduced profitability.
SalesDuo therefore connected catalog repairs with seasonal promotional planning. Promotions were designed to support periods of stronger demand while also giving selected slower-moving products more visibility.
This approach allowed the account team to consider inventory, pricing, timing, margins, and advertising together.
The Pencil Grip’s shipped COGS and average sales price trend from 2019 through 2021.
Advertising was an important part of the account, but its performance depended on the condition of the products being promoted.
A sponsored-ad campaign could send shoppers to a detail page. Still, it could not repair a suppressed ASIN, correct a weak variation, add missing product information, or solve an inventory problem.
Amazon explains that Sponsored Products promote individual product listings and direct shoppers to the relevant product detail page. Product availability and detail-page quality therefore influence what happens after the click.
SalesDuo first worked on the account conditions affecting whether shoppers could find, understand, and purchase The Pencil Grip’s products. Advertising could then operate on a stronger foundation.
SalesDuo organized the engagement around five connected areas:
This structure helped the team address immediate problems while maintaining a broader view of account performance.
The priority was to understand why important ASINs were suppressed and identify the documentation or product-data changes needed to resolve the issues.
Some of The Pencil Grip’s products were subject to children’s-product testing and certification requirements. SalesDuo helped the client review the account issues and coordinate the documentation required for Amazon.
Under US Consumer Product Safety Commission guidance, applicable children’s products generally need to be tested by a third-party laboratory accepted by the CPSC for the relevant safety requirements. The responsible manufacturer or importer then uses the passing test results to issue a Children’s Product Certificate.
This distinction matters because Amazon does not replace the manufacturer’s or importer’s compliance responsibilities. SalesDuo’s role was to help the client understand the account issue, organize the required information, and support the Amazon submission process.
The broader catalog review also covered product data and variation relationships. SalesDuo prioritized the issues affecting the products with the greatest business impact.
Brands facing similar catalog and operational challenges can learn more about SalesDuo’s full-service Amazon account management.
After identifying the catalog problems, SalesDuo reviewed the content on The Pencil Grip’s product detail pages.
The work included areas such as:
The goal was not to insert keywords mechanically. It was to make each listing easier for Amazon’s systems to interpret and easier for shoppers to understand.
Better content also provides a more complete destination for advertising traffic.
SalesDuo offers Amazon listing optimization for brands that need help improving product titles, bullets, descriptions, images, and enhanced content. Brands working on wider catalog discoverability can also explore SalesDuo’s Amazon SEO services.
Once SalesDuo addressed the highest-priority catalog and listing issues, it developed a seasonal coupon plan.
The promotions were designed to support stronger school-shopping periods and help selected slower-moving products receive additional visibility.
Planning the campaigns allowed the team to consider:
SalesDuo reviewed the wider catalog before building and refining the advertising structure.
The account strategy included advertising activity involving:
Sponsored Products are cost-per-click ads that promote individual products across Amazon shopping results and product pages. SalesDuo used them to support product-level visibility and demand.
SalesDuo used Sponsored Brands to create broader brand and product visibility. These ads can feature brand elements, creative assets, and selected products across Amazon shopping placements.
Sponsored Display was also part of the 2021 account strategy. Because Amazon’s advertising product names and formats have evolved, this case study refers to the campaign type used during the engagement.
SalesDuo also monitored campaign timing and performance.
Brands that need current campaign support can review SalesDuo’s Amazon advertising management services. Those looking for a deeper tactical discussion can also read about Amazon PPC consulting strategy.
It was a continual account management collaboration between SalesDuo and The Pencil Grip, not a one-time account audit.
The procedure was:
This common operating rhythm mattered because decisions in one area affected the others.
Advertising requires active, conversion-ready product pages. Promotions require adequate inventory and margins. Variant changes should reflect real product relationships. Compliance documentation should match the products and relevant regulations.
The Pencil Grip engagement followed a practical sequence.
SalesDuo reviewed the Vendor Central account, catalog structure, sales priorities, operational issues, and advertising activity.
The team focused first on the products responsible for the largest share of business performance.
SalesDuo investigated and addressed high-impact suppression, product data, and variation issues.
This helped remove barriers that could prevent important products from being available, discoverable, or properly presented.
SalesDuo analyzed product titles, bullets, descriptions, images, A+ Content, and other detail page content.
The goal was to make products clearer and drive more organic and paid traffic to better destinations.
Seasonal discounts were scheduled to coincide with stock availability and demand predictions.
The promotions were determined by the commercial importance of the products rather than being account-wide.
Sponsored-ad activity was structured around priority ASINs and account goals.
Campaigns were monitored and adjusted alongside the wider catalog and promotional work.
SalesDuo continued to review catalog, content, inventory, promotions, operations, and advertising together.
This allowed the team to respond when a change in one area affected another part of the account.
The Pencil Grip achieved a reported account-growth result during 2021.
The result should be understood in the context of the wider engagement. SalesDuo’s work included catalog repairs, suppression support, variation changes, content improvements, promotional planning, operations, and sponsored advertising.
It was not an advertising-only engagement.
The reported growth result represents the primary business outcome associated with the engagement.
Until the measurement details are documented, describe the outcome as a reported account-growth result rather than a fully attributed advertising result.
The Pencil Grip’s account performance trend through 2021, showing the acceleration during the case-study period
The promotion was tailored to seasonal demand, inventory, and product priorities. The coupon outcome therefore reinforces the broader account narrative, but it should not be indicated as the only driver of the account’s growth.
The available case-study evidence does not support assigning the full result to sponsored advertising alone.
The engagement involved several connected workstreams:
The most accurate interpretation is that the reported growth was an account-level outcome associated with coordinated execution across these areas.
The available evidence does not include ACoS, ROAS, TACoS, conversion rate, organic sales, or ad-attributed sales figures for the measurement period.
The case shows why catalog health and advertising cannot be managed in isolation. SalesDuo first addressed suppression, variation, content, inventory, and compliance issues, then used advertising to support products with a stronger purchasing foundation.
The Pencil Grip story is most relevant to established brands dealing with several connected Amazon challenges at the same time.
| This case may be relevant when | The comparison may be limited when |
|---|---|
| Important ASINs are suppressed or inconsistent | The account has no meaningful catalog issues |
| Variations are affecting shopper choice | The catalog contains only a few independent products |
| Product pages need stronger content or creative assets | Detail pages are already complete and converting efficiently |
| The brand has inventory it needs to move carefully | Inventory is severely constrained |
| Advertising is running on weak product foundations | The only issue is one narrow campaign setting |
| Vendor Central work is divided across several teams | One experienced internal team owns every account function |
| Promotions, operations, and advertising are poorly coordinated | The brand already has mature cross-functional processes |
The reported result should not be treated as a guaranteed benchmark.
Amazon performance varies based on:
The transferable lesson is the process: review the whole account, address the highest-impact problems, and coordinate catalog and commercial execution before scaling advertising.
The Pencil Grip is one example of SalesDuo’s work across Amazon advertising, catalog management, account operations, product content, and growth strategy.
Explore more Amazon growth case studies to see how SalesDuo has approached different categories, account problems, and growth priorities.
Your Amazon account may not have the same catalog, inventory, or advertising conditions as The Pencil Grip. However, weak growth often comes from several connected issues rather than one isolated campaign problem.
SalesDuo can review your current account structure, identify gaps in ownership and execution, and help determine whether your priorities involve advertising, catalog health, listings, operations, promotions, or a combination of these areas.
Our excellent customer support team is ready to help.