New Year, New Creative: Synergising Copy & Design For Growth in 2026

Curtis Ritchie: Hello everyone, we are super excited for you all to join us today. We're just going to allow everyone to get joined and then we'll get started in a minute or two, and we're looking forward to this. One last one of 2025, Benny.

Curtis Ritchie: So hello everyone, and welcome to another one of our Toucan Talks webinars and our last one for 2025. I'm Curtis Ritchie, our marketing manager here at Toucan, and we're really excited that you've all joined us today and we're really looking forward to running the session for you. If you want to learn how your brands can synergise copy and design for growth in 2026, then you're in the right place. We have Ben Levart here, who's Toucan's senior creative partner and an expert when it comes to all things creative. The session today will run for only around 30 minutes and we'll have a live Q&A at the end. In terms of any questions, please feel free to submit them by typing them into the Q&A section at any point during the webinar. I will collect all of these while Ben is presenting and we will then answer as many as we can at the end. So I will now hand over to Ben to take you through today's session.

Ben Levart: Great. Thanks, guys. Hi, everyone. Thanks for the introduction. Our studios team lead, like I said, excited to be here to talk you through our strategies for synergizing copy and design for growth in 2026.

Ben Levart: So just taking a look at the agenda, we'll be just taking you through each of the different PDP touch points, from main hero imagery, listing imagery, A+ content through to brand stories. We'll be following up with future trends and PDP innovation, touching on the latest creative PDP modules and enhanced accessibility features. And then rounding off with some of our key takeaways and question and answer, like Curtis mentioned as well, at the end.

Ben Levart: So kicking things off with copy and creative synergy. It's clear internally to Toucan how important copy is to the success of your brand on Amazon. But as many of you here today might not know, great copy is only half the story. With our dedicated creative team, we take pride in a truly collaborative approach, one that creates content that converts, engages, and educates. So with that in mind, I want to walk you through some of the key creative touch points I'll be focusing on today. First up, main hero imagery. This is your chance to make a great first impression with consumers, which can help to increase glance views and drive click through rates. Once a shopper has clicked onto your PDP, next is listing imagery above the fold, visuals that help to build trust and understanding of your products. After that first swipe, then there's A+ content meeting the shopper below the fold while in the discovery phase of their purchasing journey, where education, persuasion and SEO all meet. And finally, brand stories, the emotional connection point that not only introduces who you are as a brand, but also aids cross-sell and upsell across your product portfolio.

Ben Levart: So just starting from top down, we use our content creation checklist to make sure every Amazon main image is crystal clear, well lit and instantly recognisable. Essentially it should stop shoppers mid scroll on that product search page. But first, we look at things like proportion and scale, ensuring the product fills the entirety of the art board, making it as large as possible, helping it to stand out against competitors. Next, angle and lighting, showing the product front on or slightly angled, highlighting key features, claims and providing context as to the shape and dimensions of the product, which can help to improve things like glance views and click through, driving shoppers onto that PDP. We then ensure full compliance with Amazon's creative guidelines, making sure these product images are set on clean white backgrounds with no added text or misleading elements. And then finally, we make sure it's e-com optimised. Depending on the category, that could mean subtly enlarging key areas of the packaging to emphasise some core, overarching USPs, which is especially important for those shopping on mobile devices, as you can see on the mock-ups on the right hand side. Just because, as we know from many years of experience creating content for Amazon, these small adjustments can mean the difference between a click and a scroll past.

Ben Levart: So with this in mind, I just wanted to take a look at an example from Toucan's Bio-Kult gummies range. The original hero image was already solid, clear and e-com ready, but we always look for opportunities to take it further. So after applying our best practice steps, we added things like product content and product context, showing the gummies beside the packaging so shoppers know exactly what they'll receive. Then following this, we introduced tasteful elements, rich, vibrant visuals that make the product feel almost tangible. And these are the kinds of visual cues that get shoppers to click and convert. And as you can see, the additions to this main image take it all the way from performing to exceeding.

Ben Levart: Now that we've fully optimised the main image, we then turn our attention to synergising both the creative and copy, aligning it with an equally strong title formulated in collaboration with our accounts team. Through this example, you can see how we purposely structured and mirrored the title to what's showcased on the front of pack, highlighting top line USP, flavour, audience and pack size. This alignment ensures shoppers get all the key information they need, giving them the confidence to purchase, whether they're reading the title or just scanning the visuals.

Ben Levart: Now that we've nailed the main image, let's talk listing imagery, your chance to tell your product story. These images do more than just show the pack, they demonstrate benefits, context and lifestyle imagery, helping shoppers to imagine themselves using your product. A few key things: we focus on lifestyle content, which helps to build an emotional connection and provide context, often through human interaction. Showcasing multiple angles and details of the products, clearly presenting all the sides of the packaging to showcase key information like ingredients, to avoid any unwanted surprises upon arrival. Visuals play a really big part, with a focus on placing high impact imagery higher up in the listing image order, as many shoppers may only view a few slides before either choosing to convert or jump to another PDP. And then lastly, variety. We just want to make sure that we're showcasing the product in a variety of settings to help a diverse range of consumers further connect with the product they may potentially add to their basket.

Ben Levart: With all these strategies in mind, let's take a look at Celsius Energy Drinks, which sits in one of Amazon's most competitive categories. The original listing image set led with an unoptimised main image and prioritised repeat visuals that ultimately left live sub-content at the very end of the set, meaning that many shoppers never even saw them. In our optimised version, we first focused on the main image, updating it to include tasteful visual elements and outlining clearly how many cans come in the pack. We then looked to reorder USPs for maximum impact, creating an organised and strategic flow of information. Following this, we then paired visuals with relevant copy and creative, lifestyle, flavour or ingredient details. Coupling USPs with imagery that provides context, whether it's showing an active individual, the product's own fruit flavour, or displaying detailed information about the ingredients, maybe coupled with a clear backpack image that we know consumers within this category like to see. As well as this, we've also included imagery that speaks to the wider brand messaging, highlighting the large pool of ambassadors that span sport and entertainment, and following up with a USP-supported hero image, calling out the other flavours to enjoy within the variation. Every image has a clear purpose, and together they form a cohesive narrative that helps to convert.

Ben Levart: But again, similar to our main image strategies, I just wanted to provide some context as to how our studios and accounts teams collaborate when it comes to synergising imagery and copy to create effective, highly converting listing image content. So during the optimisation process, we make sure we're working in tandem, mirroring image cues outlined across, say, the brand's D2C website or social channels, with keyword-SEO-optimised bullet points created by our accounts team. This not only helps to inform our design decisions, but keeps us consistent with our messaging across a variety of touch points. The on-screen example shows how we've made a conscious effort to capture highly converting text content within the listing image set, coupling imagery with the USPs to create a key visual with higher return on investment potential, whether we're focused on top line benefits or more detailed ingredient information.

Ben Levart: But taking a deeper look at the before and after comparison, I just wanted to draw your attention to our process of optimising your imagery to stand ahead of your competitors: the inclusion of lifestyle imagery that provides context, branding elements that drive dynamism and brand recognition, icon USPs which allow consumers to take in information quickly and effectively, product imagery to reinforce the purpose of the graphic, and finally the optimised USP that ties everything together. As you can see on screen, with all of these elements and by following this detailed approach, we've seen that we can expect to boost conversion rate by an average of 44% for our clients.

Ben Levart: So moving on now below the fold into the A+ content section, where consumers enter the discovery phase of their shopping journey. For this section, as Amazon have made their premium offering more readily available for brands, we've chosen to focus on this so that you're all up to date with Amazon's latest offerings, designed to educate and persuade with a clean layout, rich visuals and benefit-driven copy. With Amazon's premium A+ tools now more accessible and created specifically to drive higher engagement and conversion, we focus on visual hierarchy, leading with your strongest content. Perhaps that may be key visuals that span two to three modules, allowing for a large full-width graphic to fill the entirety of the screen that stops shoppers mid scroll. We also then look to implement cascading design, ensuring a natural flowing layout that engages consumers as they scroll through the bespoke created modules. Next we look at benefit-led copy, highlighting why the product matters to the shopper, helping to persuade and build trust and add our product to their basket over a competitor. And then lastly, rich media variety, which drives SEO and conversion as well.

Ben Levart: So looking at synergy in action, what I mean by rich media variety is balancing features like key visuals, scrollable modules that mirror social media, carousels that include human interaction, follow modules with image and plain text, input fields, on-page hotspots, comparison charts and FAQs. As you can see from our video example, when it all comes together, all of these elements bring their own unique benefits. We're working in tandem to drive things like SEO and conversion, while giving shoppers all the key information they need to add your products to their basket. You can see the on-page hotspot in action there, a really great interactive feature for these A+ premium modules. And then just following that, like I mentioned, the comparison charts, where you're able to add products really quickly and easily to your basket with comparison metrics as well. And then lastly, looking at things like the FAQ module as well.

Ben Levart: But focusing on these last few modules in a bit more detail, I just wanted to take a look at how we're balancing our conversion-focused visuals with optimised copy. We purposely chose to implement the following modules due to their ability to balance storytelling and ultimately boost SEO performance on product search pages. Examples include the aforementioned four column plain text module highlighting multiple features, awards, iconography or certificates, with supporting plain text copy; comparison charts highlighting product features side by side with CTAs, reviews, live pricing and plain text comparison metrics; and then FAQ sections that address any customer concerns directly and provide detailed product insights through plain text, which can help to reduce purchase barriers as well. But all of this, combined together and implemented across these modules we regularly champion within our clients' A+ content, feeds directly into Amazon's algorithm, boosting SEO performance and discoverability while keeping the messaging relatable.

Ben Levart: So with A+ content now covered, we can then turn our attention to our final touch point, the brand story. This is where emotional connection meets education, showcasing your mission, values and product range in one cohesive space. A strong brand story could include: authenticity, letting your brand voice and messaging shine through; timeline or milestones, showcasing your journey from humble beginnings through to category-leading brand today; lifestyle imagery, making your brand and product aspirational but approachable; and subtle CTAs, guiding shoppers to explore the full range through variations on PDPs or your full catalogue housed on the brand store as well.

Ben Levart: So here's how that plays out. For Nestlé Kit Kat, we introduced emotive lifestyle imagery featuring the product, combined with bright, engaging product visuals that highlight categories and ranges. We also built in cross-sell and upsell opportunities, like showcasing the Kit Kat and Friends Big Biscuit Box alongside the core product line, as well as including product grid modules that prompt shoppers to explore product ranges through variations on PDPs or the full product catalogue housed on the brand store. Everything works together to create a fun, immersive brand experience that encourages discoverability of additional SKUs and fosters repeat purchases.

Ben Levart: Finally, I just wanted to take this opportunity to highlight how we're not just focused on visible copy, but what also goes on behind the scenes with regards to detailed file naming and image tagging. As you can see on screen, we now save and tag our images with optimised text content, much like the content you see implemented throughout your titles at different points. This extra step helps to improve SEO. Search engines use alt text to understand image content, which helps match your pages to relevant user searches and increases visibility in image search results. It also enhances accessibility: alt text describes images for visually impaired users, allowing screen readers to provide information about the visuals on your page, making your site more inclusive while serving better organisation. Keywords and tags act as a filing system, making it easier to organise, find and manage your digital assets later down the line. And then just looking at enhanced user experience as well, users can quickly find the relevant products they're looking for, increasing discoverability and overall satisfaction with their shopping experience on Amazon when interacting with that product search page and search bar as well. And the beauty is it applies everywhere. So from main image, listing image, A+ content and brand story, every touch point, both front and back, is working together for maximum impact, both in the limelight and behind the scenes as well.

Ben Levart: So just following the conclusion of this creative synergy section of our presentation, we're going to kick off our future trends and updates in PDP innovation. Just as our creative synergy drives the impact of our present work, it also sets the stage for what's next in the evolving future of PDP innovation as well.

Ben Levart: So starting with Hear the Highlights: Amazon has actually recently introduced an AI-generated audio experience on their US PDPs, where two virtual shopping experts discuss products in a conversational, podcast-style format. At its core, it's powered by conversational intelligence, which helps to deliver natural, human-like discussions that help customers understand product value. Behind the scenes, dynamic content creation enables real-time analysis of product listings, reviews and web data to keep these conversations relevant and up to date. And finally, it's built with multitasking optimisation in mind, making it perfect for mobile shoppers and busy consumers who want to stay informed while on the go. What's more, this AI-driven audio experience draws not only from visible content on page, but also from the structured copy and metadata working behind the scenes, proving that every word, tag and file name, as mentioned in the creative synergy section of our presentation, contributes to a richer, more intelligent PDP.

Ben Levart: So following Amazon's latest AI audio integration, the e-com giant has also recently introduced a new PDP module, Shoppable Collections, that transforms the current brand story section into an increasingly interactive shoppable experience. This means brands can now turn lifestyle imagery, images and UGC-style videos into engaging, story-driven shopping journeys, helping consumers explore themed collections and discover products more naturally. In short, this feature is all about championing shoppable content integration, interactive product modules through multiple product grid options with links to PDPs and brand stores, and immersive visual experiences that introduce video integration and lifestyle imagery. And ultimately, this update is designed to drive product discoverability and cross-sell opportunities across the brand's catalogue.

Ben Levart: Taking a look at the specifics, these modules let brands highlight best sellers, custom product bundles and lifestyle content directly within the product page, all fully shoppable. You can feature a single hero product or a themed collection of two to four ASINs, with built-in backup ASINs that automatically appear if any go out of stock, a welcome addition for brands that manage a large product catalogue. The new video and image containers also allow brands to bring storytelling to life with full-width visuals, both video and static, with short blurbs and direct links to PDPs and brand stories. Overall, when compared to brand stories, the layout is cleaner, more mobile friendly and designed to create a seamless shopping journey that drives both product discoverability and conversion.

Ben Levart: So just looking over some of our key takeaways from today. ASINs and PDPs are critical, they're the digital storefronts where purchase decisions happen, and an optimised PDP helps to build trust, communicate value and drive conversions. Copywriting drives performance: good copy improves visibility, builds credibility and persuades customers to purchase. Key components to think about here are how you can group creative PDP modules with their copy counterparts. Like I mentioned during the creative synergy section of our presentation, we look to group product titles with main imagery, bullet points with listing imagery, and product descriptions and bullet points with A+ content and brand stories. Design enhances engagement: visuals like hero images, lifestyle shots and A+ content help to create an emotional connection. Your creative designs must also be clear, compliant and consistent across devices, with a focus on mobile optimisation first. You've already seen how our real world examples have helped to improve overall performance, something to take away, something to take forward into your own workflows as well. And then obviously, creative synergy matters: copy and design must work together to tell a cohesive product story, and alignment helps to boost clarity, trust and conversion. And then obviously, we've just looked at future trends in PDP innovation as well, so because of that, Toucan keep a constant eye on all these emerging trends with regards to PDP innovation. We've just seen some of the future creative and enhanced accessibility features in the works at Amazon, from Hear the Highlights to Shoppable Collections. So staying ahead of these innovations gives your brand a powerful competitive advantage. Our team is always here to help you to use it.

Ben Levart: But with this, it wraps up our presentation today. So I'll stick around to answer a few of your questions you maybe sent through during the presentation. Thanks so much.

Curtis Ritchie: Thank you for sharing, Ben. It's great to see how important it is for brands to have both their copy and design synergised, and even having images tagged and titled correctly in the back end to try and improve SEO for the brand, and even enhancing accessibility for users. So we can jump into a few questions that we have here. Firstly, to answer, a girl called Jenny asked if the presentation will be shared at the end. We will share the presentation to all attendees here today, so that's no problem. But anyway, for the first question, when can we expect the new PDP AI audio capabilities to be rolled out across Europe?

Ben Levart: Yeah, I guess obviously a lot of these updates follow through on the US platform first. So I would say that all these kinds of updates to US PDPs usually follow through to Europe about six to nine months after. So hopefully around March or April time next year, we should hopefully be able to see that start to follow through onto the European PDP pages as well. So definitely something to keep an eye out for. And obviously at Toucan, we'll be working behind the scenes to make sure everything's ready to go once those have been introduced as well, with regards to back end keyword tagging and detailed file naming as well.

Curtis Ritchie: That's great, not too long then. Another question we have: does text content need to be tailored across different touch points, such as listing imagery and A+ content?

Ben Levart: Yeah, it's a good question. One analogy I like to use when thinking about this is, if you can place yourself in a store and you've navigated to the product you want and you can see it on the shelf, you're looking at the front of pack and you can see all the messaging on that front of pack. So all of that text copy and messaging is tailored for that first experience when you first see it. And that's how I like to envision listing image text content being, so you want to make sure it's very clear, concise and relevant. And then, when considering A+ content, you can imagine that you're not just looking at the front of pack, but you're now holding it, you're turning the product around, so you can see the side and the back of pack, where there's a lot more detailed and descriptive copy, just because now you're in more of a discovery phase of your journey. So you're spending a bit more time to read some of the longer form copy on the sides and back of the pack, like I mentioned. So it works in the same way as transitioning from listing imagery to A+ content as you scroll down the PDP. So yes, definitely, it's worth tailoring copy depending on the touch point you're interacting with as a consumer as well.

Curtis Ritchie: That's great, thank you Ben. And we can move on to one last question. If our brand already has a brand story implemented across our catalogue, would you recommend updating this with the new Shoppable Collections module?

Ben Levart: Yes. I think it's great if you've already got a brand story, that's great. I think it's definitely worth looking into Shoppable Collections and implementing those where necessary across your product catalogue on Amazon, just because I think allowing more video content to be present on the product detail page is quite key. So with brand stories, you're not able to feature any moving image or video content, but with Shoppable Collections, there are specific modules designed to house these kinds of media. And it can be a really great way to use some existing social content, like from Instagram or TikTok, in these spaces as well, to bring a bit more of a real world aesthetic and messaging or imagery to these sections, to help consumers create more of an emotional connection to the brand and products as well. And then, aside from just the video content, there's also a conscious effort to increase the shoppability of these modules that sit below the A+ content on the PDP. So I would definitely say Shoppable Collections are something we would definitely recommend implementing into PDPs, regardless of whether you already have a brand story added to that PDP or not.

Curtis Ritchie: Yeah, it definitely seems like they're going to become very essential to have implemented. That's great, Ben, thank you for answering all the questions today and thanks for sharing the great presentation. Thanks to all of our guests for attending our last Toucan Talks webinar of 2025. If you would like to get in touch with our Toucan Studios team for any creative work, please reach out to our email hello@toucanecommerce.com, or reach out directly to Ben via email, which is ben@toucanecommerce.com. And we hope to see you at another Toucan Talks event next year, whether that is online or in person. So thank you, and have a great rest of your day, everyone.