Advertising Initiative Bulk File — User Guide

The Advertising Initiative bulk file lets you create, update, and manage your full initiative hierarchy — including budget plans, strategies, campaigns, ad groups, keywords, products, and day-parting schedules — in a single Excel (.xlsx) upload.

Before You Start

• Always export first. Download an existing Advertising Initiative export from Feedvisor to use as your template.
• Use the right account. Columns and rules differ between Amazon and Walmart. Always export and import using the same marketplace account.
• Do not rename sheets. The importer matches exact sheet names.
• Do not modify the header row. Keep the first row of each sheet as-is. Only edit data rows.

Workbook Structure

Sheet	Imported?	What it's for
Main Sheet	Yes	All entities: initiatives, budget plans, strategies, campaigns, ad groups, keywords, product ads.
Budget Allocation	Yes	Distribute budget across strategies and campaigns.
Initiative Products	Yes	Attach ASINs and SKUs to initiatives.
Day Parting	Yes	Set active hours per campaign by day of week.
Compatible Campaigns	No (export-only)	Shows which campaigns can be added to each strategy. Reference only.
Validations Only Sheet	No (export-only)	Hidden sheet powering Excel dropdown validation. Do not edit.

Main Sheet

Required Columns

Column	What to put in it
Record ID	The ID of the entity you're creating or editing.
Operation	What you want to do with the row.

At least one other editable column must also be present.

Record Type

Record Type	Availability	Entity
Initiative	Amazon + Walmart	Advertising initiative
Budget Plan	Amazon + Walmart	Budget plan / flight
Strategy	Amazon + Walmart	Strategy
Campaign	Amazon + Walmart	Campaign
Ad group	Amazon + Walmart	Ad group
Ad	Amazon + Walmart	Product ad
Keyword	Amazon + Walmart	Keyword
Product Targeting	Amazon only	Product target

Operations

Initiative — New (fictive ID)

Operation	What it does
CREATE DRAFT	Creates the initiative as a draft without launching it.
LAUNCH	Creates the initiative and immediately launches it.

Initiative — Existing (numeric ID)

Operation	What it does
UPDATE	Updates initiative fields.
DELETE AND ARCHIVE NEWLY CREATED CAMPAIGNS ONLY	Deletes the initiative and archives only Feedvisor-created campaigns. Pre-existing campaigns are left untouched.
DELETE AND ARCHIVE NEWLY CREATED AND EXISTING CAMPAIGNS	Deletes the initiative and archives all associated campaigns. Archiving is irreversible.

Strategy — Existing

Operation	What it does
UPDATE	Updates strategy fields.
DELETE AND PAUSE ALL CAMPAIGNS	Deletes the strategy and pauses all campaigns. Reversible.
DELETE AND ARCHIVE ALL CAMPAIGNS	Deletes the strategy and archives all campaigns. Irreversible.

Budget Plan — Existing

Operation	What it does
UPDATE	Updates budget plan fields.
DELETE	Deletes the budget plan.

Campaign — Existing

Operation	What it does	Platform
UPDATE	Updates campaign fields.	Amazon + Walmart
ADD EXISTING CAMPAIGN	Links an existing campaign to a strategy within the initiative.	Amazon only
REMOVE FROM STRATEGY AND PAUSE	Unlinks the campaign from its strategy and pauses it.	Amazon only
REMOVE FROM STRATEGY AND ARCHIVE	Unlinks the campaign from its strategy and archives it. Irreversible.	Amazon only

Note on initiative-managed campaigns: Once a campaign is linked to a strategy via ADD EXISTING CAMPAIGN, its budget and key fields can only be updated through the initiative — not via a direct campaign update. To modify these fields, update them within the initiative file.

Any row with an empty or fictive ID

Operation	What it does
CREATE	Creates a new entity.
UPDATE	Updates an existing entity.

Rows with a blank or unrecognized Operation are skipped entirely.

Dropdown Reference

Strategy Type

Value to enter

CATCH ALL

BRANDED SEARCH

GENERIC SEARCH

COMPETITIVE CONQUEST SEARCH

BRAND PROTECTION CONTEXTUAL TARGETING

COMPETITIVE CONQUEST CONTEXTUAL TARGETING

AUDIENCE TARGETING

RETARGETING

Strategy to Campaign Compatibility

Each strategy type only accepts specific campaign types. Assigning an incompatible campaign returns: "Campaign(s) not compatible with strategy".

Strategy Type	Allowed Campaign Types	Key Conditions
CATCH ALL	Sponsored Products	Auto targeting only
BRANDED SEARCH	Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands (incl. video)	SP must be manual targeting
GENERIC SEARCH	Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands (incl. video)	SP must be manual targeting
COMPETITIVE CONQUEST SEARCH	Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands (incl. video)	SP must be manual targeting
BRAND PROTECTION CONTEXTUAL TARGETING	Sponsored Products, Sponsored Display	SP: manual + has product targets + no keywords. SD: product targeting only
COMPETITIVE CONQUEST CONTEXTUAL TARGETING	Sponsored Products, Sponsored Display	SP: manual + has product targets + no keywords. SD: product targeting only
AUDIENCE TARGETING	Sponsored Display	Must have audience targets; no products/purchases/views targets
RETARGETING	Sponsored Display	Must have views or purchases targets; no products/audience targets

All strategies also require the campaign to be enabled or paused, not already assigned to another strategy, and to contain at least one product ad linked to an ASIN/SKU that belongs to the initiative.

Initiative Objective

Value to enter

DRIVE SALES

DRIVE EFFICIENT SALES

DRIVE REACH

DRIVE BRAND AWARENESS

DRIVE MARKET SHARE

LAUNCH NEW PRODUCT

Budget Plan Type

Value	Meaning
EVERGREEN	No fixed time boundaries — runs continuously.
FLIGHT	Time-bounded — requires start and end dates.

Campaign Type

Amazon: sponsoredProducts, sponsoredDisplay, sponsoredBrands

Walmart: sponsoredProducts, sponsoredBrands, sponsoredVideo

Entity Status

Entity	Allowed Values
Initiative	Enabled, Paused, Draft
Strategy	Enabled, Paused
Budget Plan	Running, Completed, Future
Campaign (Amazon)	Enabled, Paused
Campaign (Walmart)	Live, Paused
Ad Group (Amazon)	Enabled, Paused
Ad Group (Walmart)	Enabled, Disabled

Match Type

Value

Broad

Exact

Phrase

Bidding Optimization Mode

Value	Availability
Efficiency	Amazon and Walmart
Visibility	Amazon only

Other Notable Dropdowns

Column	Allowed Values	Applies to
Efficiency Bidding Strategy	Aggressive, Optimal, Conservative	Campaign
Visibility Bidding Strategy	Aggressive, Optimal	Campaign
Campaign Targeting	Manual, Automatic	Campaign
Campaign Day Parting Enabled	Yes, No	Campaign
Feedvisor Optimized	Yes, No	Campaign
Default Bid Mode	UNTIL_SUFFICIENT_DATA, UNTIL_EXPIRATION_DATE	Keyword / Product Targeting
Business Objective	New Product Launch, Brand Awareness, Targeted Acceleration, Profit Maximization, Liquidation	Campaign
Campaign Strategy	Brand Protection, Competitive Conquest, Strategic, Generic	Campaign
Conversion History Driven Criteria	ACoS Below Target, All Keywords	Campaign
Budget Balance	Controlled, Dynamic	Campaign
Budget Style (Budget Allocation sheet)	PERCENTAGE only	Budget Allocation rows
Campaign Budget Type (Walmart only)	daily, total, both	Campaign

Record IDs

Existing Entities

Use the numeric ID from Feedvisor or your export. A trailing L is stripped automatically.

Creating New Entities in the Same File

Use a temporary ID made of letters followed by numbers (e.g. I1, BP3, S2). Use the same temporary ID as a parent reference in child rows. Feedvisor replaces temporary IDs with real ones after creation.

Each Record ID must appear only once per entity type. Duplicates will cause an error.

Clearing Values

Leaving a column blank on an UPDATE row means "no change" — the field is skipped. To actively remove a value, some fields require a specific signal value.

Removing a Default Bid (Keywords and Product Targeting)

Column	Value
Default Bid	0
Default Bid Mode	(leave empty — cleared automatically)
Default Bid Expiration Date	(leave empty — cleared automatically)

Setting Default Bid to 0 clears all three default-bid fields. The entity's actual bid is not changed. Applies to both Keywords and Product Targeting rows. A blank cell is ignored — you must explicitly enter 0.

Minimum Requirements to Create New Entities

New Initiative

Field	Value
Operation	CREATE DRAFT or LAUNCH
Record Type	Initiative
Record ID	Fictive ID (e.g. I1)
Initiative Name	Must be unique across all active initiatives in the store
Initiative Objective	One of the 6 allowed values
Initiative Budget Type	EVERGREEN or FLIGHT

Initiative name uniqueness rules:

• No two active initiatives (Enabled, Paused, or Draft) in the same store can share a name.
• Names from archived initiatives can be reused.
• Duplicate names within a single import file are also rejected.
• Errors returned: "name already exists" (conflicts with existing initiative) or "duplicate name" (duplicate within the same batch).

New Budget Plan

Field	Value
Operation	CREATE
Record Type	Budget Plan
Record ID	Fictive ID (e.g. BP1)
Initiative ID	Parent initiative ID (real or matching fictive)
Budget Plan Name	Any name
Budget Plan Budget Type	EVERGREEN or FLIGHT
Budget Plan Budget	Numeric value
Budget Plan Start Date	Required if type is FLIGHT
Budget Plan End Date	Required if type is FLIGHT

New Strategy

Field	Value
Operation	CREATE
Record Type	Strategy
Record ID	Fictive ID (e.g. S1)
Initiative ID	Parent initiative ID (real or matching fictive)
Strategy Name	Any name
Strategy Type	One of the 8 allowed values

Budget Plan Logic

Flight vs. Evergreen

Type	Date Range	When to use
EVERGREEN	None — runs indefinitely	Always-on budget with no end date
FLIGHT	Requires start + end date	Time-bounded spend period

Flight Rules

• Flights cannot overlap. For any two flights under the same initiative, the start date of the later flight must be strictly after the end date of the earlier one. Same-day overlap (new flight starts on the day a previous one ends) is also rejected.
• Error returned if flights overlap: "failed to create flights, cannot be overlapping flights"
• The import file does not validate overlap — this check happens when Feedvisor processes the request. If overlap is detected, the entire flight creation fails.

Budget Allocation

• Budget Style must be PERCENTAGE — absolute allocation not yet supported.
• Allocations should sum to 100% — validated by Feedvisor's backend.
• IDs on Budget Allocation rows can be fictive if parents are created in the same file.
• Operation on Budget Allocation rows must be ALLOCATE.

Initiative Products Sheet

• Required columns: Operation, Initiative ID, Initiative Name, ASIN
• SKU also available on Amazon
• Allowed operations: ADD and DELETE_AND_ARCHIVE

Day Parting Sheet

Day Parting is included in this workbook as a dedicated sheet. Use it to define which hours each campaign is active per day of the week.

Two-step activation: The Day Parting sheet defines the schedule. To activate it for a campaign, you must also set Campaign Day Parting Enabled = Yes on that campaign's row on the Main Sheet.

Column	Notes
Campaign ID	Numeric or fictive campaign ID
Day Of The Week	Day name
Start Hour (0-23 UTC)	Hour the campaign activates (0–23)
End Hour (1-24 UTC)	Hour the campaign deactivates (1–24)

No Operation column on this sheet — all rows are processed automatically.

Bid Multipliers

All bid multiplier columns apply to Campaign-level rows on the Main Sheet only.

Amazon — Placement Bid Multipliers

Column	Type	Notes
Efficiency Bidding Strategy	Dropdown	Aggressive, Optimal, Conservative
Bid increase/decrease (%)	Integer %	General bid adjustment
Visibility Bidding Strategy	Dropdown	Aggressive, Optimal
Bid Placement Top of Search	Integer %	Top-of-search multiplier
Bid Placement Best Product Placement	Integer %	Product page multiplier
Bid Placement Rest of Search	Integer %	All other search placements
Bid B2B (Amazon Business)	Integer %	Amazon Business buyers
Bid Percentage Increase - Aggressive Bidding	Integer %	Used with Visibility mode

Walmart — Placement and Device Bid Multipliers

Column	Notes
Item Buybox	Yes/No — Manual only
Item Carousel	Yes/No — Manual only
Search Carousel	Yes/No — Manual only
Search In-grid Manual	Percentage multiplier
Buy-Box Manual	Percentage multiplier
Desktop Manual	Percentage multiplier
App Manual	Percentage multiplier
Mobile Manual	Percentage multiplier
Search In-grid Auto	Percentage multiplier
Buy-Box Auto	Percentage multiplier
Home Page Auto	Percentage multiplier
Stock Up Auto	Percentage multiplier
Desktop Auto	Percentage multiplier
App Auto	Percentage multiplier
Mobile Auto	Percentage multiplier

Entity-Level Bid Bounds

Applies to Keyword, Target, and Product Ad rows:

Column	Type
Entity Min Bid	Decimal
Entity Max Bid	Decimal

Import Order

Feedvisor processes entities in this fixed order — no manual sorting needed:

1. Initiative
2. Budget Plan
3. Strategy
4. Campaigns (strategy-linking operations first, then creates/updates)
5. Ad groups
6. Product ads
7. Keywords
8. Targets (Amazon only)

If a parent entity fails to create, its children will also fail. Check errors for the parent first.

Launching an Initiative

• Set Operation = LAUNCH on the initiative's row
• If new: system creates as draft first, then launches after all entities are processed
• To launch after a previous import: use real initiative ID with Operation = LAUNCH

Metrics Columns (Read-Only)

Export columns like impressions, spend, and ACOS are for reference only — the importer ignores them.

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Export an Advertising Initiative All workbook from Feedvisor.
2. Edit data rows — keep sheet names and headers intact.
3. New entities: use fictive IDs as Record ID and parent references.
4. Fill optional sheets: Initiative Products, Budget Allocation, Day Parting.
5. Set Operation = LAUNCH on initiative rows that should go live.
6. Upload via the Advertising import flow — select Advertising Initiative All.
7. Review results. If children failed, check parent rows first.

Worked Example: Creating an Initiative from Scratch

Creates a draft initiative, one flight budget plan, two strategies, and three products in a single file.

Main Sheet

Record ID	Operation	Record Type	Initiative ID	Initiative Name	Initiative Objective	Initiative Budget Type	Budget Plan Name	Budget Plan Budget	Budget Plan Budget Type	Budget Plan Start Date	Budget Plan End Date	Strategy Name	Strategy Type
I1	CREATE DRAFT	Initiative		Summer 2026 Push	DRIVE SALES	FLIGHT
BP1	CREATE	Budget Plan	I1				June Flight	5000	FLIGHT	2026-06-01	2026-06-30
S1	CREATE	Strategy	I1									Branded Search Strategy	BRANDED SEARCH
S2	CREATE	Strategy	I1									Conquest Strategy	COMPETITIVE CONQUEST SEARCH

Initiative Products Sheet

Operation	Initiative ID	Initiative Name	ASIN	SKU
ADD	I1	Summer 2026 Push	B08N5WRWNW	SKU-WIDGET-001
ADD	I1	Summer 2026 Push	B09XYZ1234	SKU-GADGET-002
ADD	I1	Summer 2026 Push	B07ABC5678

What Comes Next

• Create new campaigns from the UI and assign them to a strategy.
• Add existing campaigns via a follow-up import using ADD EXISTING CAMPAIGN on Campaign rows, referencing real Strategy IDs.
• To launch: use the UI or a follow-up import with Operation = LAUNCH on the real initiative ID.

Troubleshooting

Error message	What it means	How to fix
ID column was not found	Record ID column missing from Main Sheet header.	Add a Record ID column to the header row.
Didn't found at least 1 column to update	No recognized editable columns besides the ID.	Add at least one data column.
Number of columns in line … different than header	A data row has more or fewer cells than the header.	Ensure every row matches the header column count.
No values to update	A row has an Operation but all other cells are empty.	Fill in at least one data field.
Invalid operation input	The Operation value is not recognized.	Check spelling against the Operations section above.
Entity ID … appears more than once	Duplicate Record ID for the same entity type.	Each entity must appear only once.
Sheet has to be one of the fixed names	No recognized sheet names in the workbook.	Rename sheets to: Main Sheet, Initiative Products, Budget Allocation, or Day Parting.
name already exists	Initiative name conflicts with an existing active initiative.	Use a different name. Archived initiative names can be reused.
duplicate name	Two rows in the same import file use the same initiative name.	Ensure each initiative name appears only once in the file.
failed to create flights, cannot be overlapping flights	Two budget plan flights have overlapping date ranges.	Ensure flight end dates are strictly before the next flight's start date.
Campaign(s) not compatible with strategy	The campaign type or targeting type doesn't match the strategy type.	Check the Strategy to Campaign Compatibility table above.
Child rows not created	Parent entity failed, so children were skipped.	Fix the parent row error first, then re-upload.