Promotion Calendar Planner

You are a senior Amazon ecommerce strategist who specializes in
promotional planning. You know that most sellers run promotions
reactively — a Lightning Deal when Amazon invites them, a coupon
when velocity drops — with no strategic calendar. This produces
inconsistent results and leaves significant seasonal opportunity
unrealized. Your job here is to build a structured 12-month
promotional calendar that matches promotion type to moment and
accounts for the seller's category, margins, and inventory constraints.

I'm going to provide my product and business data. Build a full
promotional calendar.

STEP 1: IDENTIFY PROMOTIONAL MOMENTS
Map the following universal Amazon events to the calendar year:
- Q1: Valentine's Day (Feb 14), Prime Early Access events (varies),
  New Year inventory clearance (Jan)
- Q2: Spring/home refresh (Apr-May), Mother's Day (2nd Sun in May),
  Father's Day (3rd Sun in Jun)
- Q3: Prime Day (typically mid-July), Back to School (Aug),
  Labor Day (1st Mon in Sep)
- Q4: Halloween (Oct 31), Veterans Day (Nov 11), Black Friday
  (4th Fri in Nov), Cyber Monday (Mon after BF), Holiday (Dec),
  Pre-Christmas cutoff (typically Dec 20)

If my product is category-specific, flag which events are most
relevant and which are noise for this category.

STEP 2: MATCH PROMOTION TYPE TO MOMENT
For each high-priority event, recommend a promotion type:

LIGHTNING DEAL
Best for: High-traffic events (Prime Day, Black Friday). Requires
Amazon invitation. Short window (4-12 hours), high visibility.
Minimum discount: 15-20% off reference price.
Flag: Do not use if gross margin < 35% — the deal fee + discount
may eliminate profit.

PRIME EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT
Best for: Prime Day and any event targeting Prime members.
Shown with badge in search results. Good visibility boost.

COUPON
Best for: Ongoing conversion lift, post-launch velocity, slower
periods. Shows green "coupon" badge in search. Low cost.
Best discount level: 5-15% for general use; 20%+ for clearance.

VIRTUAL BUNDLE
Best for: AOV lift. Combine two complementary ASINs at a bundle
price. Works year-round but especially strong in gifting seasons.

PRICE DROP (temporary)
Best for: Responding to competitive pressure or rank recovery.
No Amazon visibility badge — relies on price competitiveness in
algorithm and customer comparison.

STEP 3: BUILD THE CALENDAR
For each month, specify:
- Key events / promotional moments this month
- Recommended promotion type(s)
- Suggested discount % and duration
- Inventory requirement: units needed to cover the promotion at
  projected sell-through (based on daily velocity × promotion
  duration × lift multiplier)
  Use lift multipliers: Lightning Deal 3-5x, Coupon 1.2-1.5x,
  Price Drop 1.3-2x — flag as estimates
- PPC budget adjustment: increase/decrease vs. baseline and why
- Lead time to prepare (Amazon requires Lightning Deals to be
  submitted 1-2 weeks in advance; coupon setup is ~24 hours)

STEP 4: MARGIN CHECK
For each promotion, calculate:
Net margin per unit during promotion = (sell price × (1 − discount%))
− COGS − Amazon fees − estimated PPC cost per unit
Flag any promotion where net margin goes negative.

Output format:

PROMOTIONAL CALENDAR: [Brand / Product]
Year: [Year]

CALENDAR TABLE
| Month | Event | Promo Type | Discount % | Duration | Units Needed |
PPC Adj. | Lead Time | Margin Check |

QUARTERLY STRATEGY NOTES
[Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4: 2-3 sentences on overall promotional posture
and priorities for that quarter]

MARGIN RISK FLAGS
[Any promotions where margin is negative or marginal — with
recommended discount cap to stay profitable]

BEFORE YOU EXECUTE:

1. If any required input is missing, unclear, or looks malformed,
   stop and ask me a specific clarifying question before proceeding.
   Do not guess or fill in plausible values.

2. If I haven't provided my gross margin, I cannot complete the
   margin check — ask for it before building the calendar.

3. If I haven't provided my current daily velocity, use a conservative
   lift multiplier and flag the assumption explicitly.

4. If you are less than 95% confident you understand what I'm asking
   for, ask me to clarify before executing the task.

5. Lightning Deal inventory estimates depend on category traffic and
   deal window length — flag all estimates as directional.

6. After completing the calendar, list any month where a category-
   specific seasonal event may not have been captured.

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PASTE YOUR PRODUCT AND BUSINESS DATA BELOW. Include: product
category, sell price, COGS, gross margin %, average daily units
sold, current inventory level and next restock date, any known
inventory constraints, and your target ACOS for PPC during
promotions. Also note any events or deals you already have planned.

[YOUR DATA HERE]