Amazon Expands Sponsored Streaming TV Ads

Amazon is known as an e-commerce giant that ships parcels all over the world daily, but it's not the only revenue driver; it's also an ad platform similar to Google. Amazon generates billions of visitors every year, and when you search through the various products on Amazon, those search results can show you sponsored results.

These sponsored spots started to generate a healthy amount of revenue, and Amazon had to look for new places to add the real estate they controlled. Google supplemented search adverts by adding YouTube, Google Display Network, the App Ad network (AdMob), and Gmail ads to its roster.

Amazon adopted a similar strategy by adding ads to Twitch and Amazon Prime. As a result, Ad revenue climbed to $11.8 billion in the first quarter of 2024 from $9.5 billion a year earlier.

What are Amazon-sponsored TV ads?

Sponsored TV is a self-service advertising solution designed to reach audiences on the largest screen in the home. Powered by billions of first-party shopping and streaming signals, these TV ads can help your brand connect with suitable viewers at the right time through streaming services like Freevee and Twitch.

If you sell in the Amazon store, Sponsored TV is available to sellers enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry, vendors (including book vendors and publishers), agencies with clients, and technology providers.

Amazon uses its first-party data and shopping information on customers to help you extend your ad targeting to different verticals it controls. So even if users are not browsing and enjoying leisure screen time, you can reach them with that pair of shoes they looked at three days ago, and get them to come back to Amazon and click buy.

Why Google and Amazon Are Betting Big on Sponsored TV Ads

The television landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. With cord-cutting on the rise and streaming platforms gaining prominence, advertisers are seeking new avenues to reach their target audiences.

Enter sponsored TV ads.

Streaming has the eyeballs and watch time, but streaming platforms don't have a digital ad network of their own, nor do they have the resources to build one that can compete with tech giants today. Platforms like Google have realised this and have started adding TV streaming ad placements to Google ads with their own TV network ad campaigns.

Amazon, which has its own streaming platform, looks to keep everything in-house and subsidises its streaming platform with its native ad network.

But why this move?

• Capturing the Cord-Cutting Audience: Advertisers are following suit as more viewers ditch traditional cable for streaming services. Sponsored TV ads directly reach this coveted demographic of younger people who don't watch traditional TV.
• Leveraging Data for Precision Targeting: Both Google and Amazon possess vast amounts of user data. This information allows them to deliver highly targeted ads, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
• Monetizing Streaming Platforms: While streaming services offer a wealth of content, they also need to generate revenue. Sponsored TV ads provide a lucrative opportunity to offset production costs and fund new content. As users also become price-sensitive to their streaming services, cheaper options with ads are becoming more popular and tolerable.

How Amazon's Sponsored TV Works

Amazon has taken a significant step forward with its Sponsored TV platform.

Here's a breakdown of how it functions:

• Self-Service Platform: Unlike traditional TV advertising, Amazon's Sponsored TV is a self-service platform, allowing brands to create and manage their campaigns independently.
• Video Ad Formats: The platform supports various video ad formats, enabling brands to choose the style that best suits their message.
• Prime Video, Freevee, and Twitch: Amazon's sponsored TV ads are currently available on Prime Video, Freevee, and Twitch, reaching a broad audience.
• Data-Driven Targeting: Amazon leverages its customer data to deliver ads to highly relevant viewers, increasing ad effectiveness.
• Interactive Elements: Some ads may include interactive elements, such as shoppable products or QR codes, encouraging direct engagement.

Amazon TV ads are expanding.

Amazon Sponsored TV ads have focused on its core market, the US, for some time, but with Google pushing its ad network to more countries, Amazon has started expanding support in the UK, currently in beta.

Not every vendor will be eligible, so you'll need to log in to Amazon ads and check if the option is open on your account.

Amazon has stated that the requirements for the beta are:

Available to sellers in the Amazon Brand Registry, vendors, agencies and U.S. brands not selling on Amazon.

Some categories, like health and personal care, are ineligible.

Amazon is even rolling out incentives to get brands to try out the service and generate inventory with a $500 USD* in ad credits when you launch on Sponsored TV.

• Available in select marketplaces. The offer is exclusive to select businesses who are registered for sponsored ads. Ends 12/31/24. Terms & conditions apply.
• *The value of credit offer may differ depending on the marketplace.

The Future of TV Advertising

It looks like streaming will become the thing it hates most: an ad-filled experience. Only now do brands have more control over who sees their ads instead of the spray-and-pray approach that we had with cable and satellite TV.

You can also be sure that Amazon and Google will be farming every second of watch time for insights to include in their ad platforms.

Google and Amazon's introduction of sponsored TV ads marks another vertical that big tech will control as they consolidate the digital advertising industry. As technology evolves, we expect even more sophisticated targeting options, interactive ad formats, and, potentially, a shift in consumer viewing habits.

Another reason Amazon and Google might be pushing this article is due to the increase in ad blockers on browsers, which have yet to really become a thing for apps and smart devices with built-in apps, so they know most non-premium users will be exposed to these ad campaigns.

Looking to run Amazon ads?

Would you like to delve deeper into a specific aspect of sponsored TV ads, such as their potential impact on the advertising industry or the challenges brands might face?

Speak to our team, and we can help you set up an account, upload your ad inventory, and build out your campaign targeting.

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Tags: Shopping Ads, Streaming TV, eCommerce