Your first TV ad campaign?: Everything you need to know about Amazon Sponsored TV
Are you excited to launch your very first TV ad campaign?
Image by Freepik
Amazon is bringing the most prestigious advertising game to brands that previously wouldn’t include TV in their marketing plan.
Making space available on Twitch, Freevee and other major streaming platforms thanks to its retail media network, Amazon has changed the game. TV advertising will never be the same.
What’s all this about?
At unBoxed ‘23, Amazon announced Sponsored TV, a new self-service Ads platform that will put brands’ video ads on Amazon Freevee, Twitch and Fire TV apps, as well as third-party platforms such as Bloomberg and movie streaming service Crackle.
It’s exciting because it’s on a no-minimum-spend basis, which opens up TV advertising to brands with smaller budgets.
We’re thinking brands that have had success with the likes of TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube and Amazon Sponsored Video, and are ready to bring their video creativity to the more traditional TV ads experience.
In other words, if video advertising is already part of your marketing strategy, there’s now no reason you can’t bring it to a 60-inch screen.
Amazon is also bringing advertising to Prime Video, but these will be ‘limited’. It is unclear at the moment whether Prime Video ads will be available as part of Sponsored TV in the future.
Is it worth it?
Definitely. In the US (the only place it’s available for now) Sponsored TV has an estimated reach of 155 million, according to Amazon.
“TV is still a huge medium of entertainment,” says our Head of Advertising Nella Argenziano. “The average US adult spends about two hours a day watching it, and over five billion people own a TV worldwide.
“We can create meaningful connections with the shoppers through beautiful and memorable videos across multiple platforms.”
We can also invite viewers to engage with ads, via QR codes and interactive ‘add to basket’ CTAs, meaning an enhanced shopper experience and improved conversion rates.
And with Amazon’s sophisticated buying, browsing and streaming data, made accessible and usable through Amazon Marketing Cloud, sellers have the best ever chance of making sure their desired audiences see their ads – and that the ads strike a chord with those audiences.
We recommend using an agency that’s particularly good with data to make the most of your Amazon ads strategy.
Our top tips
There are some key points to remember when launching an Amazon TV ad campaign. From our team of eCommerce experts, here they are:
- Ensure your video and audio specifications adhere to the guidelines as set out by Amazon: these include the required aspect ratio, file size and format, frame rate and audio rate.
- Yes, it’s not as expensive as DSP can be, but bear in mind that the minimum bid is $10, so be prepared for it to overspend initially: this can be scary, but the results will show in no time.
- Choose between searching for specific targets, or exploring targets within Content Interests and In-market categories for precise campaign targeting.
- Use only high-quality, professional-looking video. An advert shot on your phone might do your brand more harm than good.
‘Meaningful connections’
Nella Argenziano, e-Comas Head of Advertising, says: “TV is still a huge medium of entertainment, with the average US adult spending about two hours a day watching it, and above five billion people owning a TV worldwide.
“Are we going to ignore the potential of that space and the more relaxed approach of the consumer as opposed to browsing hundreds of apps at once on their mobile phones? We can create meaningful connections with the shoppers through beautiful and memorable videos across multiple platforms.
“With several Sponsored TV campaigns already up and running for our clients, we can’t wait to examine the data and see the results for brand awareness these campaigns drive.”