Amazon has just launched Sponsored TV in the UK, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. Sponsored TV represents a new avenue for advertisers to engage audiences throughout their shopping and entertainment journeys.
In this article, we will explain what Sponsored TV ads are, delve into the unique advantages that they offer, how to measure their impact, and how to get started.
What is Sponsored TV?
Sponsored TV is a self-service advertising solution from Amazon designed for brands of any size to connect with viewers throughout their shopping and leisure experiences. Unlike Streaming TV, which requires access via Amazon DSP and comes with a minimum spending threshold, Sponsored TV can be utilizied more broadly via Amazon’s Ad Console with no minimum spend.
Powered by billions of first-party shopping and streaming signals, these Sponsored TV ads can help your brand connect with the right viewers at the right time on streaming services like Freevee and Twitch.
According to a recent eMarketer report, there is expected to be steady growth in the usage of connected TVs over the next five years within the UK, highlighting the vast potential audience for sponsored TV ads. Leveraging Amazon for these placements enhances the benefits by providing additional inventory, data, and reporting capabilities, making it a valuable opportunity for advertisers.
What is the difference between Sponsored TV & Streaming TV?
Amazon offers two ways to access ads on streaming services: Sponsored TV and Streaming TV via Amazon DSP. Both harness Amazon’s exclusive signals, premium inventory and measurement capabilities to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Sponsored TV
Sponsored TV offers a user-friendly setup accessible to any advertiser already running ads through Amazon Advertising, making it an ideal starting point for brands new to video advertising. With its seamless integration with Sponsored Ads campaigns, Sponsored TV simplifies the process of launching video ads, particularly for those already familiar with Sponsored Ads. Additionally, there is no minimum spending with Sponsored TV, which offers a low barrier for entry for any brand wanting to test and learn with Sponsored TV ads for the first time.
Streaming TV via Amazon DSP
Accessing inventory data is a crucial distinction between Sponsored TV and Streaming TV. While there is some overlap between the two, Streaming TV offers broader inventory options. The flexibility in Streaming TV campaigns offers advertisers in-depth control and customization options, empowering them to tailor their campaigns to specific goals and audience preferences. However, Streaming TV via Amazon DSP can be more costly than Sponsored TV as it requires a minimum spend of roughly £50,000 per campaign.
How to measure the impact of Sponsored TV?
To help you measure your campaign’s performance in real-time, advertisers can access metrics such as branded search views, impressions and reach in the Amazon advertising console and the Amazon Advertising API. Furthermore, all Sponsored TV campaigns are retail-aware. This ensures that you don’t spend on Sponsored TV campaigns when your advertised products are out of stock, helping you maximize your marketing spend.
Via Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), advertisers can also perform cross-media attribution analyses, measure the holistic performance of their sponsored ads campaigns, and gain a deeper understanding of their overall customer journey.
How do I create a Sponsored TV campaign?
- Register to advertise with Amazon Ads. Already a Pacvue Customer? You can launch Sponsored TV ads directly in Pacvue.
- Sign in to your account, click “Create campaign“, and choose Sponsored TV.
- Name your campaign, enter campaign dates, and add your daily budget.
- Specify your ad’s landing page, targeting and bids.
- Upload your video.
- Submit your ad for review. It will be reviewed within 72 hours.
Best Practices for Launching Sponsored TV Campaigns
Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when you begin setting up your Sponsored TV campaigns:
Audience:
General guidance is to start by targeting around five audiences; this should allow for the campaign to deliver and provide data to make optimization decisions. Alternatively, you can consider using Pacvue’s prebuilt AMC and lifestyle audiences to quickly launch campaigns.
Budget:
As there is no minimum budget for Sponsored TV campaigns, it can be tricky to establish budgets. According to Amazon, CPMs tend to range from £25-30. However, it’s best to start with a lower bid to see if ads deliver. If ads are not delivering, then bids should be increased and/or audience targeting should be expanded. Alternatively, you can utilize Pacvue rules to automatically adjust bids. It’s important to remember that the more niche your audience is, the higher your bid should be.
Get Creative:
- Employ voiceover or dialogue for only about one-third of the video. Balance visuals, music, and on-screen text. This ensures that your video conveys its message, even if the viewer is watching on mute. Following these guidelines led to a 27% higher average DPVR compared to videos with more voiceover or dialogue.
- Ensure your brand stands out by featuring live talent in your creative for at least nine seconds. Videos featuring people on screen for at least nine seconds had a 13% higher average DPVR compared to videos without people.
- End strong. Conclude with a four-second end card to anchor your message. For 15-second videos, including a four-second end card resulted in an 11% higher average DPVR and a 12% higher average branded search rate compared to videos without end cards.
Conclusion
Amazon’s Sponsored TV advertising can be a powerful tool for reaching engaged audiences, building brand awareness, and driving sales. With its accessibility, targeting capabilities, and interactive formats, Sponsored TV empowers brands of all sizes to make their mark in an ever-evolving advertising landscape.
Learn More
Curious how your brand can get started with Sponsored TV? Book a call with Pacvue’s team of Retail Media experts to get started.
