The Amazon Ads Sponsored TV campaign type was introduced at the Amazon unBoxed conference in 2023. Amazon Sponsored TV is a new advertising offer within Amazon Ads that enables brands of all sizes that sell on Amazon in the US to reach audiences on streaming TV services. Amazon Sponsored TV is particularly helpful for small to medium-sized brands, providing a cost-effective and accessible means to engage in the quickly growing audience segment of cord-cutters. This new ad type allows Amazon sellers to reach more customers, build brand awareness, and in turn, increase sales. This post will cover more information about Amazon Ads Sponsored TV, the video requirements for Sponsored TV ads, steps for setting up an Amazon Sponsored TV ad, and how to continually improve upon your ad performance.
What is Amazon Ads Sponsored TV
Amazon Ads Sponsored TV is a self-service advertising solution designed to enable brands of all sizes to reach audiences on streaming TV services and apps. This program allows businesses selling on Amazon to run advertisements on Amazon Freevee, Twitch, and other 3rd party streaming services through the Fire TV apps. There is no minimum advertising spend, and the spend is based on a CPM (cost per mille - charged per 1000 views) model. Sponsored TV leverages Amazon's machine-learning optimization models and first-party shopping and entertainment signals, providing brands with an efficient and relevant way to connect with their audiences in their own homes.
Video Requirements for Amazon Ads Sponsored TV
There are a few requirements for Amazon Ads Sponsored TV ads. From an account level, Advertisers must have their brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry and be based in the US. Currently, endemic Health & Personal Care advertisers are not currently supported by Sponsored TV. There are several video specific requirements to be aware of when creating an ad video:
The video must be smaller than 500MB.
The aspect ratio is 16:9 with a mandatory length of either 15 or 30 seconds.
The minimum frame size accepted is 1920X1080. While pillarbox or letterbox formatting is accepted, a combination of both in the same ad is not.
Since Sponsored TV ads may be delivered in non-clickable environments, they should not include call-to-action elements that encourage clicking, such as a button that says “click here to learn more.”
Though it is not a requirement, it is recommended to have a video with a good voice-over and audio. Other video best practices include proper lighting, set in a home, outdoor, or environment where your product is used, including humans and the brand should be shown in the first 3 seconds of the video. If you do not have video capabilities, you can use Amazon Sponsored Brands Video Builder to create a simple video overview.
Set Up an Amazon Ads Sponsored TV Campaign
Once you have your Sponsored TV ad video ready, it’s time to set up the ad. Here is an overview on how to set up an Amazon Ads Sponsored TV campaign:
In the Amazon Ads console, select Create campaign
Click continue on the Beta Sponsored TV ad
Update your campaign settings including a start and end date with a daily budget
Select the product you want to serve as the ad landing page. When a customer scans the ad QR code, they will be brought to this product listing
Add the Targeting. This is the set of viewers you think would be interested in your products. This is currently broken up between content interests (type of programming) or in-market categories (viewers that are interested in a category of products)
Add your creative in the ad settings
Submit for review - if approved it will be published in 24-72 hours
Once your campaign is published, the status will show as delivering on the campaign list and your ad will start serving to your targeted audience. Like all Amazon Ads, it is important to not just set it and forget it, but to continue to monitor the Sponsored TV reporting and improve upon your performance.
Continuous Optimization of Amazon Ads Sponsored TV Campaign
This section will outline areas where you can improve your Sponsored TV ad performance through continuous optimization. Amazon provides many campaign reporting metrics around Ad performance (impressions, spend, clicks, and clickthrough rate (CTR), conversions (branded searches from clicks/views, New-to-brand sales and order metrics), and video ad view metrics (video first quartile, midpoint, third quartile, and video complete). Drilling down within the campaign you can view these metrics on a targeting level as well. Here are some practical optimization activities to meet your advertising goals:
Adjust Campaign Daily Budget - increasing the daily budget (especially if you are running out of budget) will let you spend more on the campaign and increase the number of viewers. Decreasing the daily budget will spend less on the campaign
Adjust Targeting - Review the detailed targeting within the campaign looking at your KPIs and turn off any targeting interests or categories that are not helping to reach your goals
Update Creative - Pulling the video ad view metrics you can see if there is a dropoff on viewing during your ad. This may be an indication for areas of improvement on the video
These are just a few ways you can optimize your Amazon Ads Sponsored TV campaign in order to meet your advertising goals.
Frequently Asked Questions on Amazon Ads Sponsored TV
What is Amazon Sponsored TV?
Amazon Ads Sponsored TV is a new Amazon Ads campaign type that allows Amazon sellers to run a video ad on Amazon owned streaming services.
What are the video requirements for creating an Amazon Ads Sponsored TV?
The video requirements for creating an Amazon Ads Sponsored TV ad include smaller than 500MB file size, aspect ratio is 16:9, length of either 15 or 30 seconds, minimum frame rate accepted is 1920X1080. Either a pillarbox or letterbox but not both in the same ad, no call-to-action elements that encourage clicking.
What are the account requirements for running Amazon Sponsored TV Ads?
You must be brand registered and be selling in the US in order to run Amazon Sponsored TV ads.
How long does the review process take for my Sponsored TV ad to publish?
The review process for Sponsored TV ad publication can take up to 72 hours to publish.
Why is my Sponsored TV ad not publishing?
Your Sponsored TV ad may not publish or pass the review process for several reasons. Start with going through the video requirements and ensuring your video meets the qualifications. Reach out to Goat Consulting if you are still having issues and everything seems to be up to par.
Who can I target in Amazon Sponsored TV ads?
Sponsored TV ads target potential customers in two categories Content Interests target a specific type of programming such as Action/Adventure, Family, etc. In-market category targeting shows your ad to viewers that are interested in a category of products you select, regardless of the type of programming being shown.
What targeting should I set up for my Amazon Sponsored TV ad?
Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customer. Include targeting that your potential customer would be watching through content and the product category your product would fall into. Your goal here should be to target the most relevant content and categories for your product and customer.
Who should run Amazon Sponsored TV Ads?
Every Amazon Advertiser should run an Amazon Sponsored TV ad to test if it works toward meeting your Amazon Ads goals. Sponsored TV advertising is best for sellers that have high quality videos and want to reach more customers and build brand awareness.
Conclusion
Amazon Sponsored TV is an exciting new beta campaign style that enables Amazon sellers to reach their intended audience while they watch their favorite content. Video ads provide brands with an opportunity to tell more of a story about their brand and product that doesn’t always get captured through text. As TV streaming continues to grow, video ads will continue to be an important aspect of advertising for brands. If you need help developing creative video content, setting up, or continuously optimizing your Amazon Ads Sponsored TV campaigns, please reach out to Goat Consulting and we will be happy to assist you.
About the Author - Will Tjernlund
This post was written by Will Tjernlund, the CMO at Goat Consulting. Will leads our sales and marketing strategy and helps clients sell on Amazon by increasing sales, mitigating risk, reducing costs, and solving problems. Will has worked with hundreds of Amazon accounts over the years outlining merchandising and advertising strategies to help accomplish goals for Goat Consulting clients. If you want help with Sponsored TV ads or assistance with other aspects of selling on Amazon, Will is happy to have a conversation with you.