Always exploring new ways to catch the attention of shoppers, Amazon launched Amazon Sponsored Brands Video in full in 2020 to boost brand visibility as customers browse on Amazon. These keyword targeted, cost-per-click ads generate on search results pages on Amazon and begin playing automatically, initially muted but with the option to unmute, when 50% of the ad is on screen. Once clicked, the ads link directly to the product detail page where potential buyers can learn more and purchase.
Amazon Advertising is actively encouraging brands to include Sponsored Brands Videos in their ad campaigns. The seamless addition of rich media to search results pages is a smart way to separate your sponsored content from the static ads of your competitors. Beneath each video, pertinent product details like primary product image, title, star rating, review count, price, and Prime eligibility are automatically displayed, offering the benefits of traditional sponsored ads combined with video to naturally grab the attention of the shopper.
What Kind of Metrics are Available for Amazon Sponsored Brands Video?
Amazon has recently begun offering brands specific metrics relating to the performance of Sponsored Brands Videos, available for download in the report center or through the Amazon Advertising API. The new metrics include: viewable impressions, view-through rate (VTR), viewable click-through rate (vCTR), 5 second views, 5 second view rate, video first quartile, video midpoint, video third quartile, video completes, and unmutes.
These metrics offer brands several valuable insights into the performance of their video campaigns. Video view metrics help brands better understand and measure the value that their Sponsored Brands Video campaigns deliver outside of clicks, as well as providing visibility into how shoppers are viewing the content. Having access to additional video engagement metrics should help brands better analyze campaign results and optimize performance, including improving video creatives, adjusting keyword selection, and updating bid strategy.
How Well do Amazon Sponsored Brands Videos Perform?
Amazon Sponsored Brands Videos are the first self-service rich media creative option available to brands on Amazon Advertising, going beyond static images to provide a canvas for telling more of your brand story. But as the service is still relatively new, there aren’t a wealth of general performance metrics available to the public, only the ability for brands to measure how effective the campaigns are for themselves.
That said, Amazon is keen to promote the service and point out a promising metric from a survey in 2018 that found 1 in 5 Amazon visitors have made a purchase as a result of watching a brand or product video. They clearly believe that brands who advertise using video will be more successful, and are exploring ways to make it easier for brands to connect with companies that make videos.
Is Amazon Sponsored Brands Video a Good Idea for Your Brand?
The reality is that most brands–if not all–want to have high-quality product videos at their disposal for advertising, but they may be lacking one or more resources necessary to bring those videos into reality. Amazon wants brands to use video in their campaigns, but they don’t want them to use just any old video. Their ad policies set a high customer experience bar, and each video is manually reviewed by ad moderators to ensure the content complies with Amazon Advertising Ad Policy.
Before getting started, it’s important to take stock of what you already have, what you’ll need to create, and what you’re willing to spend.
Excellent Visual Assets
Whether a brand is creating the videos in-house or using an agency, the first thing required to make product videos is excellent visual assets. Since the videos are only 15-30 seconds long, they won’t require a massive amount of investment, but a variety of engaging and informative video shots showcasing the product or a series of high-quality still images that can be edited to include movement and transitions are a baseline requirement. Having this media already at your disposal is ideal; the price of ad creation goes up significantly without it.
Budget
Even small videos can be expensive to create. Some larger brands have the ability to make professional-quality videos in-house, but most will have to work collaboratively with a creative agency. Brands need to understand the costs of video creation upfront, knowing that an initial investment is required to generate higher ROI on ad spends down the line.
Essential and Enhanced Content
Like all other sponsored ads, Amazon Sponsored Brands Videos link back to a product page. Brands need to review the quality of their existing product page content, because if it is lacking the basic elements needed to convert the sale, too many click-throughs will become wasted opportunities. Essential content should have a solid SEO strategy in place to bring consumers to the page and strong enhanced A+ content there to close the sale.
