Amazon generated $469 billion worth of sales in 2021 and forecasters expect that number to steadily grow each year. As these sales numbers surge, more companies keep jumping on the bandwagon, which makes it harder for smaller companies to compete. To survive in the eCommerce world, you must promote your brand effectively. Sponsored brand ads have the power to boost consumer awareness of your brand and create customer loyalty. With this guide organized by Premiere Creative, you’ll discover how sponsored brand ads can help your business grow on Amazon.
What is an Amazon Sponsored Brand Ad?
Amazon sponsored brand ads refer to banner ads that appear at the top of related Amazon search results. These ads typically display your brand’s logo, a custom tagline, and 3 product images or a video. In essence, an Amazon sponsored brand ad promotes your brand holistically and shows off an entire product line instead of just one product.
When a customer clicks on your ad, they arrive on your Amazon storefront or custom landing page, meaning they will only see your products. Sponsored brand ads are only available to brand-registered sellers on Amazon, so do not forget to register your brand before pursuing these campaigns. Once you register your brand with Amazon, you gain access to sponsored brand ads, as well as a wide host of advertising options to help you generate sales (like sponsored product ads and sponsored display ads). These different ad options target consumers in the later stages of the marketing funnel while sponsored brands target consumers in the beginning stages, aiming for wider brand awareness.
How Do Amazon Sponsored Brand Ads Work?
Similar to Amazon sponsored product ads, sponsored brand ads work on a pay-per-click (PPC) model: you only pay a fee when potential customers click on the ad. Staying within your budget is easy with this model since you can input a daily budget for your ads and choose your keyword bids. You will bid for keywords against other sellers to appear on those keywords’ search results.
Once a consumer searches those keywords on Amazon, your ad should appear at the top of the page or within the results, assuming you win the bid. As the first brand seen by a consumer on a given page, you will boost the likelihood of earning conversions and more sales. The reasoning is simple: people do not want to search for very long. In many instances, shoppers will trust the first few search results they encounter.
The Different Amazon Sponsored Brand Ad Formats
When creating your sponsored brand ads, there are three formats to choose from product collection, store spotlight, and video. Each ad format boasts a set of strengths, weaknesses, and best practices. Let’s explore the three formats a bit further.
Product Collection
The product collection format highlights three ASINs at a time, usually a product collection or a best-seller you wish to cross-sell with lower-performing items. Once clicked on, the ad will bring the customer to a landing page featuring these ASINs. To get the most value out of the product collection ad format, upload a dynamic and captivating image to capture the audience’s attention, create a compelling headline, and experiment with your product selection to see which ads earn the best results.
Store Spotlight
Store spotlight ads promote your brand’s Amazon storefront. Instead of highlighting individual products within the ad, store spotlight ads allow you to showcase different categories of products sold at your store. The main benefit of having a brand store is that competitors cannot advertise in your store. Once a consumer lands on your storefront, they will only see your products.
Even better, you have control over how you want your ad to look. The freedom to change the elements of your ads around allows you to test which designs and copy resonate with your audience, and which do not. This ad format proved beneficial for companies like KitchenAid or NYX Professional Makeup that sell a large variety of products.
Video Ads
Lastly, you can feature a video advertisement instead of three products or categories. These videos highlight one product, typically a best-selling item. Video ads will set you apart from the rest of the products on a given search result page. According to Amazon, brands that used video ads saw a 108.1% increase in click-through rate compared to the other formats. Consumers broadly prefer dynamic video content over static content, like a plain image.
Remember to keep the clip short and sweet; for instance, Amazon recommends a run-time of only about 15-30 seconds. These videos also auto-play without sound, so make sure your audience will understand your message without the use of audio. Include subtitles in your clip if necessary. Within 72 hours of submitting your ad, keywords, and bids, Amazon will review and publish it if approved.
Measuring Amazon Sponsored Brand Ads
Once you publish your Amazon sponsored brand ad, how do you measure your performance? Amazon provides you with a plethora of metrics to determine which ads are working. The new-to-brand metric can help companies determine if an ad led to a sale from a returning customer or a new customer. You also want to track your success through your impressions, click-through rate, and RoAS.
However, do not worry if your RoAS is not as high as you expect. This method of advertising is meant to promote brand discovery and drive first-time purchases, rather than repeat sales.
Are Amazon Sponsored Brand Ads Worth the Investment?
Sponsored brand ads allow registered brands to get a leg up on the competition. Instead of appearing alongside every other listing on Amazon, sponsored brand ads give your ASINs a special place apart from your competitors, and in the most advantageous spot, right at the top of the page!
But with the array of different advertising avenues offered by Amazon, you may wonder which ad format typically sees a healthy return on investment (ROI). According to JungleScout, sponsored brand ads offer a higher RoAS than other ad types, like sponsored product ads and sponsored display ads. However, this does not mean that these other ad types are ineffective. When used in conjunction with sponsored brands, they become a powerful tool for brands.
Brands that advertise on Amazon, like ExclusiveLane and Ugreen, reported enormous success using both sponsored brand and sponsored display ads. By December 2021, Ugreen witnessed an increase in ad impressions by as much as 6 times than before they launched their campaigns.
Start Advertising Effectively on Amazon with Premiere Creative
Every business has different budgets and needs. Let the Amazon marketing experts at Premiere Creative discover what will work best for you. Whether you want to experiment with Amazon sponsored brand ads, product ads, or display ads, the Premiere Creative team will craft the optimal advertising campaign to drive customers to your Amazon storefront.
Get in touch with Premiere Creative today at (973) 346-8100 to stay ahead of your competition in the No.1 global marketplace.