Amazon have announced that they will be extending Sponsored Product Ads off the marketplace and that they will be displayed on sites including Pinterest, BuzzFeed, Hearst Newspapers, Raptive, and Ziff Davis brands like Lifehacker and Mashable… looks like Amazon are starting to utilise third party Retail Media Networks rather than just running their own!
This is big news as advertisers using Sponsored Products do not need to take any action to appear on these sites or apps. These Sponsored Products ads will automatically show up when Amazon think a customer is likely to be interested in a product, based on relevant page context, the campaign, and cost-per-click parameters that sellers have already established.
As is the case today, all ads will link to the Amazon product page, making it simple for customers to move from inspiration to browsing or buying in just one or two clicks. Sponsored Products only appear when advertised items are in-stock, and include trusted Amazon shopping attributes such as Prime delivery promise, ratings, and accurate pricing information—helping customers make informed browsing and buying decisions even before they choose to click on an ad.
Sponsored Products has always been about helping customers discover products they may love. We’ve been building and evolving Sponsored Products in our store for more than 10 years, leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms to show advertising that’s highly relevant for customers, and therefore highly effective for the advertisers that choose to use it. We are excited to now apply what we’ve learned about connecting customers and products in meaningful ways to a range of great websites and apps.
– Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president, Amazon Ads Products and Technology
More than a decade ago, Amazon introduced cost-per-click Sponsored Product ads with a focus on connecting customers and products through experiences that drive discovery and make it easier to shop. You could view this as a valuable tool to drive exposure and traffic, or as a costly necessity in order to gain visibility and drive traffic to your offers. The truth is somewhere in the middle – it can be viewed as an essential tool for those introducing new products and many have used Sponsored Product Ads for hugely successful product launches and then cut back on bid rates as sales history start to drive traction.
Amazon has also expanded Sponsored Product Ads from search results to other parts of the marketplace to further drive visibility and sales, so today’s announcement is just an extension of their goal to empower brands and retailers to attract views and sales.
Don’t be disappointed if you don’t see your offers on external sites any time soon, Amazon say that they will will start small, learn, and expand as they see ‘meaningful opportunities to enable delightful discovery and shopping experiences’.
Customers today are exploring products across a range of apps and websites, and we’re seeing advertisers successfully plan and execute digital advertising strategies by shifting their focus and success metrics to the customer. Amazon’s latest innovation of its Sponsored Products ads enables our clients to achieve exactly that. The ability for advertisers to efficiently scale their reach with highly relevant advertising, while enabling them to track their performance holistically, and ultimately drive business impact through Amazon’s store, is what most excites us about this.
– Guy Cohen, chief product officer, Skai enterprise level advertising intelligence agency
