Amazon Advertising OTT: How to Reach Your Audience with Streaming TV Ads

By Cepy 9/15/2023 Post a Comment

Hi everyone, welcome to our blog where we share the latest insights and tips on digital marketing. In this article, we will talk about Amazon Advertising OTT, a powerful way to reach your target audience with streaming TV ads.

OTT stands for over-the-top, which means any type of streaming media content delivered over the Internet, bypassing the traditional cable or satellite providers. OTT includes services like Amazon Prime Video, IMDb TV, Twitch, and Fire TV, where viewers can watch movies, shows, live sports, and more on their connected TVs, mobile devices, or gaming consoles.

Why Amazon Advertising OTT?

Amazon Advertising OTT is a solution that allows advertisers to show video ads alongside premium content across Amazon's streaming platforms and network of third-party apps. With Amazon Advertising OTT, you can leverage Amazon's first-party data and measurement tools to reach relevant audiences at scale and optimize your campaign performance.

Here are some of the benefits of using Amazon Advertising OTT for your marketing strategy:

You can access a large and engaged audience of cord-cutters, cord-shavers, and cord-nevers who are hard to reach with traditional TV ads. Amazon OTT and Twitch jointly reach an unduplicated monthly audience of 120 million viewers across the U.S.[^2^]
You can target your ads based on various criteria such as demographics, interests, shopping behavior, device type, genre, and more. You can also use Amazon's exclusive audiences such as Prime members, Prime Video viewers, Fire TV owners, and Twitch users to reach high-value customers.
You can measure the impact of your ads on key metrics such as reach, frequency, completion rate, viewability, brand lift, and sales lift. You can also use Amazon Attribution to track how your ads drive traffic and conversions on your website or app.
You can create engaging and interactive ads that allow viewers to take actions such as adding products to their cart, shopping list, or Alexa list directly from the ad. You can also participate in branded entertainment opportunities with IMDb TV Originals, where you can feature your products or services organically in the storylines or produce custom co-branded assets.

How to Get Started with Amazon Advertising OTT?

To run Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns, you need to use Amazon's demand-side platform (DSP), which is a programmatic tool that lets you buy and manage video ads across Amazon's media network and other exchanges. You can access Amazon DSP through a self-service option or a managed-service option.

The self-service option gives you full control over your campaigns and budget. You can set up your own targeting, bidding, and optimization strategies using the DSP interface or API. You can also access advanced features such as dynamic creative optimization (DCO), which allows you to customize your ads based on real-time data.

Self-Service Option Requirements

You need to have a minimum monthly spend of $35,000 for video ads.
You need to have a dedicated team of programmatic experts who can manage your campaigns effectively.
You need to have a valid credit card or invoicing account to pay for your campaigns.

The managed-service option gives you access to Amazon's team of experts who can help you plan, execute, and optimize your campaigns. You can provide your goals, budget, and creative assets to Amazon, and they will handle the rest for you. You can also request custom reports and insights from Amazon to measure your campaign performance.

Managed-Service Option Requirements

You need to have a minimum monthly spend of $15,000 for video ads.
You need to have a clear objective and target audience for your campaigns.
You need to have high-quality video creatives that meet Amazon's specifications and guidelines.

How to Optimize Your Amazon Advertising OTT Campaigns?

Once you have set up your Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns, you need to monitor and optimize them regularly to ensure they are delivering the best results. Here are some tips on how to optimize your campaigns:

Test different targeting options and segments to find the most relevant and responsive audiences for your ads. You can use Amazon's reporting tools to analyze the performance of your segments by various dimensions such as device type, app name, genre, etc.
Adjust your bids and budgets based on the competition and demand for your target segments. You can use Amazon's forecasting tools to estimate the impression volume and cost for your segments before launching your campaigns.
Experiment with different creative formats and messages to see what resonates with your audience. You can use Amazon's DCO feature to create dynamic ads that change based on the viewer's profile, context, and behavior.
Measure the impact of your ads on your brand and business goals using Amazon's measurement tools. You can use Amazon's brand lift studies to assess how your ads influence brand awareness, consideration, and preference. You can also use Amazon's sales lift studies to measure how your ads drive incremental sales on Amazon or your own website or app.

Amazon Advertising OTT Breakdown

To help you understand the scope and potential of Amazon Advertising OTT, we have prepared a table that summarizes the key features and benefits of each streaming platform and app that you can advertise on. You can use this table as a reference when planning your campaigns and choosing your target segments.

Platform/App	Description	Audience Size	Ad Formats	Ad Features
Amazon Prime Video	A subscription-based streaming service that offers thousands of movies, shows, and original content.	175 million Prime members worldwide[^3^]	15 or 30 second pre-roll or mid-roll video ads.	Standard or interactive video ads with shopping actions.
IMDb TV	A free ad-supported streaming service that offers movies, shows, and original content.	62 million monthly viewers in the U.S.[^4^]	15 or 30 second pre-roll or mid-roll video ads.	Standard or interactive video ads with shopping actions. Branded entertainment opportunities with IMDb TV Originals.
Twitch	A live streaming platform that offers gaming, sports, music, and other content.	140 million monthly viewers worldwide[^5^]	15 or 30 second pre-roll or mid-roll video ads.	Standard video ads. Twitch Ad Sync feature that allows viewers to interact with the ad on their mobile device.
Fire TV	A device and platform that allows viewers to access various streaming apps and channels.	50 million monthly active users worldwide	15 or 30 second pre-roll or mid-roll video ads.	Standard video ads. Fire TV Home Screen Takeover feature that allows advertisers to display a full-screen banner ad on the home screen.
Fire TV News App	A curated app that offers live and on-demand news from various sources.	N/A	15 or 30 second pre-roll or mid-roll video ads.	Standard video ads.
Third-Party Apps	A network of apps from top-tier publishers and broadcasters that offer various genres of content.	N/A	15 or 30 second pre-roll or mid-roll video ads.	Standard video ads.

FAQs about Amazon Advertising OTT

What are the specifications and guidelines for Amazon Advertising OTT video creatives?

The specifications and guidelines for Amazon Advertising OTT video creatives vary depending on the platform and app you are advertising on. However, some general requirements are:

The video file format should be MP4 or MOV.
The video resolution should be 1920x1080 or 1280x720 pixels.
The video bitrate should be at least 10 Mbps for HD quality.
The video duration should be 15 or 30 seconds (no shorter or longer).
The video aspect ratio should be 16:9 (no letterboxing or pillarboxing).
The video frame rate should be 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, or 30 fps (no interlacing).
The video audio codec should be AAC-LC with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.
The video audio level should be -24 LKFS +/- 2 dB with a peak level of -2 dBFS.
The video should not contain any black frames, color bars, slates, countdowns, watermarks, logos, URLs, phone numbers, QR codes, calls to action, or end cards.

You can find more details about thespecifications and guidelines for Amazon Advertising OTT video creatives on this page.

How can I create interactive video ads with shopping actions for Amazon Advertising OTT?

To create interactive video ads with shopping actions for Amazon Advertising OTT, you need to use Amazon's interactive video creative (IVC) tool, which is a web-based tool that lets you design and preview your interactive ads. You can access the IVC tool through the Amazon DSP interface or API.

The IVC tool allows you to add various elements to your video ads, such as product images, titles, prices, ratings, reviews, and buttons. You can also customize the layout, style, and animation of these elements. You can link these elements to your products or services on Amazon or your own website or app.

When viewers see your interactive ads, they can interact with these elements using their remote control or voice command. They can also take actions such as adding products to their cart, shopping list, or Alexa list directly from the ad. You can track the performance of these interactions and actions using the Amazon DSP reporting tools.

How can I participate in branded entertainment opportunities with IMDb TV Originals?

To participate in branded entertainment opportunities with IMDb TV Originals, you need to contact Amazon's sales team, who will provide you with the available options and pricing. You can choose from various types of opportunities, such as:

Product placement: You can feature your products or services organically in the storylines of IMDb TV Originals shows.
Co-branded assets: You can produce custom co-branded assets such as trailers, teasers, behind-the-scenes, interviews, etc. that showcase your brand and the IMDb TV Originals shows.
Sponsored segments: You can sponsor segments such as opening credits, commercial breaks, or end credits that display your brand logo and message.

You can also run standard or interactive video ads alongside IMDb TV Originals shows to complement your branded entertainment strategy. You can use Amazon's measurement tools to evaluate the impact of your branded entertainment campaigns on your brand and business goals.

What are the best practices for running Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns?

Here are some of the best practices for running Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns:

Define your campaign objective and target audience clearly before launching your campaigns. You can use Amazon's audience insights tool to understand the profile and behavior of your potential customers.
Align your creative strategy with your campaign objective and target audience. You can use Amazon's creative services team to help you produce high-quality video creatives that match your brand identity and message.
Use a mix of different streaming platforms and apps to reach a diverse and broad audience. You can use Amazon's reach planner tool to estimate the optimal media mix for your campaigns based on your budget and goals.
Optimize your campaigns regularly based on data and feedback. You can use Amazon's optimization tools to automate your bidding and targeting strategies based on your performance goals.
Test and learn from different campaign variations. You can use Amazon's experimentation tool to run A/B tests or multivariate tests to compare different campaign settings and creatives.

How much does it cost to run Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns?

The cost of running Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns depends on various factors such as the platform, app, segment, format, competition, and demand for your target audience. You can use Amazon's cost estimator tool to get an approximate range of the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) for your target segments before launching your campaigns.

You can also set a daily or lifetime budget for your campaigns to control your spending. You can adjust your budget at any time during your campaign duration. You will only pay for the impressions that are delivered by your campaigns.

How long does it take to launch Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns?

The time it takes to launch Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns depends on the type of service option you choose and the readiness of your video creatives. If you choose the self-service option, you can launch your campaigns within minutes after setting up your campaign settings and uploading your video creatives. However, you need to wait for 24 hours for Amazon to review and approve your video creatives before they go live.

If you choose the managed-service option, you need to provide your campaign brief and video creatives to Amazon's sales team, who will set up and launch your campaigns for you. The time it takes for this process may vary depending on the complexity and availability of your campaign requirements. However, you can expect to launch your campaigns within a few days after submitting your request.

How can I track and measure the performance of my Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns?

You can track and measure the performance of your Amazon Advertising OTT campaigns using Amazon's reporting and measurement tools. You can access these tools through the Amazon DSP interface or API. You can also download or schedule reports to be delivered to your email or S3 bucket.

Some of the reporting and measurement tools that you can use are:

Delivery reports: These reports show you the basic metrics of your campaigns such as impressions, clicks, CPM, CPC, CTR, etc.
Performance reports: These reports show you the advanced metrics of your campaigns such as completion rate, viewability, brand lift, sales lift, etc.
Audience reports: These reports show you the characteristics and behavior of your audience such as demographics, interests, shopping behavior, etc.
Attribution reports: These reports show you how your campaigns drive traffic and conversions on your website or app.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Amazon Advertising OTT compared to other OTT advertising platforms?

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of Amazon Advertising OTT compared to other OTT advertising platforms are:

Advantages

Amazon Advertising OTT offers a large and engaged audience of cord-cutters, cord-shavers, and cord-nevers who are hard to reach with traditional TV ads.
Amazon Advertising OTT leverages Amazon's first-party data and measurement tools to offer precise and relevant targeting and optimization options for advertisers.
Amazon Advertising OTT provides various creative formats and features to create engaging and interactive ads that drive actions and conversions.
Amazon Advertising OTT offers flexible and transparent pricing and billing options for advertisers.

Disadvantages

Amazon Advertising OTT requires a minimum monthly spend for video ads, which may be too high for some advertisers.
Amazon Advertising OTT has strict specifications and guidelines for video creatives, which may limit some advertisers' creative freedom and expression.
Amazon Advertising OTT has limited inventory and availability for some streaming platforms and apps, which may reduce some advertisers' reach and frequency.
Amazon Advertising OTT has limited integration and compatibility with some third-party tools and platforms, which may affect some advertisers' workflow and efficiency.

What are some of the best practices for creating video creatives for Amazon Advertising OTT?

Some of the best practices for creating video creatives for Amazon Advertising OTT are:

Create video creatives that match your campaign objective and target audience. You can use Amazon's creative brief tool to help you define your creative strategy.
Create video creatives that are clear, concise, and compelling. You can use Amazon's creative best practices tool to help you craft your creative message.
Create video creatives that are high-quality and compliant. You can use Amazon's creative validation tool to help you check your creative specifications and guidelines.
Create video creatives that are consistent and coherent. You can use Amazon's creative library tool to help you manage your creative assets and versions.

What are some of the challenges and opportunities for Amazon Advertising OTT in the future?

Some of the challenges and opportunities for Amazon Advertising OTT in the future are:

Challenges

The OTT advertising market is becoming more competitive and fragmented as more streaming platforms and apps emerge and evolve.
The OTT advertising industry is facing more regulations and restrictions as more privacy laws and consumer preferences change.
The OTT advertising technology is becoming more complex and sophisticated as more innovations and disruptions occur.

Opportunities

The OTT advertising market is growing rapidly as more consumers shift from traditional TV to streaming media.
The OTT advertising industry is offering more value and benefits to advertisers as more data and insights become available.
The OTT advertising technology is enabling more creativity and interactivity for advertisers as more features and formats become possible.

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you a comprehensive overview of Amazon Advertising OTT, a powerful way to reach your target audience with streaming TV ads. If you are interested in learning more about Amazon Advertising OTT or other digital marketing solutions, please check out our other articles or contact us today. We would love to hear from you!

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