How to launch and optimize your Sponsored TV campaign

Question 1

Introduction to Sponsored TV

Customer journeys served a Sponsored TV ad along with other sponsored ads products drove 58% better New to Brand Conversion Rate for advertisers compared to journeys containing sponsored ads without Sponsored TV.¹

Answer

Sponsored TV is a self-service streaming TV ad solution that allows businesses of any size to inspire and engage customers on the largest screen in the home, risk-free with no minimum spend. By advertising on Amazon's exclusive streaming services like Prime Video and Twitch, as well as third-party channels through Amazon Publisher Direct, businesses could reach relevant audiences who are more likely to be interested in their products or brand using Amazon's first-party shopping and streaming signals. Sponsored TV is currently available in the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and the UK, with plans to expand to more countries. Sponsored TV offers premium video content placements, ad interactivity to engage viewers, flexible budgeting, and performance analytics, making it an effective way for businesses to connect with audiences through the content they love.

Question 2

Launch your Sponsored TV campaign

Define your campaign goal

When it comes to your streaming TV ads, it’s important to have a clear sense of what you’re trying to accomplish. This isn't just about branding—streaming is a powerful channel that can drive real, measurable results for your business. Think about your specific goals: maybe you want to drive more foot traffic to your storefront or promote a new product launch. Which audiences are you trying to reach? Having that goal in mind will help you develop the right creative, and it will give you a concrete way to evaluate whether your ads are delivering on those objectives. Have you found success promoting products or offers on social media? See how you can adapt those winning strategies to the big screen of streaming TV. The key is leveraging this medium to amplify and complement your marketing efforts across other channels.

Create a campaign

Ready to create a Sponsored TV campaign? Log in to your account and click the ‘Create campaign’ button. Choose Sponsored TV and set up your campaign.

Choose your campaign settings

Campaign name: Give your campaign a straightforward name that will make it easy to identify. For example, you can use “STV” for streaming TV so that when you look at other campaign performance, you can exclude this if you’re looking at metrics like return on ad spend (ROAS).
Setting a budget: All Sponsored TV campaigns are billed on a CPM (cost per thousand impression) basis with no minimum budget required. Choose your daily budget with the option to change it at any time. Once a campaign is out of budget for the day, your ads won’t be eligible to run until midnight when the budget resets. If you’re a small to medium sized business, we suggest starting with a daily budget of $150 to test. From there, you can increase or decrease your budget depending on your campaign performance.
Selecting ASINs: Every product on Amazon has an Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN). Select an ASIN that is in-stock and aligns with the video you’re using for your Sponsored TV campaign. This will be the ASIN that gets featured if your ad is eligible for interactivity, so you want to make sure you’re creating the most relevant experience for viewers. For example, your ad may show up as the landing page for Twitch clickable ads, QR codes, or Add to Cart overlays across our premium supply. Please note that the ASIN’s Brand Name is also used for the tracking of attributed Branded Searches. Use a Child ASIN (one that can be purchased) as opposed to a Parent ASIN, or the ads will not serve.
Selecting Audiences: Whether you’re just starting out with streaming TV or have been actively testing, we suggest including a variety of audiences to understand how each will contribute to your campaign. Some audiences will be better suited to drive scale and delivery to reach shoppers while others will deliver fewer impressions but drive more performance. We suggest starting with three to five audiences. The broader the audience, the lower the bid ($10-15). The more specific and targeted the audiences are to the ASIN, the higher the bid ($20-25). Use those as ranges or baselines for bids on other audiences.
Use creative that clearly depicts your brand name/logo: Ensure your TV creative clearly demonstrates your product or brand, and depicts product benefits and/or differentiators. Ideally it will also contain an end card that drives action and recall (e.g. brand name and/or logo, an “available on Amazon” badge).

Answer

If you’re new to Amazon Ads, register here, then choose one of the account options to sign in with the appropriate credentials.

If you already have an advertising account, sign in and select the Sponsored TV campaign type, and follow these steps for quick and efficient campaign setup.

Question 3

Build your Sponsored TV targeting

Answer

You can reach audiences using “Content Interests” or “In-market Categories.” “Content Interests” helps you reach viewers likely to be interested in specific types of content like “Documentaries” or “Music Videos.” “In-market Categories” help you reach viewers likely to be interested in products of categories sold on Amazon, including “Built-in Dishwashers” or “Women’s Sports Apparel.” Look-back windows for “Content Interests” and “In-market categories” are up to 30 days.

You must select at least one content interest or in-market category segment for each Sponsored TV ad group, but you can’t exceed 20 segments. In addition, each content-based audience or in-market category segment must have an associated bid to signal how much you’re willing to spend up to for serving 1,000 impressions in contexts associated with your selected content interest.

Question 4

Sponsored TV placements and creative

Placements

“Shop on Amazon” Twitch clickable ad

Creatives

Since your TV creative will be viewed by engaged audiences, you want to ensure it is meaningful. Here are some best practices for crafting impactful video creative:

Smooth transitions: Strive for a cohesive narrative that seamlessly guides the audience through the content.
Include a logo: Ensure the logo or the product are shown in the first three seconds of the ad. Persistent brand logo in video to drive ad recall with shoppers.
Music/audio: Pick something that matches the tone of your ad and is a high quality audio file.
Optimal resolution: Test the video on various screen sizes to ensure it retains its quality and clarity, regardless of the viewer's display dimensions.
On-screen text: Use as few words as possible on screen, relying more on high quality voice-over narration.
Call-to-action: Conclude with an end card to anchor your message, such as using the “available on Amazon” logo to drive action.

Visit this page for additional information on the Sponsored TV spec requirements.

Need help with creatives? Amazon Ads offers a range of creative services and tools to support you, from strategy to production. Connect with our team to learn more about your options. Request help here.

Ad policies

At Amazon Ads, we have a moderation process that reviews our self-service advertising solutions before they are published on our site. Moderation can help ensure your ads are displayed at their best to make the most impact. Our focus is safeguarding the shopper’s experience while also supporting our advertisers. Adhere to the ad policy guidelines to enable smooth reviews ahead of your campaign launch.

1. Brand visibility

Ensure your brand logo and name are present in the video.
Make sure to use the highest-quality logos/assets in your ad, so they don't appear pixelated on screen.
Make sure the logo is noticeable without dominating the viewing experience. Place the logo in the corner of the screen (on top left or lower left corner, within safe area).

2. Video and audio resolution and quality

Poor video quality, low resolution, and videos that contain blurry, unclear, or recognizable visuals cannot be accepted.
Check all the text thoroughly. Typos and incorrect grammar found in on-screen text or subtitles cannot be approved.
Poor or distracting audio, inaudible speech, low tone voices, unclear messages, or missing audio cannot be accepted.

3. More tips to keep in mind

Ensure your video(s) tells a cohesive and complete story, with a clear start and end. Videos that abruptly start or stop are not allowed. It is recommended adding an end card with a logo or ‘available at Amazon’ messaging.
Ensure claims made in the video are substantiated. For example, warranty/guarantee claims, efficacy claims, clinically proven, 0%-100% quantified claims, doctor recommended, professionals trust, etc.
Restricted content, products, and services are those that we permit, but with specific requirements and guidelines. Generally, these are related to the health and safety of customers, and/or sensitive topics and categories like weight loss and health care. There may also be local and regional guidelines that need to be followed.

For more detailed information, refer to our Amazon Ads Streaming TV Ad Policies.

Answer

Your Sponsored TV ads may appear on Amazon’s expansion collection of exclusive and premium streaming content, including Prime Video, Twitch, Freevee, and Amazon Publisher Direct, which focuses on direct integrations with the largest streaming TV publishers through connected devices, including Fire TV, as well as on ad-supported content through Prime Video Channels.

Question 5

Use Sponsored TV with other Amazon Ads products

Customer journeys served a Sponsored TV ad along with other sponsored ads products drove 110% better Purchase Rate for advertisers compared to journeys containing sponsored ads without Sponsored TV.²

Answer

As you define your campaign goal, consider your audience and the existing media investments you’ve made. Where and how are they spending time? How are your current media solutions helping you achieve your goals, and what’s the gap? Are you already using Amazon Ads’ sponsored ads solutions?

Accelerate your Amazon Ads in-market campaigns
Since Sponsored TV is included in our sponsored ads offerings and managed through the ad console, you can easily complement your existing sponsored ads campaigns with Sponsored TV. For example, Sponsored TV can help you improve brand awareness by staying top of mind for viewers as they watch TV, while Sponsored Display, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Products can attract those viewers with relevant display ads and search results when they are in the shopping mindset and ultimately help them find what they’re looking for.

Additionally, if you’re already using video solutions through Sponsored Brands video or Sponsored Display video, you may seize that opportunity to do creative testing with Sponsored TV to see what video length (6 - 45 seconds), content type, or audience targeting performs better for your streaming TV campaign.