Breaking new ground: Sponsored Brands video case study

A China-based consumer electronics brand began advertising on Amazon in 2016, and has since tried multiple ad solutions, like display ads, Amazon DSP, Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display. When the brand was invited to use Sponsored Brands video* in October 2019, they set up test campaigns for the new ad format that displays auto-playing video in shopping results.

• By rolling out the Sponsored Brands video ads, the company aimed to attract, educate, and interact with consumers through the multimedia format.
• They wanted to supplement their existing sponsored ads with a new format, and used multiple solutions together to achieve a better holistic advertising performance.

• Test new ad products: The brand's strategy was to be bold and test new ad solutions, carefully. While the test was running, the company kept a close eye on the performance of their ads. They compared the performance with that of other ad products and found that the success metrics for Sponsored Brands video, including CPC (cost-per-click), CTR (click-through rate), CVR (conversion rate), and ACOS (advertising cost of sales), were good.
• Set a starter budget: First, they allocated a small portion of their existing advertising budget—for example, only 2% of the total budget—to Sponsored Brands video ads. Then they monitored the performance of the video ads and adjusted the budget gradually. As they found Sponsored Brands video ads very effective, they increased the budget for these ads to 5% of the total budget.
• Choose proven targeting strategies: Since Sponsored Brands video campaign settings are similar to Sponsored Brands, they adopted the same strategy for both, in terms of campaign settings like the targeting strategy, which was easier to implement.
• Monitor success metrics and optimize: They monitored CTR, conversion rate, and other metrics, and linked better-performing videos to product detail pages and Stores pages.

• Select strong products: The brand selected products with a rating of more than four stars and competitive pricing for the ad campaigns. In addition, they also selected some alternative products, used the same video production techniques, and performed tests looking at cumulative data.
• Identify selling points: They prioritized showcasing selling points based on their importance in the videos. For example, in a video for headphones, sound quality, stylish appearance, and portability were the central themes of the video. The biggest selling point was displayed right from the start.
• Determine video style: For products used every day, such as headphones, they focused on actual use cases, such as running and other fitness activities, and made the video style mirror daily life. For high-end products, they used high-tech elements and product images that had a strong visual impact to engage shoppers.
• Add supplementary elements: During the gifting season, they launched a video in which they promoted giving headphones as a holiday gift to highlight the festive atmosphere and help reach holiday shoppers.
• Keep it short: The average video duration was about 8 seconds, and the longest not more than 15 seconds.
• Continue optimizing: They continuously test video ads from the aspects of content, video production techniques, and product selection. In addition, they draw inspiration from other brands’ videos that appear in similar ad placements.