Customers are moving from linear TV to streaming TV. The number of people using OTT video platforms is expected to cross 4000m users by 2027. This hints at the rising interest in OTT among consumers.
Going where the consumers are is a good advertising rule of thumb. This is why brands are looking for ways to leverage the reach and impact OTT ads offer, and Amazon Streaming TV ads offer them a pathway into the world of OTT advertising.
Amazon's Streaming TV or OTT advertising vertical is gaining popularity.
In this blog, we will discuss the top benefits advertisers can enjoy through Amazon streaming TV ad campaigns and the trends they should look out for within this category.
But first, let's unwrap the concept that is STV ads.
What Are Amazon Streaming TV Ads?
Amazon Streaming TV (STV) ads are online video ads delivered to a highly-targeted audience segment over the internet via Amazon's Fire TV – a streaming TV device.
STV ads are very similar to linear or conventional television ads. They play before and during content on add-supported streaming tv apps. But because of their digital nature, STV ads are targeted and easy to measure, which makes them much more powerful than your conventional television ads.
Just like conventional TV ads, STV ads cannot be paused or skipped. And so, they give brands the opportunity of delivering their message to the right audience, given that they create ads captivating enough to hold the audience's attention.
Amazon's OTT advertising service builds on Amazon DSP and allows advertisers to leverage DSP's programmatic ad buying and audience targeting capabilities to run profitable STV ad campaigns.
Benefits of Amazon Streaming TV Ads
Amazon STV allows advertisers to enjoy the increased reach of conventional TV ads and the preciseness of targeted and measurable digital ads. In essence, STV ads enable advertisers to get the best of both worlds at a better price.
Here's a further breakdown of the benefits Amazon STV ads promise to advertisers:
Precise Audience Targeting
Amazon Streaming TV ads get their audience targeting capabilities from Amazon DSP.
When creating a streaming TV ad campaign, you can choose exactly who you want your ads to be delivered to.
Amazon lets you hone in on the audience you are trying to reach by allowing you to create various audience segments based on lifestyle, interest, shopping behavior, and more.
You can also segment and target audiences based on demographic information like age, gender, location, etc.
Amazon streaming TV not only allows but encourages you to understand your audiences and deliver targeted ads that can resonate with the audience.
Not just that, but Amazon also lets you create different ads for different audience segments.
A CPG brand invested in Amazon STV ads with two goals in mind: 1- drive brand awareness and 2- reach a relevant audience. And during the time their STV ad campaign stayed in flight, their branded shopping queries increased 8.5x, and product DPVR increased by 49%.
That happens when you reach the right people with the right message.
Take Your Brand Off Amazon
It takes 5-7 interactions before people remember a brand. Amazon STV ads help you multiply your brand's interaction opportunities by allowing you to expand your advertising efforts beyond the bounds of amazon.com.
Fire TV – Amazon's OTT device that you deliver your ads through – lets you serve ads on Amazon Prime and across 50+ other ad-supported third-party streaming TV apps.
This ensures that your brand remains visible wherever your customers are, driving awareness and settling into the customer's minds so they can come to you automatically when they are ready to buy.
Optimized Ad Spend
Amazon's Streaming TV ads, in particular, and all STV ads in general, are more cost-effective than your conventional linear TV ads. And there are a few reasons for that.
First, linear TV ads are closer to obsoletion than ever before. So, naturally, they are more expensive than their alternatives.
Second, there is no way you can target a linear TV ad as precisely as you can target an STV ad. Targeting lets you get the most out of the impressions you pay for, improving your ROAS.
Finally, you can track the performance of your STV ads more accurately than linear TV ads.
Amazon is also expanding Streaming TV ad reporting capabilities. At unBoxed 2022, Amazon Ads announced Amazon Streaming TV incremental household reach. This post-campaign reporting solution helps brands measure incremental and unique audiences reached through Amazon STV ads.
To put things into perspective, Amazon STV ads can help you solve the age-old problem "half of my ad spend is wasted. But the problem is, I don't know which half?"
Reach A Difficult-to-Reach Audience
40% of US internet users use ad blockers. And even if customers are not using ad blockers, they have turned immune to conventional advertising attempts and can scroll right past your ads without sparing as much as a glance.
Amazon Streaming TV ads play automatically and cannot be blocked or skipped. And therefore, these ads let your brand reach an audience that may have been difficult to reach otherwise.
Besides that, Amazon STV ads are way more engaging than typical static ads that most customers have learned to ignore. And that's another reason why STV ads get to people who may be impossible to reach through other advertising channels.
Incremental Reach
Amazon STV ads run via Amazon FireTV, which has more than 50 million active users worldwide. This is why Amazon reports that advertisers can reach over 120 million US STV content viewers when advertising through Amazon ads.
When comparing Amazon STV ad reach with linear TV, it is interesting to note that Amazon Streaming TV ads get 10.5% incremental viewers compared to linear TV.
As more and more people move to OTT platforms, the reach STV ads promise may increase.
Streaming TV Ad Trends to Look Out for in 2023
Streaming TV will remain one of the most popular advertising platforms as video advertising grows and customers continue to replace linear TV with OTT content.
Here are the top trends that may impact Amazon STV advertising this year:
Increase in OTT Investment
Marketers are expected to get more cautious with their ad dollars as the economy wavers and buying power shrinks. And so many advertisers may turn to high-impact advertising options like Streaming TV.
OTT video advertising revenue is expected to go from 270 billion USD in 2022 to over 460 billion USD in 2027.
More than half of advertisers using connected TV or OTT will increase spending along this channel by almost 22%.
For brands looking to maintain their edge and stay afloat as ecommerce competition gets vicious, investing in Streaming TV ads may be a good option.
Amazon is also rolling out a feature for small brands to run STV ad campaigns. It announced the launch of Amazon Creative services during unBoxed 2022. This tool can help small brands collaborate with trusted service providers to create highly-engaging STV ads.
Talking about STV for small brands, Danilo Tauro, the product leader for STV AdTech at Amazon says
"Amazon Ads Streaming TV solutions enable and support "performance STV." Smaller advertisers can buy Streaming TV ads and optimize for ROAS [return on ad spend], find their first-party audiences, understand what channels drive more sales, and so on."
Virtual Product Placement
While not exactly a direct Amazon STV ad trend, virtual product placement or VPP (beta) is another trend advertisers need to look out for.
With VPP (beta), Amazon offers brands to secure in-content placement on certain titles streaming on Amazon Prime and Amazon Freevee.
Leveraging VPP, brands can promote their products via Streaming TV and reach their incremental user base without creating dedicated STV campaigns.
A CPG brand experienced a 6.9% increase in brand favorability and a 14% increase in purchase intent with VPP. So, safe to say VPP has the potential to help brands generate impact. And once it takes off, we may see more brands flocking to adopt this seamless yet powerful advertising approach.
Interactive Streaming TV Ads
Interactive content reportedly generates 2x higher conversions than non-interactive ads.
Amazon announced they are making Streaming TV ads more interactive than they have conventionally been at unBoxed 2022.
According to the advertising powerhouse, advertisers using Amazon STV ads can include voice CTAs such as "Add to Cart" or "Buy Now" directly within STV ads on Fire TV.
Amazon is also introducing a new shopping action, "Send Me More Info," to the ad experience. This will enable viewers to visit the brand's landing page by scanning a QR code on the screen or receiving product details by email.
When the reach and engagement inherent to STV ads combine with the high-conversion power of interactive ads, advertisers experience an ad product bursting with brand-building and sales-driving potential.
To Sum It Up
Consumers are switching to streaming TV. And advertisers are following suit.
OTT video advertising revenue is expected to almost double in the next few years, the reason being the reach, accurate targeting capability, and ad reporting powers that streaming TV ads, especially DSP-supported Amazon STV ads offer.
Courtesy of the value they add to the brand's campaigns and bottom line, Amazon STV ads may experience increased adoption. Moreover, these ads may become even more powerful as Amazon rolls out more features to make passive STV ads more interactive.
The future is bright for STV ads and brands that are using them.
Considering Amazon STV ads for your brand? Discuss your options with Team Accrue. We work with clients across industries, helping them build a strong marketplace presence and scale with the right platform technologies and strategies. Talk to our experts today.