August 4, 2022

What is Amazon DSP

The future of Amazon advertising is DSP.

It can be hard to keep up with the ever-evolving world of digital advertising. Google and Meta (Facebook) have their challenges and your competition is likely utilizing those popular platforms. Have no fear! The next frontier is here and it’s in the form of Amazon DSP ads.

In an industry full of acronyms, DSP may be a new one to you, so let’s break down the basics.

Demand-side Platform, or DSP, is software that allows advertisers to automate buying inventory from publishers’ sites. The huge benefit here is it allows you to manage all your digital ads on one interface. What consumers see are display ads – those banner, box, and skyscraper ads they view on the websites they visit daily. Video ads web users see ahead of video content or on another device while streaming content are also DSP placements.

Ad Examples:

AMAZON DOES DSP BEST

There are several providers of DSP advertising but nothing quite compares to Amazon’s DSP. Why?

While other DSP providers harness third-party data sources, Amazon DSP can tap into Amazon’s first-party insights based on billions of observed shopping patterns. That data is then used to build custom audiences to target shoppers in millions of unique placements – both on and off Amazon.

Amazon DSP may seem like it should be exclusive to those who sell on Amazon.

BUT IT’S NOT.

Amazon DSP allows you to create link-in and link-out campaigns. If you don’t sell on Amazon, you can create campaigns that direct audiences to your website. If you do sell on Amazon, your campaigns send customers to your brand’s product detail pages on Amazon or another Amazon destination.

An additional benefit of Amazon DSP ads is it allows you access to a unique supply (exclusive website placements) that you cannot access via other DSPs. Ads appear in placements no other platform can offer, such as Amazon.com and Amazon Owned & Operated sites. Open exchanges also provide placements across the web on popular news, weather, and sports sites.

And let’s not forget the huge news of 2022 – Amazon Prime will be the ONLY way to enjoy Thursday Night Football this fall. That means Advertisers can use Streaming TV ads through Amazon DSP to reach Thursday Night Football audiences. Advertisers will be able to engage with this growing audience with a customized ad experience. Talk about a game-changer!

AMAZON DSP vs SPONSORED DISPLAY

Sponsored Display is a great self-service model for basic strategies like re-targeting and re-purchasing – it is the “lite” version of DSP.

The key benefit of Sponsored Display is its accessibility and simplicity for most sellers. However, that simplicity has its drawbacks. Amazon DSP ads offer considerably more options. Here are a few key differentiators:

Audience stacking: With DSP, we can stack audiences using AND, OR, NOT, ANY, and ALL logic to get extremely granular in our targeting.

Additional audiences: DSP has other audience building options, like pixel retargeting (place pixel on your website) and hashed audiences (e.g. target an email list).

Supply: With DSP, we can refine every aspect of supply – targeting specific sources and/or excluding others.

Frequency: DSP offers frequency customization, which controls how many times ads are shown over various periods.

Lookback windows: We can slice and dice retargeting campaigns based on when shoppers interacted with the product. Segmentation of lookback windows helps us control reach, increase sales, and maximize ROAS.

Custom creatives: While Sponsored Display allows you to customize Amazon ad templates, DSP offers the ability to create custom ads that speak to the targeted audience.

A STRATEGY FOR EVERY STAGE OF THE SHOPPING JOURNEY

From pre-built Amazon audiences based on lifestyles, interests or demographics, to custom-built audiences based on product or brand interactions, Amazon DSP makes it easy to reach your consumer at every stage of the funnel.

Looking at the funnel graphic below, strategies near the top aim for awareness, those in the middle work toward consideration, and at the bottom of the funnel, strategies focus on conversion.

A full-funnel Amazon DSP strategy offers a multi-faceted approach to growing your brand, market share, and ultimately sales. All the pieces work together, moving the shopper down the funnel and getting the sale across the conversion finish line.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Convinced Amazon DSP ads might be worth a try?

Unlike many agencies, Ad Advance has no minimum spend requirements for DSP advertising. We’ll help you get started at a budget that makes sense for you and scale from there.

Let’s connect and strategize. Once we learn more about your brand/s on a call, we’ll follow-up with a free DSP Launch Plan tailored to your objectives.