Still just in its first year of offering television advertising, Amazon already is looking to push the boundaries of interactive and shoppable TV. In advance of its debut Upfront presentation, the ecommerce juggernaut has introduced three new ad formats that make it easier for viewers to connect and shop with the brands that advertise on its Prime Video content.
Just months after introducing advertising to Prime Video, the platform already has an average monthly ad-supported reach of over 200 million customers globally. And while this new advertising platform will be a financial boon to Amazon in its own right, the tech giant isn’t content to merely let viewers be inspired by content on its streaming platform — it wants to make the sale as well. To sell the idea to advertisers, Amazon is touting “access to a closed loop of insights” and the “billions of signals” its combined advertising and commerce ecosystem offers to “help brands to continually improve their ad performance and campaign strategy.”
“Amazon’s engagement with consumers throughout the funnel is unique,” said Geoffrey Calabrese, Chief Investment Officer for Omnicom Media Group North America in a statement. “With the ad innovations we are seeing from inside of their streaming offering, our clients are now able to test and learn at scale the true power of streaming TV.”
With its latest streaming TV ad formats, Amazon also is looking to move beyond the QR code — currently the industry standard to connect TV viewers with shoppable content — with a focus on living-room remote capabilities. The new ad formats include:
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- Shoppable carousel ads — brands can present a sliding lineup of their products that customers can explore on Amazon and add to their cart using most living-room remotes. The ad automatically pauses so that customers can browse and will then resume play when ad interaction has stopped;
- Interactive pause ads — when viewers pause streaming content they will see a translucent overlay ad featuring brand messaging and imagery along with “Add to Cart” and “Learn More” buttons. These ads extend the engagement opportunity beyond a traditional ad break. With a click of their remote, customers can easily add the product to their Amazon cart, get more information sent to their email or resume their stream; and
- Interactive brand trivia ads — these aim to help advertisers elevate their storytelling by entertaining customers with factoids about their brand while giving them the opportunity to shop on Amazon, learn more about services and products and unlock rewards. Customers can use their remote to add a product to their cart, request information via email or claim rewards like Amazon shopping credits with the purchase of eligible items.
“Amazon Ads continues to reimagine the streaming TV experience with interactive ad formats that are seamlessly shoppable and help advertisers meaningfully connect with customers,” said Alan Moss, VP of Global Ad Sales for Amazon Ads in a statement. “We are developing innovative experiences to help brands better engage with customers as we work to transform streaming advertising through our differentiated combination of reach, first-party signals and ad tech. Ads in Prime Video provide an unparalleled experience for advertisers to deliver on any full-funnel marketing objective — whether it’s awareness, consideration or conversion.”