What are Amazon Sponsored Brands Videos?
Amazon’s new Sponsored Brands Video advertising format has been available in Germany since August of this year, bringing moving images into the advertising cosmos on Amazon for the first time.
As a vendor or seller with your own brand, you can promote individual products with a short video (maximum 45 seconds) in the Sponsored Brands section. The implementation takes place as usual directly in the Amazon Advertising console. The video ads are played out in the product search results; namely in the mobile shopping app above the products and on the normal website in the desktop view next to the products.
As with the other Amazon web formats, Sponsored Brands videos are keyword-based and billed by CPC based on clicks.
How do the new video ads work on Amazon?
Source: Amazon
With the video ads, you highlight your product in the search results pages. The ads are keyword targeted and connect customers directly to the product detail page of the product you are promoting.
The ads contain the main product image and related information (product title, star ratings, price and availability). Over it, your video will be displayed and played as soon as 50% of it is visible on the screen.
The videos start without sound by default, but by clicking on the speaker icon, the customer can activate the sound.
So when a user searches for a specific keyword on the Amazon website or mobile shopping app, they will see the video / product combo seen above in the search stream.
This is a huge step for all advertisers, because until now marketers on Amazon were very limited in their creativity – now creative, exciting and entertaining videos can be produced, in which the product and / or brand message can be transported much better.
Our 5 tips for the perfect Amazon Sponsored Brands video
Use these tips to create the optimal video for your brand and products.
1. define your target group:
Amazon customers have a specific need that they want and will satisfy on Amazon. Research your keywords carefully, go in depth and integrate the long tail as well.
2. show your product:
You probably know this from your social media marketing. The attention span of readers and customers continues to decrease. Make sure the video picks up the Amazon customer in the first 1-2 seconds and the user immediately recognizes what it’s about. In our experience, videos that show the product in the first few seconds work best. Avoid starting the video with a black background or a white image.
3. brevity is the spice of life:
Keep it short and to the point. The optimal video length is 15 to 30 seconds. Focus on the key selling points, don’t overload the video: less is more here.
4. pay attention to the format:
The video should get your message across even without sound, because by default video ads run in silent mode. Make sure that the text in the video appears large enough so that it is still easy to read on mobile devices.
5. attention continuous loop:
The video ads are played in a continuous loop. Keep this in mind during production. For example, you can add a call-to-action at the end, or you can design the end so that the loop appears seamless.
What are the technical requirements for Amazon Sponsored Brands videos?
| Video duration | Between 6 and 45 seconds |
| Video dimensions | 1920 x 1080 pixels, 1280 x 720 pixels or 3840 x 2160 pixels |
| maximum file size | Less than 500 MB |
| File format | MP4 or MOV |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Video codec | H.264 or H.265 |
| possible frame rates | 23.976 frames/sec, 24 frames/sec, 25 frames/sec, 29.97 frames/sec, 29.98 frames/sec, or 30 frames/sec. |
| Video bit rate | at least 1 Mbit/S |
| Video Scan Type | progressive |
| Audio codec | PCM, AAC or MP3 |
| Audio format | Mono or stereo |
| Audio bitrate | at least 96 KBit/s |
| Audio sampling rate | at least 44.1 kHz |
What else needs to be considered?
Before the video ads go online, they are reviewed by a team of Amazon moderators.
Here are the most common reasons for rejection:
- At the beginning or at the end of the video are black or blank images
- The video is cut off abruptly at maximum length
- Amazon trademarks are included in the video
- The video contains customer reviews
- Important content must not obstruct the user interface
- All texts must be at least 30 pts
- There should be no black borders on the side
- The language of the video must correspond to the marketplace
- The advertised brand or product must be clearly designated
Our conclusion:
Amazon Sponsored Brands videos can work well and give your brand or products a lot of exposure.
The format is still very young in Germany and has so far been used by very few brands. This means; you can currently run video ads with very low click prices and we see an above average conversion rate.
So it pays to invest in good video content.
