A Look Under the Hood, Amazon’s DSP

As the third-largest ad seller in the country, Amazon has secured its stronghold in the advertising landscape. With its millions of products available for consumers to peruse, research and purchase, it has become the go-to source for a great deal and quick delivery time. In a similar way, Amazon has also become a valuable resource for advertisers with its DSP – a programmatic advertising platform with many benefits for those who have the privilege, and expertise, to access it.

We sat down with our own Amazon Certified Programmatic Traders for a brief Q and A session to cover some of the basics of Amazon DSP.

1. What is the Amazon DSP?

Amazon DSP is a demand-side platform that enables advertisers to programmatically buy display, audio and video ads at scale. Mindstream Media Group uses this DSP along with others to execute successful client campaigns.

2. Can ads be placed outside of Amazon when using Amazon DSP?

Yes, ads can be placed outside of Amazon through the Amazon DSP. Audiences can be reached on third-party websites and apps, and through other exchanges like AppNexus, OpenX, etc.

3. What are the benefits of using Amazon DSP?

Advertisers are able to leverage Amazon’s exclusive, first-party shopper (in-market) audience to target potential customers and track product purchases/subscriptions. This access to this first-party data is especially valuable as third-party cookies face elimination.

Source:  Amazon

Another benefit of using the Amazon DSP is that advertisers have access to high-quality, guaranteed inventory across premium publications like A&E, Hulu, Forbes, CBS and FOX. Brand-safe environments like these uphold quality standards to ensure ads do not appear next to inappropriate content.

The platform also provides granular conversion and Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) tracking. This allows performance to be measured at the individual product level for maximum transparency to influence optimization strategies.

4. What are the requirements to use Amazon DSP?

Amazon DSP can be used by advertisers regardless of whether they sell products on Amazon. As for the minimum spend requirement, the threshold may vary based on service option and country, but a minimum spend of $35,000 is typically required.

5. What advertising goals does Amazon DSP help support?

Amazon DSP can be used to support a variety of advertising goals including brand awareness, consideration, driving sales and increasing customer loyalty.

Common KPIs unique to Amazon are CPDPV (Cost per Detailed Page View) and Amazon ROAS (Return on Ad Spend).

6. Who can use Amazon DSP?

Although selling products on Amazon is not required, brands that do can utilize all of the features available for a more complete picture to track product sales, ROAS and leverage valuable shopper data. Because of its extensive reach, Amazon DSP is best suited for advertisers who want to programmatically buy advertising at scale.

7. What are the advantages of having an agency partner manage Amazon DSP?

By using an agency partner to manage Amazon DSP, brands benefit from enhanced visibility, elevated campaign learnings and granular conversion reporting.

Using an agency like Mindstream Media Group to manage Amazon DSP campaigns provides deeper insight and recommendations to advertisers. Our expertise within the platform has helped clients optimize their advertising investment and better understand the nuance between audience and media types, and more.

8. What kind of performance data is available when using Amazon DSP?

Performance data such as impressions, clicks, product page views, ROAS and more are available inside Amazon DSP. Brands get performance visibility down to the product level to gain insight and help improve future campaigns. Having an agency partner with certified traders can help advertisers take full advantage of the platform’s capabilities.

Source:  Amazon

9. How are ads created?

Advertisers can use their own custom ads or quickly produce creative options using Amazon templates and creative builder platform.

Source:  Amazon

10. How can brands get started with Amazon DSP?

Mindstream Media Group’s Amazon Certified Programmatic Traders can help your brand maximize ROAS with complete campaign transparency and insight into optimizations and reporting.  Contact us today to determine if Amazon DSP is right for you.