How to Advertise on Amazon Prime Video

When Amazon made the bold decision in early 2024 to shift all Prime Video subscribers to ad-supported plans by default, they fundamentally changed the streaming landscape. This strategic move instantly created the largest ad-supported streaming audience out there, and competitors like Netflix quickly found themselves needing to adapt.

For marketers, Amazon Prime Video offers that rare combination — the broad reach traditionally associated with TV advertising alongside the precision targeting capabilities of digital platforms. It's a compelling proposition, but it is one that requires understanding the specifics of Amazon's advertising ecosystem.

Whether you're new to streaming advertising or looking to expand your existing strategy, navigating Prime Video's ad platform comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities. The landscape is competitive, but the potential rewards are substantial.

Let's talk about how you can effectively advertise on Amazon Prime Video, the strategies that tend to perform best, and what you need to know to make your brand stand out in this increasingly important streaming space.

Key Takeaways

• Amazon Prime Video offers brands massive reach and precise targeting using Amazon’s first-party data.
• Ad formats include Feature Rotator, Sponsored Tiles, and Profile Page Ads, ensuring high visibility in a premium streaming environment.
• Challenges include high costs, strict creative guidelines, limited inventory, and walled garden data restrictions, requiring strategic planning.
• Amazon DSP enables programmatic ad buying, advanced audience targeting, and seamless integration with Amazon’s shopping ecosystem.
• Optimizing campaigns requires compelling creative, audience-first targeting, continuous testing, and real-time data-driven adjustments.
• Strategus helps brands navigate Amazon Prime Video’s complexities, maximize ROI, and refine targeting — schedule a consultation today.

Why Advertise on Amazon Prime Video?

As streaming continues to dominate entertainment, traditional media placements just aren't cutting it anymore. Less than 50% of U.S. households now subscribe to traditional TV services; whereas 87% of U.S. households have a connected TV (CTV) device. As a result, advertisers are upping their investment into CTV advertising — making Amazon Prime Video an attractive option.

Amazon Prime Video gives brands a unique chance to reach highly engaged viewers in a premium environment. The platform combines massive reach with Amazon's incredible data ecosystem, creating advertising opportunities that are tough to match elsewhere.

Our Co-Founder Joel Cox detailed Amazon’s advantage back when they first introduced ads to Prime Video.

Here’s a closer look at the benefits Amazon Prime Video offers advertisers.

Access to a Massive, Engaged Audience

With over 200 million subscribers worldwide, Prime Video has built one of the largest streaming audiences around. But it's not just about numbers. These are active, intentional viewers who've chosen to stream content on their own terms. Unlike passive TV viewers, Prime Video users are typically more engaged with what they're watching, which translates to better ad attention and recall.

Advanced Targeting with Amazon's Data

Amazon has something other platforms dream of — actual purchase data. While Netflix and others can only guess at viewer preferences based on watching habits, Amazon knows what its users buy, browse, and consider purchasing. 

This means you can target ads based on actual shopping behavior, not just demographics or content preferences. 

This kind of data was invaluable for Strategus when we partnered with a national furniture retailer. By serving ads to Amazon users searching for furniture, Strategus was able to secure 80,000 website visits, 26,000 engaged users, and 320 cart conversions.

Premium, Non-Skippable Ad Placements

Prime Video offers advertisers something increasingly rare in digital media — guaranteed viewability. With non-skippable ad placements within quality shows, movies, and live sports (plus their free Freevee service), your brand message gets full visibility in a brand-safe environment. 

No competing with dozens of display ads or worrying about your ad appearing alongside questionable content.

Seamless Integration with Amazon's Ecosystem

Prime Video ads can connect directly to Amazon's shopping platform. Viewers can go from watching your ad to browsing your products in just a few clicks. This creates a smoother path to purchase than almost any other advertising channel, letting you track the customer journey from impression to conversion within a single ecosystem.

Closed Loop Attribution

When purchases are made within the Amazon ecosystem, advertisers can connect ad exposure to sales. This real-time insight into campaign performance makes it a snap to adjust campaigns based on the story the data tells and create higher-performing playbooks.

Limitations of Advertising on Amazon Prime Video

While Amazon Prime Video offers compelling advertising opportunities, it's important to understand the platform's limitations as well. Here are some key challenges advertisers face when tapping into Amazon’s data and inventory.

Walled Garden Data Restrictions

Amazon keeps its valuable user data controlled within its ecosystem. Though you benefit from their targeting capabilities, you won't get the same level of transparent analytics you would from open digital platforms. 

This walled garden approach means you'll have limited data transparency and portability, making it harder to integrate campaign metrics with your broader marketing analytics.

Higher Cost of Entry

When it comes to dollars and cents, Amazon Prime Video isn't exactly budget-friendly for smaller brands. Minimum campaign spending typically starts significantly higher than other streaming ad platforms, often requiring commitments that can stretch into five or six figures. 

This price point effectively prices out many small and medium-sized businesses that lack substantial advertising budgets.

Limited Creative Flexibility

Amazon maintains strict creative guidelines for its Prime Video ads. While these standards ensure quality, they can also restrict your creative expression and experimentation. 

Custom formats and interactive experiences that might be possible on other platforms are often unavailable here. This can lead to additional hiccups and headaches for advertisers new to the platform.

Inventory Availability Challenges

Despite Amazon's massive audience, ad inventory on premium content can be surprisingly limited and highly competitive. As with any other streaming service, during peak periods or for popular shows, you might find yourself competing against bigger brands with deeper pockets. 

This scarcity can drive up costs and limit the scale of your campaigns. A good workaround is taking a more comprehensive approach to CTV with placements across the entire streaming landscape — but with that comes more complexity, dashboards, and data integration issues.

Complex Campaign Management

Navigating Amazon's advertising infrastructure isn't always straightforward. The platform's campaign management tools, while improving, still lack some of the intuitive features and robust integration capabilities offered by more mature ad platforms. 

This complexity often requires specialized expertise or partner support, adding another layer of cost and coordination to your advertising efforts.

Overcoming Limitations with Strategus

While Amazon Prime Video offers valuable advertising opportunities, its limitations can make it difficult for brands to maximize their return on investment. This is where Strategus comes in. Instead of navigating these challenges alone, working with our team of CTV experts ensures you get the most out of your Amazon Prime Video campaigns.

We help advertisers bypass the walled garden restrictions by offering advanced data strategies, audience modeling, and cross-platform attribution to gain deeper insights into ad performance. Instead of relying solely on Amazon’s internal metrics, our real-time dashboard provides a broader view of campaign success, integrating data across multiple digital channels.

Budget concerns? We enable more cost-effective media planning, helping brands strategize spending, optimize bidding, and maximize inventory availability — even on a premium platform like Amazon Prime Video. Plus, with customized creative strategies, Strategus helps brands navigate Amazon’s strict ad policies while still delivering impactful, high-performing campaigns.

With strategic planning, enhanced measurement, and data-driven optimization, Strategus ensures your Amazon Prime Video ads drive real results. Talk to one of our experts today to see how we can help.

Amazon Prime Video Ad Formats

Amazon Prime Video offers several ad formats that allow advertisers to reach highly engaged audiences while they browse and discover new content. These ad placements ensure premium visibility and are designed to blend seamlessly with the Prime Video user experience.

• Feature Rotator: The Feature Rotator is a carousel-style ad placement that appears at the top of the Prime Video app interface. Since it’s positioned above the fold, it is one of the most prominent and visible ad placements, making it highly effective for brand awareness campaigns.

• Sponsored Tiles: Sponsored Tiles are ad placements within Prime Video’s browsing rows. When a user hovers over a Sponsored Tile, a mini-details page appears, displaying additional information about the content. These ads help drive engagement by offering a seamless browsing experience that blends naturally with Prime Video’s interface.

• Sponsored Channels: Sponsored Channels appear in the "My Subscription" row on the Prime Video homepage. They allow advertisers to promote channel subscriptions, making them ideal for brands looking to increase their subscriber base and showcase premium content collections.

Profile Page Ads: Profile Page Ads appear on third-party Connected TVs when a user first opens the Prime Video app. These placements support multiple content pieces in a carousel, providing advertisers with a high-impact space to showcase their content to users immediately upon launching the app.

How to Advertise on Amazon Prime Video

Now that you know the basics, here’s how you’d start advertising on Prime Video if going directly through Amazon. 

1. Register for Amazon DSP

To run ads on Amazon Prime Video, you need access to the Amazon Demand-Side Platform (DSP). Amazon DSP allows brands to programmatically buy ad placements across Prime Video, Fire TV, Twitch, and third-party websites. 

There are two options: self-service DSP, where advertisers have full control over their campaigns, and managed-service DSP, which is run by Amazon but comes with a higher minimum spend requirement.

2. Define Your Campaign Objectives

Before launching an ad campaign, it’s essential to identify your advertising goals. Brands advertising on Amazon Prime Video typically focus on objectives such as:

• Brand Awareness: Increasing visibility and recognition.
• Engagement and Conversions: Encouraging customer interactions and sales.
• Product Promotions: Driving traffic to Amazon product listings or external sites.

The choice of ad format and targeting strategy will largely depend on your primary marketing goals.

3. Select the Right Ad Format

Amazon offers multiple ad formats for Prime Video advertising, and choosing the right one depends on how you want your brand message to be delivered. In-stream ads appear before, during, or after video content and are ideal for high-visibility placements. 

Out-stream ads extend beyond video content, appearing in display placements across Amazon’s ecosystem. Interactive ads allow users to engage directly through their remote or by scanning a QR code. Finally, sponsored tiles and feature rotators ensure visibility within the Prime Video interface.

Each format has specific use cases, and selecting the most effective one ensures maximum impact and audience engagement.

4. Set Up Your Targeting Parameters

One of Amazon Prime Video’s biggest advantages is its robust audience targeting capabilities. Amazon leverages its vast first-party data to help advertisers reach the most relevant audiences. Advertisers can target users based on:

• Shopping Behavior: Audiences who have searched for or purchased similar products on Amazon.
• Demographics: Factors like age, gender, household income, and family status.
• Viewing Habits: Users who frequently watch specific genres or content categories.

5. Optimize Your Ad Creative for Maximum Engagement

Creating compelling ad content is crucial for success. Amazon Prime Video prioritizes high-quality, professionally produced ads, so ensuring your creative meets platform standards is essential. Ads should be concise, engaging, and visually striking, with clear messaging that grabs attention within the first few seconds.

To improve effectiveness:

• Keep your video ad length under 30 seconds to maintain audience engagement.
• Use on-screen text and captions to communicate key points when sound is muted.
• Include a clear call-to-action (CTA) that directs viewers to your desired landing page.

6. Set Your Budget and Bidding Strategy

Amazon Prime Video advertising typically has higher budget requirements compared to other digital ad platforms. Advertisers can set their spending limits and adjust bidding strategies to optimize their return on investment.

There are two main bidding strategies:

• Cost-Per-Completed-View (CPCV): Advertisers pay only when a user watches the ad in full, ensuring cost efficiency.
• Reach-Based Bidding: Prioritizes maximum impressions and visibility over completed views.

For premium placements, advertisers may need to increase bids during peak viewing hours or high-demand content slots.

7. Launch and Monitor Your Campaign Performance

Once the campaign is live, advertisers must closely monitor performance metrics to ensure optimal results. Amazon provides real-time analytics through the Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), allowing brands to track:

• Video Completion Rate (VCR): The percentage of viewers who watch the full ad.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): How many viewers interact with the ad.
• Brand Lift & Engagement Metrics: Measures audience perception and interaction.

If performance is below expectations, advertisers can adjust targeting settings, refine ad creatives, or reallocate budget to improve efficiency.

8. Optimize Your Strategy for Better Results

Campaign performance should be continuously refined based on insights from Amazon’s analytics tools. Advertisers can A/B test different ad variations, experiment with alternative audience segments, or modify creative elements to increase engagement.

Tracking cross-platform attribution also helps businesses understand how Amazon Prime Video ads influence purchasing behavior across Amazon and external sites. By optimizing campaigns in real time, brands can maximize their ROI and long-term impact.

How to Maximize Your Amazon Prime Video Advertising ROI

To optimize your ad campaigns on Prime Video, focus on a few key strategies.

• Develop Thumb-Stopping Creative: Create visually compelling ads that capture attention immediately. Use storytelling to draw viewers in and convey your brand message clearly.
• Embrace Audience-First Targeting: Utilize Amazon's data to build precise audience segments. Target by demographics, interests, and behaviors to increase relevance and engagement.
• Adopt an Always-On Approach: Keep your campaigns running consistently to maintain brand presence and capture audience interest over time. This approach adapts to varying viewer behaviors and maximizes impact.
• Test, Learn, and Iterate: Regularly analyze campaign data to identify what works and what doesn't. Make data-driven adjustments to creative, targeting, and bidding strategies to improve performance.

Why Partner With Strategus for Advertising on Prime Video

Amazon is a force to be reckoned with, but why stop there? By partnering with Strategus, you’re able to maximize Amazon’s data by putting it to work wherever your audience is, whether on Amazon’s owned and operated channels or elsewhere in the programmatic world. 

We help agencies and brands break free from the confines of Amazon's ecosystem by activating Amazon’s powerful shopper data across every screen and countless streaming platforms. We also offer the ability to blend Amazon’s insight with first- and third-party sources, thereby achieving the perfect balance of precision and scale.

• Certified Amazon Partner: Say goodbye to lacking support and complexity. We have deep expertise in campaign management, reporting, and optimization across Amazon’s channels.
• Unified Reporting and Attribution: Eliminate spreadsheets and manual pulls. Our real-time dashboard provides access to custom attribution and cross-channel reporting.
• Omnichannel Activation: Extend Amazon's data beyond Amazon properties, activating targeted campaigns across CTV, online video, display, and more.
• Beta Access: Stay on the cutting edge. As a certified Amazon partner, we have access to beta opportunities that aren’t available to other brands and agencies.

Closing Thoughts: Is Advertising on Amazon Prime Video Worth It?

Advertising on Amazon Prime Video is a valuable investment for brands looking to reach a premium, engaged audience. With non-skippable ad placements, advanced targeting powered by Amazon’s first-party data, and seamless integration with the Amazon ecosystem, Prime Video ads offer a unique opportunity to build brand awareness and drive conversions. 

While the platform comes with higher budget requirements and creative limitations, the ability to reach high-intent consumers in a brand-safe streaming environment makes it an effective advertising channel.

However, navigating Amazon’s advertising landscape can be complex, especially with limited data transparency, premium costs, and inventory challenges. That’s why partnering with Strategus can give your brand a competitive advantage. Strategus helps advertisers bypass Amazon’s walled garden restrictions, enhance attribution insights, and refine targeting strategies to maximize ROI. 

With customized media planning, cross-channel reporting, and programmatic expertise, Strategus ensures your Prime Video ad campaigns deliver real, measurable results.

Don’t let the challenges hold you back — Talk to a Strategus expert today to learn more about how we can help you make the most of Amazon Prime Video advertising.