One of the most recent additions to the Amazon Ads playbook is Sponsored Brand Video. This new option available to advertisers provides unique abilities and benefits to make an ad strategy even more impactful than before. In fact, 81% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.
So, what are Sponsored Brand Video ads? Why should you use them? What are the requirements and best practices? Read on to discover all this and more.
What are Sponsored Brand Videos?
Similar to Sponsored Product and Sponsored Brand ads, Sponsored Brand Videos use an auction-based keyword targeting system. To get your video in front of shoppers’ eyes, you’ll need to bid high enough to win the space for a given search term.
Sponsored Brand Videos appear within the search results on both mobile and desktop. They start playing once the video is at least 50% visible to the shopper. While you can put sound to your video, shoppers won’t hear it unless they unmute the video, so don’t depend on audio to get your message across.
When a shopper clicks a Sponsored Brand Video, they will be taken to one specific detail page that you designate. It’s best to only feature one product in your ad so shoppers go to the right product when they click the ad.
Why should you use Sponsored Brand Video?
Sponsored Brand Videos can play an important part of your ad strategy. Shoppers are more likely to watch an engaging video than read about a product. Not to mention, 66% of people said they’d prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service.
How do Sponsored Brand Videos perform as compared to other ad types? In a sampling taken from 15 different brands advertising across all ad types, the average ROAS for a Sponsored Brand Video targeting branded terms was 72% higher than the other ad types and 33% higher for non-branded targets.
The average click-thru-rate for a branded Sponsored Brand Video was 507% higher than other ad types and 703% higher for non-branded ads.
Finally, cost-per-clicks in this space seem to be lower than with Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, possibly because Sponsored Brand Videos are newer and underutilized. The average CPC for a branded Sponsored Brand Video was 26% lower than other ad types and 4% lower for non-branded campaigns.
All in all, there are several significant benefits to using Sponsored Brand Videos in your advertising strategy.
What are best practices for Sponsored Brand Videos?
For a strong Sponsored Brand Video, follow an Introduce, Inspire and Educate, Call-to-Action format. First, introduce your product. Second, use visuals and text call-outs to both inspire and educate the audience about the product. Finally, include a call-to-action to encourage the shopper to purchase the product.
Like with any ad type, there are certain requirements for using Sponsored Brand Video. Be sure to review the full list of technical requirements, but here are some general best practices and guidelines to keep in mind to ensure your ad is approved:
- Keep the video short and to-the-point; audience attention is limited. We recommend no more than 15 seconds.
- Don’t rely on audio to get your point across; most viewers don’t unmute, so use visual cues and text to draw attention to anything important.
- Videos starting or ending with black frames won’t be approved, so stay away from black or empty frames.
- Use your strongest visuals in the 4-8 second timeframe when engagement peaks.
- The videos can run for a couple seconds before you attract the eye of the shopper. So make the first visuals or information presented a little longer before transitioning to the next piece.
- The ad will loop, so be sure that there’s a clear start and end to your video. Consider ending with a brand logo or call-to-action.
Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be well on your way to having top-notch Sponsored Video ads! Interested in learning more about how Pattern’s advertising team could help you sell even more on Amazon or other marketplaces? Schedule a demo of our services below or read our guide to Amazon advertising below.
