Advertising with Amazon: Going Beyond Sponsored Ads

When most people hear “advertise via Amazon,” they think of Sponsored Products or maybe some search results on amazon.com.

What if we told you that’s just the tip of the iceberg? The truth is, getting started with Amazon for your online advertising goals and actually utilizing all it has to offer, can turn around your campaign outcomes.

One of the key ways to do that? Leveraging Amazon’s programmatic capabilities that unlock ad inventory far beyond its ubiquitous shopping site.

Amazon’s ad network stretches much beyond its famous shopping app and site — think streaming platforms, mobile apps, live sports coverage, and premium publisher placements. The common thread?

Amazon’s powerful first-party data, driving scale, precision and performance.

Wait, What Exactly Counts as “Amazon ad inventory”?

When we talk about Amazon ad inventory, we’re not just talking about ad slots on Amazon.com. You can tap into high-propensity prospects using Amazon’s data-backed targeting tools that can get you to customers who are in-market across a huge variety of channels.

Here’s a breakdown of what that includes:

1. Prime Video – Think pre-roll and mid-roll ads during shows and movies (where inventory is available). Perfect for premium, lean-back experiences
2. Fire TV and Freevee – Amazon’s CTV environments where full-screen storytelling happens. Great for brand awareness and immersive campaigns
3. Twitch – Live-streaming at massive scale, especially for Gen Z and Millennial audiences. From gaming to lifestyle, the engagement is real
4. IMDb – A go-to for entertainment content and movie lovers, with highly contextual ad opportunities
5. Amazon Music (ad-supported tier) – Audio ads that tap into focused, undistracted listening moments across mobile and desktop
6. Whole Foods Market (and other Amazon-owned retail touchpoints) – In-store and online placements, including digital signage and app-based ads. It’s ideal for brands looking to bridge digital with physical retail
7. Amazon Publisher Direct – It provides direct access to ad inventory from thousands of premium video, display and audio publishers around the world.

Why Should You Even Be Considering This?

Because Amazon’s strength isn’t just its first-party data but it’s the combination of data, reach, and relevance. And at the sake of it sounding cliched, this means reaching the right customers at the right place at the right time. And you don’t even need to be selling on Amazon to use its capabilities.

First-party data helps you understand who to target based on real shopping and browsing signals.

Reach means you can show up where your audience is across Amazon sites, apps, CTV, and the open web.

And relevance is about how you connect with messaging that aligns to what people care about in the moment – and exactly when they are ready to buy.

It’s this mix that makes Amazon’s ad ecosystem worth paying attention to, especially when you’re looking to drive both scale and performance.

Here’s how that plays out across different formats:

1. CTV (Fire TV, Freevee, Prime Video and more)

Full-screen, non-skippable, living-room-level attention-grabbing ads. Perfect for big launches or brand storytelling. And thanks to integrations with major networks like Disney, Hulu, Roku, and Peacock, you’re not limited to Amazon-owned inventory either.

2. Twitch

This platform is not just for gamers anymore. If you’re targeting a younger, highly engaged crowd, Twitch ads deliver both the energy and the attention.

3. Display + Video on the Open Web (APS)

If you want scale and relevance APS (Amazon Publisher Services) lets you serve ads across apps and websites outside Amazon with targeting powered by Amazon’s shopper data. For instance, you can reach people who’ve been eyeing running gear without being stuck in just one platform.

4. Audio (Amazon Music)

With Amazon Music, you can tap into non-intrusive, brand-safe audio ad placements that reach listeners while they’re commuting, working out, or unwinding, all while benefiting from Amazon’s precise audience targeting.

5. In-Store (Whole Foods Market)

It also powers retail media in physical spaces like Whole Foods Market. Think digital signage and point-of-sale displays, tailored to specific shopper segments based on past behavior and intent.

Is This the Only Way to Access Amazon Audiences?

No, but it is a powerful one.

While it offers robust access to premium inventory and first-party data, today’s programmatic landscape gives you other options as well. You’ve got multiple avenues to tap into Amazon’s audiences and premium placements:

• Private Marketplace (PMP) deals that include Amazon inventory and audience segments.
• Supply-side platforms (SSPs) like APS, enriched with audience overlays.
• Other demand-side platforms (DSPs) that provide curated access to Amazon’s premium inventory.

Media Buying Today is All About Flexibility.

You’ve got performance goals to hit and budgets to protect. So the ability to experiment, shift tactics, and optimize where it counts? That’s huge.

When you know you can access Amazon’s reach and data across formats and not just inside their shopping site, you’re opening up smarter ways to scale and convert.

As ever, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to purchasing the right ad inventory. Ultimately, you have to decide what’s right for your product/service/customer/market/campaign and optimize accordingly. But if you aren’t evaluating Amazon’s programmatic capabilities as one of the options, you’re missing a major trick.