Many Amazon sellers find themselves frustrated with PPC advertising that burns through budgets without delivering results. While most focus their spending on Sponsored Products, they often overlook the potential of Sponsored Brands – a hidden gem in Amazon's advertising arsenal.
The Overlooked Opportunity
Data reveals a striking imbalance in seller advertising strategies. Approximately 72% of sellers exclusively use Sponsored Products, completely ignoring Sponsored Brands. On average, sellers allocate 80% of their advertising budget to Sponsored Products, leaving only 20% for Sponsored Brands. This suggests most sellers aren't maximizing the full potential of Amazon's advertising ecosystem.
Internal reviews of multiple brands show similar patterns – some brands completely neglect Sponsored Brands (due to oversight or technical issues), others use them ineffectively, and only a minority implement them strategically.
Sponsored Brands vs. Sponsored Products: Performance Comparison
Analysis of advertising performance across multiple brands over a 30-day period reveals interesting patterns. In most cases, Sponsored Products show lower ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) than Sponsored Brands. However, Sellics research presents contradictory findings, suggesting Sponsored Brands may have slightly better average ACoS.
The key takeaway? Both advertising types perform similarly on average, but there's an important caveat regarding Amazon's attribution window that sellers must understand.
The Attribution Window Factor
Amazon applies different attribution periods: 7 days for Sponsored Products versus 14 days for Sponsored Brands. This extended window means Sponsored Brands reports include more sales, artificially lowering their apparent ACoS.
While Amazon justifies this by claiming Sponsored Brands have stronger branding effects, the reality is more nuanced. Essentially, Sponsored Brands function as grouped Sponsored Products ads. The extended attribution window may primarily serve to make Sponsored Brands appear more attractive in reports.
When analyzing performance, sellers must compare metrics with equivalent attribution periods to avoid distorted conclusions.
Sponsored Brand Videos: High Potential, Mixed Results
Sponsored Brand Video ads, while promising, show inconsistent performance. Limited testing reveals these videos have significantly higher ACoS (40.66%) compared to traditional Sponsored Brands (28.39%) and Sponsored Products (24.24%). Many sellers report initial success followed by rapid performance decline.
Amazon claims these video ads deliver 28-43% higher ROAS than traditional Sponsored Brands, and some sellers report excellent results. This variability suggests video ad effectiveness depends heavily on creative quality – outstanding creative can drive exceptional performance, while mediocre content gets lost in the noise.
The Synergy Between Ad Types
Amazon recommends using Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands together to amplify results. The theory suggests customers might engage with multiple ad types before purchasing. However, Amazon's last-click attribution model means only the final ad clicked receives sales credit, making true synergy difficult to measure.
Destination Choices: Store Pages vs. Product Collections
Sponsored Brands allow directing traffic to either store pages or product collection pages. Each option has distinct advantages:
- Store pages: Better for brand building with superior design options and effective for top-of-funnel searches
- Product collections: More focused for bottom-funnel customers ready to purchase
The optimal choice depends on store quality. Many sellers neglect store optimization, reducing store page effectiveness. Amazon now provides robust store design tools – well-optimized stores like Lego's can significantly benefit from store-focused ads.
Sellers should review their Store Insights (Seller Central > Stores > Manage Stores > Insights) to understand store-driven sales before deciding on destination strategies.
Video Ad Quality Matters
While low-cost video production is tempting, quality significantly impacts performance. Poorly produced videos with weak content typically underperform. Effective videos don't require Hollywood budgets but must clearly showcase product benefits and address customer needs.
Strategic Recommendations
Sponsored Brands remain an underutilized tool with performance comparable to Sponsored Products. When used strategically, they can complement and amplify other advertising efforts. Sellers should:
- Allocate appropriate budget to Sponsored Brands
- Test different destination pages based on store quality
- Invest in quality creative, especially for video ads
- Analyze performance with attribution windows in mind
- Continuously optimize based on performance data
By diversifying beyond Sponsored Products alone, sellers can unlock new opportunities in Amazon advertising.