What is Amazon DSP: a guide on how to use this programmatic platform

Amazon DSP or the Amazon Demand Side Platform, is a programmatic advertising platform that enables advertisers to buy, manage and optimize digital ads across a variety of formats and placements.

Amazon DSP is part of Amazon Advertising, a suite of advertising solutions that includes Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display and more.

How does Amazon DSP work?

Amazon DSP works using programmatic technology to facilitate real-time ad buying. Advertisers can customize their ads for their target audience and segment their audience based on different parameters, such as buying behaviors, interests and demographics.

In addition, Amazon DSP offers advertisers access to a broad inventory of advertising space, both on the Amazon network and on third-party websites and applications.

The ads that can be purchased are Display, Audio and Video.

What is programmatic advertising?

Programmatic advertising is a method of digital ad buying that uses automated technology to enable real-time ad buying and selling. This can increase the efficiency and accuracy of advertising campaigns by allowing advertisers to target their ads to specific audiences and optimize the performance of their ads in real time.

How does programmatic advertising work?

Generally, there is a supply platform (or SSP) and a demand platform (or DSP) and the process is as follows:

1. When users click on a publisher's website, the publisher conducts an auction to display ads across one or more SSPs using a header bid (i.e., the highest bid among all advertisers).
2. Once it receives the request from the SSP, the DSP platform places a bid for that opportunity to display the ad on behalf of the advertiser, taking into account campaign strategies, budget, size of creative and other factors.
3. The publisher automatically assigns impressions to the advertiser with the highest bid, either the advertiser or the DSP offering the highest CPM (cost per thousand or cost per thousand ad impressions).

With multiple DSPs, what is the advantage of Amazon DSP?

Amazon DSP differentiates itself from other programmatic buying platforms in several key ways. One of the most notable differentiators is its access to Amazon's vast network, which includes:

• Amazon Marketplaces
• Amazon Music
• Amazon Stores
• Twitch
• The Kindle e-book reader
• Prime TV
• And more of Amazon's own and external channels

This allows advertisers to reach a broader and more diverse audience. In addition, Amazon DSP allows advertisers to target their ads to lookalike audiences, or audiences that resemble their existing customers, which can increase the relevance and effectiveness of their ads.

It also provides detailed analytics that advertisers can use to track and optimize the performance of their ads.

Who can use Amazon DSP?

Any advertiser, brand, agency or Seller with a minimum investment of $50,000, although the minimum investment may vary by country. In addition, it is not necessary to sell products on Amazon to use the DSP.

In which countries is available

Amazon DSP is available in the following countries:

• North America: Canada, Mexico, United States
• South America: Brazil
• Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, France, Italy, Netherlands
• United Kingdom
• Middle East: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UAE
• Asia-Pacific: Australia, India, Japan

In which countries is not available

New marketplaces such as Belgium, Egypt or Poland are, for the time being (May 2023) excluded from DSP. Singapore is also excluded.

Do I recommend to use it?

The decision to use Amazon DSP in your digital marketing strategy depends on your marketing objectives, your target audience and whether you have the minimum investment required for the platform.

If you are looking to increase the reach of your ads, target specific audiences and optimize the performance of your ads in real time, Amazon DSP can be an excellent choice.

Tools for Amazon DSP

As you can imagine, there are external tools that allow us to manage Amazon DSP campaigns. There are agencies that have their own platform (for example, Azzgency and its DSP tech Fredda) but, if you are looking for something generic to manage DSP on your own, you have:

• Downstream, by Jungle Scout
• Intentwise
• BidX
• Quartile
• Perpetua.io
• CommerceIQ

Benefits of using Amazon DSP

By using Amazon DSP, you can gain several advantages such as:

• greater reach through Amazon's network
• ability to customize and target ads
• buy ads in real time
• access to detailed analysis
• build a stronger relationship with your audience
• target ads to lookalike audiences

In addition, you can access many advertising spaces inside and outside Amazon, for example, those discussed above:

• Amazon.es and other Amazon sites
• Amazon Music / Amazon Audible (Amazon's podcast service)
• The Twitch streaming platform
• advertise on the Kindle home page
• Video ads on Prime TV

In short, Amazon DSP is a powerful solution for digital advertisers as it allows us to personalize ads, target audiences and buy ads in real time, in addition to giving us access to Amazon's vast network and all its sites and peripherals. Now yes, it is a network more for branding than for performance, so if you are ONLY looking to increase your sales, it may not be the channel you are looking for.

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