Photo by Thibault Penin on Unsplash
Will Ads Arriving on Prime Video Finally Launch Shoppable TV?
Joining streaming peers like Netflix, Disney, and Peacock, Amazon on Monday started running ads on its U.S. Prime Video service, possibly supporting the long-promised arrival of shoppable TV.
“Prime Video might be Amazon’s best hope to make shoppable TV actually happen,” Sky Canaves, an analyst at Insider Intelligence, told Bloomberg. “Shoppable video ads will be part of its strategy to get brands that are already selling products on Amazon to advertise on Prime Video.”
A number of shoppable TV executions arrived last year, including Walmart’s partnership with NBCUniversal to offer AI-powered, interactive shoppable ads during three episodes of Bravo’s “Below Deck Mediterranean” when they aired on Peacock.
Roku expanded an existing partnership to let customers purchase products from Shopify merchants through Roku Action Ads.
Viewers watching Amazon’s coverage of the first-ever Black Friday NFL game were able to buy products from brands including TCL and Dyson without navigating away from the action. Danielle Carney, Amazon’s head of NFL ads, told Adweek that interactive video ads with a remote clickable overlay garner nearly 20 times more interactions and are more effective at getting shoppers to landing pages than ads with QR codes.
A recent survey of 1,000 smart TV owners from Samsung Ads and video technology platform Kerv Interactive found that more than a quarter of respondents shop online or on a mobile device while watching TV, and 28% browse for an item after seeing it on TV. Of the respondents, 55% recalled seeing a shoppable ad and 50% have interacted with a shoppable ad.
Amazon, the third-largest digital ad seller behind only Google and Meta, could allow marketers to target ads based on variables like shopping history and location. However, the company faces heavy competition for streaming ads from Netflix as well as streamers with large footprints in traditional media, such as The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery. Much of Amazon’s success is expected to be tied to buy-in from nonendemic brands, or those that don’t already sell products on Amazon.
The addition of ads, expected to reach 115 million U.S. viewers monthly, will help Amazon “to continue investing in compelling content” for Prime Video. It plans to air “meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers” to avoid alienating viewers. Prime subscribers will still be able to avoid commercials if they pay an extra $2.99 a month. Bank of America estimates that 70% of Prime subscribers will opt to watch commercials rather than pay the extra fee.
Discussion Questions
Do you see ads arriving on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service accelerating the opportunity around shoppable ads?
Does Amazon have an edge over other streaming platforms in targeting campaigns?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Carlos Arambula
VP of Marketing, FluidLogic
Amazon does have an edge over other platforms because it has a whole ecommerce engine which can be linked to adverts. It also has the Prime ecosystem which means that shoppers can potentially order with one simple click directly from an ad, should they wish. Few others have such deep integration. That said, the main concern is over how ads are included in streaming content. There is already some pushback that ads are being introduced and that getting rid of them will require a higher monthly charge for Prime video.
If anyone can figure out how to make shoppable ads work, it’s Amazon. They already have a large media/ad business on Amazon.com. They have a unique understanding of the digital shopper. Vendor relationships. Good content. And people are used to using their Amazon account to pay for online purchases. And they are customer data obsessed. All this combined puts them way ahead of the other platforms.
I think this is a major step forward for “immersive Commerce” and “unified commerce overall and for video based shopping of all stripes. Shoppable ads on streaming TV (with Amazon’s ecosystem advantage) is a needle mover This is one more example of “video” as the foundation of immersive move. This move joins to shoppable video on Websites and social, livetsteaming commerce, and influencer as retailer commerce as game changers.
Simply because you can do shoppable ads doesnt’ meet the viewer will do it. The issue I have is that when you are in the entertainment mode (passive consumption of content), do viewers really want to switch to shopping mode in real time (active decision making of purchase). I can see ordering a pizza through the ad for a sporting event, but when you are immersed in a drama, I don’t see how you want to interupt the story in your head to shop……
Buying from a TV screen will become a ubiquitous experience within three to five years, along with technological advancements that make it possible.
That will happen because of the format’s ability to satisfy consumers’ desire for immediate gratification without interfering with the viewing experience. Also, its ability to drive awareness and sales, is especially appealing to Amazon, Walmart, and soon, several retailers.
In the meantime, Amazon will soon charge $3.00 more per month to watch without ads. There is no way to predict how results will turn out because consumers are tired of being nickeled and dimed by streaming services. As with anything else the market will provide the answers.
Media evolves as Amazon embeds the store into our favorite content.
The vision for shoppable TV has been around since the early 2000s. It’s exciting to finally approach the convergence of technology, media and retail to minimize our path from seeing to buying.
[Imagine: If we want to buy Mr. Bean’s red tie (or Borat’s saucy swimsuit), it’ll only be a few clicks away.]
Prime Video is ideal for endemic brands that already sell on Amazon to drive awareness and conversions. Yet non-endemic brands (like banks, automotive and travel companies) can also use Prime Video as real estate for advertising that targets their dream customers.
This move will make Amazon be even more top-of-mind for consumers buying products and companies buying ads.
The appeal of traditional cable TV commercials has waned among consumers, largely due to oversaturation and redundancy, prompting a shift towards streaming services like Amazon Prime. However, a significant exception to this trend is evident in Super Bowl ads, which consumers eagerly anticipate as a distinct form of entertainment. Shoppable TV ads hold promise for success, contingent upon consumer adoption. If implemented carefully with curated consumer content, there is potential for users to anticipate the items featured in shoppable TV ads in a manner akin to their anticipation of Super Bowl commercials.
I shop on my phone while watching TV, but that’s doesn’t mean I am willing to shop while watching a TV show. In fact, it’s just the opposite. I watch streaming services to get away from commercials. And I don’t think I am alone.
Amazon is willing to try anything and just as willing to pull the plug when it doesn’t work. It will be interesting to see what happens here.
Back in the day, when one could record a TV show, I would. Then, I would start viewing the recording about 30 minutes later to FF through the ads. I love streaming. Why? NO ads. Nothing takes away from the viewing enjoyment more than an ad, even if it is pre- or post-show.
Amazon can have my $3.00 now to avoid ads. $3.00 is cheap for that privilege. I would spend $10.00 or more per month. In fact, I think I do with HULU.
The move to introduce ads on Amazon (along with the recent Netflix announcement) is a move that annoys rather than introduce a “new wave” of shopping. Streaming services exist to make money, and they are going to squeeze every last drop they can out of their customers. So it is not going to be enough to charge for the service, you will have to watch ads that bulk up the revenue. This will continue because very few of us will actually unsubscribe to the service in protest-we are too hooked on the entertainment value, not to mention having spent $$$ on the TV and the sound system.
Regarding shopping off the ads, sure, this is a logical extension for Amazon from a platform standpoint. I would like to see a psychological profile of the shoppers doing it. I mean, an ad for Tide comes on and you are compelled to add to the detergent that you already have? Maybe, just maybe, you see a grey suit on Cary Grant while you watch “Archie” on Britbox and you say to yourself “I could look like Cary Grant” but then what? What about getting fitted, etc.?
Nope.
Amazon going ad supported was something I predicted over 5 years ago (when I also predicted that Netflix would go ad supported.) The big advantage is targeting ads to curated audiences, That could improve ROI by 25% or more based on my research. as to shoppable ads…maybe. The shopping journey doesn’t work that way typically. TV ads create curiosity which leads to search. That then leads to product page and review viewing (if lucky) then add to cart. Maybe some will go right from TV ad to add to cart but it depends on a priming effect operating. In general, in the early days of digital, it was thought that click through rates were a great marker for ad effectiveness but that was proven wrong in the early 2000s. It is maybe 10% of the value of advertising where the rest comes from advertising working the way advertising works. Hence the term view through.
As Nikki will tell you, I’ve been talking about shoppable TV for years. At least a decade. It’s not even so technologically difficult. But it never happens. I’m not sure why, to be honest…it always seemed like a natural, given all the money spent on product placement.
But for sure, Amazon is not going to move the needle. “Making the Cut” didn’t move it, and I just don’t think adding the “buy button” would help.
How fast can I write the check for the extra $2.99 per month so I don’t have to see these ads…?!? Yes, I once again reveal my boomer state of mind. I don’t watch that much TV, and when I do I’m looking for the immersion, or at least the distraction of the movie, or comedy, or the breaking news, or the football game. First retail media networks and now shoppable TV. I get it…it’s happening and nothing is going to stand in the way of these evolutionary moves. But as an old-fashioned customer I’m feeling a little bit under assault. Next we will start publishing novels with ads inserted. You are riveted by the story line as the good guys are about to vanquish the bad guys and you turn the page to see…an ad for your least favorite breakfast cereal. But of course I’m wrong. Right…???
I could not have said it better. This is n ot a good application of technology.
Awwww, man. You had to give publishing that idea. 😉
LOLOL…
The seamlessness that Amazon offers with its fully integrated eCommerce and supply chain ecosystem is hard to beat. Consumers have been paying a premium on streaming services to avoid viewing advertising. Additionally, the acceleration of digital content, media, commerce, and engagement has disrupted the industrial advertising complex.
It will be interesting to see if Amazon could capitalize on those Prime members willing to view ads on their streaming content. Amazon has the competitive advantage of knowing who the customers are, as their transactional histories are tied to their Prime accounts. For this immersive commerce strategy to take off, Amazon will have to drive personalization strategies to show ads that resonate with their loyal consumers and drive value.
However, consumer preferences have changed with the digital acceleration. There will be a subset of consumers who will pay a more significant monthly premium to avoid seeing any ads on streaming content.
Seems like every new thing from Amazon is supposed to become shoppable. And none have done so in a significant way whether Alexa or Amazon Prime TV.
Having been involved with selling things on TV AND shoppable TV for 30 years. It simply doesn’t work. Why? People like to consider their choices — even for low price purchases. But especially if they see a product which is new to them. That is not possible in shoppable TV.
Yet it’s a sci fi idea that keeps on giving and every few years we hear someone else claiming that their version of shoppable TV will finally be the one which works. None will. Not even QVC could make it work almost 20 years ago when they mounted a big effort. Why? It violates fundamental human reality of shopping.
Why would I want to include the interference of ads during my Prime Video? We just paid to opt-out of the ads. When I watch a movie on my large screen TV, I don’t want any interference. If I want to shop, I can easily do that through my phone, online, ad-free. Amazon is trying to offer a “solution” for a problem that really doesn’t exist. Keep Prime ad-free!
I believe Amazon’s advertising platform will significantly drive the emergence of shoppable ads. Last year, consumer trends saw Connected TV (CTV) viewership surpassing traditional TV (broadcast and cable), a trend further accelerated by the pandemic-induced surge in online retail. This organic evolution of online shopping continues unabated.
Shoppable TV has already arrived, and retailers must take note since the adoption of it will bolster Direct-to-Consumer sales. Retailers stand to benefit by actively participating in Shoppable TV rather than merely serving as showrooms for brands and their DTC sales.
While Amazon enjoys an initial advantage due to its established consumer trust and recognition, there’s still room for refinement. Moreover, opportunities exist for alternative platforms and systems to capitalize on this trend.
As a marketer, I’m particularly excited about the wealth of data that will become available, enabling more precise targeting in advertising and more efficient product distribution.