Amazon DSP launches goal-based bidding to enhance brand campaign efficiency

On September 19, 2024, Amazon unveiled a significant enhancement to its Demand-Side Platform (DSP), introducing goal-based bidding functionality. This new feature aims to help advertisers improve their reach and frequency results, ultimately maximizing outcomes for brand awareness campaigns. The announcement came just 12 days before the current date, marking a recent development in digital advertising technology.

How Goal-Based bidding works

Goal-based bidding on Amazon DSP allows advertisers to specify their desired reach and frequency goals for brand campaigns. The system then automatically optimizes bids in real-time to achieve these objectives. This automation leverages user and impression signals, combined with Amazon's proprietary models, to deliver efficient reach and frequency results.

According to Amazon, the new feature benefits advertisers by optimizing both delivery and performance goals simultaneously. This dual optimization approach addresses a common challenge in digital advertising: balancing broad reach with effective frequency.

Key Features of Goal-Based Bidding

Campaign Creation for Brand Goals

Advertisers can now set specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) when creating frequency campaigns. For example, a brand might target a frequency of two impressions per user per week. The system offers flexibility in optimization strategies, with options such as "Prioritize spending budget in full, while maximizing performance" set as the default choice.

Campaign Reporting

To support the new bidding system, Amazon DSP has introduced goal metric status reporting. This feature allows advertisers to track the progress of their campaigns against the set reach and frequency objectives in real-time.

Global Availability

Amazon has made goal-based bidding available across a wide range of markets:

• North America: United States, Canada, Mexico
• South America: Brazil
• Europe: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg
• Middle East: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait
• Asia Pacific: Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, China, Singapore

Advertiser eligibility

The goal-based bidding feature is accessible to Amazon DSP advertisers worldwide. This includes both managed service clients (for both Reach and Frequency campaigns) and self-service users (for Frequency campaigns only). The feature supports display and video non-guaranteed inventory types.

Technical implementation

Advertisers can access goal-based bidding through two primary channels:

1. Amazon DSP interface
2. Amazon Ads API

For developers and agencies using the API, goal-based bidding is integrated into the "optimization" field of the order object. Amazon recommends consulting their technical documentation for full implementation details.

Impact on brand advertising strategies

The introduction of goal-based bidding addresses several key challenges in brand advertising:

Efficient Reach Expansion

Advertisers aiming to introduce their brand to a wider audience can now set reach-focused goals. The system will automatically adjust bidding to maximize the number of unique users exposed to the ad campaign, helping brands expand their awareness efficiently.

Frequency Optimization

For advertisers concerned about ad fatigue or seeking to reinforce brand messages, the ability to set frequency goals is crucial. This feature helps prevent both under-exposure (where users don't see ads often enough to remember the brand) and over-exposure (which can lead to audience annoyance and wasted ad spend).

Budget Utilization

The goal-based bidding system is designed to maximize campaign objectives while ensuring full budget utilization. This addresses a common concern among advertisers who want to achieve specific brand goals without leaving allocated funds unspent.

Integration with existing Amazon DSP features

Goal-based bidding complements existing Amazon DSP capabilities, including:

• Audience insights for targeting
• Creative enhancements and services
• Cross-channel campaign management
• Detailed performance analytics

This integration allows advertisers to create more holistic brand awareness strategies that leverage Amazon's extensive data and reach across multiple digital touchpoints.

Industry context

The launch of goal-based bidding comes at a time when brand advertising is increasingly moving to programmatic platforms. According to eMarketer, programmatic digital display ad spending in the US is projected to reach $115.07 billion in 2024, representing 91.1% of total digital display ad spend.

Amazon's move to enhance its DSP capabilities positions the company to compete more effectively with other major players in the digital advertising space, such as Google and Facebook. The focus on brand advertising tools also reflects a broader industry trend towards supporting upper-funnel marketing activities in addition to direct response campaigns.

Key takeaways

• Amazon DSP launched goal-based bidding on September 19, 2024
• The feature optimizes reach and frequency for brand awareness campaigns
• Advertisers can set specific KPI targets for reach or frequency
• Available globally across major markets
• Supports both managed and self-service advertisers
• Accessible via Amazon DSP interface and Amazon Ads API
• Designed to improve efficiency in brand advertising spend
• Aligns with industry trends towards programmatic brand advertising