Historically speaking, Amazon does not have a reputation for playing nice with local businesses – not as a competitor in the retail landscape, at least.
But as a seller of ad inventory? That offers up a whole new world of opportunities.
On Monday, Amazon announced the launch of location-based interactive video ad units on Prime Video, which will allow small and local businesses to reach their target customer in specific geographic areas.
The new format, which is already available through the Amazon DSP, reflects a wider within CTV to attract small businesses and local buyers.
Aside from the obvious appeal of expanding Amazon’s advertiser base, tapping into local communities has the added benefit of creating stronger relationships with consumers as well, said Jenn Donahue, director of local sales for Amazon Ads.
“When I think about streaming TV,” Donahue told AdExchanger, “I feel like it’s made for that one-to-one relationship with the viewer, and so it becomes very personal.”
Shop local?
Amazon began rolling out shoppable ad overlays shortly after launching its Prime Video AVOD subscription tier last year, mostly for products that viewers could purchase directly through Amazon via an “add to cart” button.
Just before upfronts this year, Amazon evolved its interactive offering with new features, such as contextual targeting and additional calls to action that invite consumers to engage outside of Amazon’s ecosystem, such as “book an appointment” or “sign up today.”
The location-based interactive ad formats also draw from Geographic Insights and Activation, another new part of the Amazon Ads local ad suite that taps into Amazon’s first-party retail signals.
With these signals, businesses can dynamically customize their messaging across different geographical regions by state or ZIP code.
Using Amazon’s first-party data in this way will also likely come in handy for larger chains and national brands that have lots of different locations. Those brands do work with Amazon, said Donahue, but her team wants to prioritize smaller businesses like auto dealers, financial services and even grocery and retail businesses.
In 2024, Amazon sold $100 billion worth of groceries and household goods on its platform.
Now, Prime Video viewers could start seeing ads for neighborhood grocery stores and retailers – even, presumably, those that compete with Amazon.
