Gone are the days when the TV upfronts were exclusive to legacy broadcasters.
Amazon is gearing up for its third upfront event next month in New York City. Alongside Netflix, Amazon is one of a handful of digital-first companies that recently entered the upfront fray and are competing against traditional networks for annual advertiser budgets earmarked for premium television.
During upfront week, Amazon is pitching itself as a full package to buyers. It’s flaunting its ability to offer cross-publisher scale with Fire TV, purchase data from the flagship Amazon ecommerce site and link those data points together with an identity graph, all within Amazon’s DSP.
“We’re encouraging brands and agencies to consolidate into the Amazon DSP to drive better outcomes,” said Sarah Iooss, head of agency partnerships at Amazon Ads, on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
Performance is the No. 1 thing on marketers’ wish lists, and it is playing a central role in nearly all publishers’ upfront pitches. Amazon hopes its identity graph will pull more marketers into the Amazon DSP orbit.
Last month, Amazon Ads announced that US buyers will be able to tap Amazon Audiences for targeting when they run Netflix ads through Amazon’s DSP. Paired with shopper data and Amazon’s identity graph, Amazon expects its DSP to give marketers “more control over their investments and how they’re activated,” Iooss said.
Still, content is the equally important co-star of Amazon’s upfront pitch this year. Tech savviness and creativity aren’t mutually exclusive, she said. Between technological innovation and legacy IP, “this is a creative industry at heart.”
And with that … let the upfronts begin.
Also in this episode: The evolution of appointment viewing, Amazon’s upfront swag, the rise of interactive ad formats and what you should probably be watching right now.
