The garden walls might finally be tumbling down – or at least showing some cracks.
And that’s a refreshing change, according to Keurig Dr Pepper, which is taking advantage of a new server-to-server integration between Amazon and AI-powered ad platform Clinch.
The integration, announced on Thursday, marks the first time a third-party ad solution has been able to serve ads to Amazon custom audiences.
Through a direct server connection with a third-party platform like Clinch, Amazon can boost usage of its DSP and attract more advertiser spend without giving up control of its data.
Clinch’s clients, including Keurig Dr Pepper, can now reach Amazon audiences not just on Amazon’s own properties but on any publisher who sells via Amazon DSP, including Disney, ESPN and NBC.
Getting personal
In addition to improved reach, access to Amazon audiences gives advertisers more insights into the interests and spending habits of their customers.
Keurig Dr Pepper was able to improve its ad personalization and create “thousands of ad variants for a single campaign,” Ben Sylvan, the brand’s SVP of connected media, told AdExchanger.
Being able to use Clinch’s dynamic creative optimization engine together with Amazon Ads “makes Amazon DSP work a lot harder for us,” Sylvan said.
For instance, Keurig Dr Pepper was able to build an audience made up of the top 30% of K-Cup buyers from Amazon, said Sylvan, and then personalize its ads based on other traits like geography and age.
A person in New York City might respond better to an ad that encourages skipping the long line at their local coffee shop by using their Keurig at home instead, Sylvan said, whereas someone in LA might relate more to an ad highlighting long drive-through lines.
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Amazon’s customer data, like purchase history and even gaming habits (via Amazon-owned Twitch), combined with Clinch’s dynamic creative offering allows Keurig Dr Pepper to understand a customer’s purchase behavior and the geographic or cultural elements that led to it, he said.
By analyzing spending habits, Keurig Dr Pepper can “make sure that every dollar we spend goes to somebody who either buys in the category or is likely to buy in that category,” said Sylvan, like, for example, early kitchen tech adopters who might respond well to Keurig ads that focus on tech innovation.
Happy brand, happy life
In addition to giving brands the ability to more precisely reach a wider range of audience segments through a centralized workflow, the integration makes it easier for the agencies and tech providers they partner with to work within Amazon’s ecosystem.
Clinch previously lacked access to Amazon’s data, said Oz Etzioni, the company’s CEO and co-founder, which meant that Amazon audiences and inventory weren’t directly accessible to its clients.
In the past, if Keurig Dr Pepper wanted to reach an Amazon audience, it would have to split its campaign execution between Clinch and Amazon. The data and the activations would happen in two different places, Etzioni said.
Clinch’s customers would sometimes go to Amazon and ask if Clinch could have access to the data.
Amazon’s answer was, unsurprisingly, no. Walled gardens have walls for a reason.
But now that Clinch does have that data, it’s a three-way win, Etzioni said.
Brands see better performance when they combine first-party audiences with Amazon’s unique audience data and third-party data, including shopper audiences built by third-party providers. And better performance makes Amazon DSP more attractive to advertisers who want personalization at scale without having to deal with a multifaceted, indirect workflow.
For Clinch, the value proposition comes from being able to offer clients first-party data, said Etzioni, without having to go through Amazon directly.
While most major DSPs tap into the same inventory sources, Amazon has its own inventory and an “immense amount of data” across different platforms, Etzioni said, pointing to gaming, CTV and shopping.
For advertisers and their partners, he said, Amazon first-party data is like “the holy grail.”
