Traditionally, Amazon's advertising ecosystem was dominated by endemic advertisers—brands that sell their products on the platform. However, the landscape is expanding, and a huge opportunity is emerging for brands that don’t sell products directly on Amazon. It is called non-endemic advertising.
Even if your business doesn't sell products on the world's largest ecommerce platform, you can now tap into Amazon's vast audience through non-endemic advertising. This means brands outside of Amazon's retail offerings can promote their products or services to this expansive customer base in ways they never could before.
Amazon isn’t just big—it’s massive. Here's the reality - Amazon now commands a staggering 37.6% of the U.S. ecommerce market. That's more than Walmart, Apple, eBay, and Target combined.
This underscores the enormous potential for advertisers to tap into its vast customer base. Even if your brand doesn't sell products on Amazon, you can tap into its audience and use advertising tools to engage with millions of potential customers.
In this guide, we'll show you how non-endemic advertising on Amazon works and why it's a big deal for ecommerce brands that are not selling on the platform. Discover a whole new frontier of digital marketing that could drive serious growth for your business, even if you don't sell on Amazon.
Understanding Non-Endemic Advertising
Non-endemic advertising refers to ads placed by brands that do not sell their products or services on the platform where the ad appears. In contrast, endemic advertising involves brands advertising their products on the same platform where the ads are displayed.
For example, a financial services company promoting credit cards on Amazon engages in non-endemic advertising. It doesn't sell physical products on the platform, but the ads are strategically placed to reach Amazon's vast audience, using Amazon customer data to target users based on their shopping behaviors, interests, and demographics. This allows the financial services company to connect with potential customers in a highly personalized and relevant way, even though it operates outside Amazon's traditional retail ecosystem.
Why Non-Endemic Advertising on Amazon Matters
If your brand is considering expanding its advertising strategy to include non-endemic ads, here are four key reasons why leveraging Amazon's platform can provide significant advantages:
1. Access to Amazon's Extensive First-Party Data
Amazon has first-party data from over 310 million active customer accounts worldwide, with 80% of the users from the United States. This data includes:
- Shopping Habits: Purchase history, browsing behavior, and wish lists
- Demographics: Age, location, income levels, and more
- Content Consumption: Engagement with Amazon Prime Video, Audible, and other services
For non-endemic advertisers, this data gives significant insights into consumer behavior, enabling highly targeted and personalized advertising campaigns.
2. Leverage Insights from Amazon's Data and Tools
Here are some tools that can help you access these valuable insights:
- Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC): A secure, privacy-safe, and cloud-based data clean room solution that allows advertisers to perform custom analytics across their Amazon Advertising campaigns.
- Amazon DSP Reports: Access standard and custom reports that provide insights into impressions, clicks, conversions, and more across your programmatic campaigns.
- Brand Lift Studies: Measure the impact of your advertising on brand perception and customer intent through surveys and studies facilitated by Amazon.
- Audience Insights Reports: Gain a deeper understanding of your audience's interests, shopping behaviors, and media consumption patterns.
3. Advanced Targeting Capabilities
Amazon's advertising platform offers sophisticated targeting options, including:
- Behavioral Targeting: Reach users based on past shopping and browsing activities
- Shopping Intent: Target users currently in the market for specific products or services
- Lifestyle Targeting: Connect with audiences based on interests, hobbies, and lifestyle preferences
- Lookalike Audiences: Find new customers similar to your existing customer base
These targeting options allow advertisers to deliver relevant ads to users most likely to engage with their offerings.
4. Diverse Advertising Channels
Non-endemic advertisers can leverage various Amazon-owned solutions, expanding their reach beyond the main marketplace:
- Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform): Place ads across Amazon sites and third-party exchanges, reaching audiences both on and off Amazon.
- Streaming TV and Video: Advertise on Amazon Prime Video, Thursday Night Football, Fire TV, Freevee, IMDb TV, and Twitch to reach viewers with video ads.
- Audio Platforms: Reach audiences on Amazon Music and Audible with audio advertisements.
- Sponsored Display Advertising: Utilize banners on Amazon and partner sites to increase brand visibility. A recent update to Sponsored Display is the new lead generation ads (beta) that allow you to capture interest from shoppers who have shown interest in your brand.
This multi-channel approach increases brand visibility across different media formats and platforms.
5. Cost-Effective Marketing
Compared to traditional advertising methods, non-endemic advertising on Amazon can offer a better return on investment (ROI) due to:
- Budget Control: Advertisers can set specific budgets and bidding strategies
- Performance-Based Pricing: Pay only when users interact with your ads
- Measurable Results: Access to detailed analytics to track campaign performance and optimize accordingly.
By efficiently allocating ad spend and leveraging Amazon's targeting and analytics capabilities, brands can maximize their ROI and achieve their marketing objectives more effectively.
Challenges to Consider
While the opportunities are vast, there are some challenges to consider, including:
- Platform Familiarity: Navigating Amazon's advertising ecosystem may require learning or partnering with experienced agencies
- Creative Competition: Standing out demands high-quality, compelling ad content
- Data Interpretation: Effectively measuring and interpreting campaign performance requires an understanding of Amazon's analytics tools
Real-World Examples of Non-Endemic Advertising
- Automotive Brands: Car manufacturers advertise new models to users interested in automotive products. For example, Volkswagen introduced its brand-new commercial vehicle, the ID.Buzz Cargo. They used a multichannel strategy that included Prime Video, Fire TV, and Alexa to maximize traffic and unique reach.
- Financial Services: Banks promote credit cards or insurance policies based on user shopping behaviors. For instance, Emirates Islamic Bank promoting credit cards leveraged Amazon DSP to help increase awareness and uptake of their products and services.
- Travel Industry: Hotels and agencies target users browsing travel accessories or content. Barcelo Hotel Group, for example, took advantage of Amazon DSP and AMC to achieve campaign efficiency, obtain better performance metrics, and improve customer journeys.
- Non-Profit Organizations: Charitable organizations use advanced marketing tools to deepen donor engagement. UNICEF utilized Amazon DSP and AMC insights to turn one-time givers into repeat donors.
Conclusion
Non-endemic advertising on Amazon presents a significant opportunity for brands to expand their reach and engage with a broader audience. By leveraging Amazon's extensive data and advanced targeting, brands that are not selling directly on the platform can still benefit from its vast user base.
You can find more Amazon insights and updates on the AMZ Pathfinder website. AMZ Pathfinder is a leading solutions provider for ecommerce businesses selling on Amazon. They operate on a global scale with an array of international clients and a global team. AMZ Pathfinder offers top-notch services that make products stand out including PPC Advertising, Amazon DSP, Full Account Management, Supply Chain Management, and Google Ads and TikTok advertising to send qualified paid traffic to Amazon.
