What is Amazon DSP?
Amazon DSP is a powerful programmatic advertising solution that allows sellers and brands to buy Display, Video, Streaming TV, and Audio ads on Amazon-owned sites and apps (like amazon.com, FireTV, and IMDb), as well as on premium third-party exchanges. Unlike Sponsored Ads, which are keyword-based and operate primarily on a cost-per-click (CPC) model, Amazon DSP is based on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) model which focuses on expanding reach and targeting highly specified audiences both within and beyond the Amazon ecosystem.
Amazon DSP’s core strength lies in its audience-driven, proactive targeting. Rather than focusing on search-based intent, DSP uses Amazon’s rich audience insights to help brands reach relevant customers wherever they are in their online journey. This makes DSP an ideal solution for brands aiming to build upper-funnel brand awareness, moving beyond immediate conversions to establish long-term brand engagement.
Why Focus on Amazon DSP?
Extended Reach Across Amazon and Beyond
Amazon DSP enables brands to reach audiences not only on Amazon’s own properties but across leading publishers and platforms. This comprehensive reach empowers brands to scale their businesses, moving beyond Amazon’s search results and CPC-focused landscape to connect with customers across multiple channels and touchpoints.Unique Audience Insights – DSP + Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC
Amazon DSP provides brands with access to Amazon’s exclusive audience data, enabling advertisers to reach purchase-oriented customers based on rich shopping and browsing insights. This unique precision helps brands deliver ads that resonate with high-value audiences, creating a critical edge in targeting effectiveness. By using Amazon DSP alongside Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), advertisers gain an even deeper understanding of customer behaviors and purchase patterns. AMC’s secure, aggregated insights empower advertisers to refine audience segments and optimize DSP campaigns in real-time, allowing brands to reach impactful audiences across devices and stages of the buying journey.Proactive, Demand-generative Approach
Unlike Sponsored Ads, which primarily capture existing demand, Amazon DSP allows brands to proactively engage audiences based on detailed profiles, shopping behaviors, and demographics. By reaching potential customers earlier in their buying journey, DSP helps drive initial brand awareness and generate demand in a way that Sponsored Ads alone cannot achieve. This wider funnel strategy doesn’t just build awareness—it also supports lower-funnel goals by engaging with customers over time. As users are exposed to a brand through diverse ad types across DSP, their familiarity and interest grow, increasing the likelihood of conversion when they’re ready to make a purchase. In this way, Amazon DSP effectively complements Sponsored Ads by strengthening both upper- and lower-funnel strategies to maximize brand impact and conversion potential.
Why Amazon DSP Matters for our customers
For sellers and brands who already see success with Amazon Sponsored Ads, Amazon DSP offers a powerful opportunity to extend reach and drive deeper results. Our analysis of advertiser performance shows that sellers combining Sponsored Ads with DSP campaigns achieve meaningful gains across critical metrics like ROAS and conversion rate. In fact, our customers running both Sponsored Ads and DSP campaigns see, across the board, a ~7% higher ROAS and a ~55% boost in CVR compared to those running Sponsored Ads alone.
These gains become even more significant when segmenting the data by ad spend. For those investing between $30,000 to $100,000 per month, the combined strategy yields ~77% more ROAS and a ~69% increase in CVR over Sponsored Ads alone. This suggests that DSP doesn’t just add reach—it enhances the quality of engagement, helping brands resonate more effectively with high-intent audiences both on and off Amazon. For sellers ready to expand to full-funnel strategies, Amazon DSP opens the door to scalable, impactful connections with shoppers that Sponsored Ads alone may not achieve.
In a recent case study by one of our leading brands, Funko, we introduced a new advertising approach, focusing on upper-funnel tactics to reach untapped audiences. The strategy expanded beyond Sponsored Products (SP) to include Sponsored Brands (SB), Sponsored Displays (SD), and Amazon DSP campaigns. Over the course of the 24 week study, AMC data provided clear evidence of Funko’s advertising success – seeing a 48% increase in overall reach, 124% increase in DPV, 44% increase in NTB purchases, and a 131% increase in Total Purchases.
Interested in exploring if DSP is right for you?
Contact your Teikametrics team member to learn more!