Sponsored Brands and the Brand Store on Amazon

While Sponsored Products close sales, Sponsored Brands build something more durable — brand recognition. These are large, visible formats with a logo, a headline and several products, occupying the most prominent spots in search results. In this chapter of the Amazon advertising guide we explain the Sponsored Brands formats, the role of the Brand Store, and when it pays to use them.

What are Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brands are ads that promote a brand and multiple products at once, on a PPC basis. Unlike Sponsored Products, they advertise not a single ASIN but the whole brand: a logo, a custom headline and a set of products or a video clip. It is a "mid-funnel" format — reaching a customer who is considering a purchase and comparing offers.

The key requirement: Sponsored Brands need Amazon Brand Registry, i.e. a registered trademark. Without it, only Sponsored Products are available at the start.

Sponsored Brands formats

Sponsored Brands come in three formats worth testing in parallel, because they address different customer motivations.

In practice the video format usually delivers the highest click-through rate, because it catches the eye with motion and shows the product in use — one of the most effective ways to stand out in crowded results.

The Brand Store — the heart of Sponsored Brands

A Brand Store is a free, multi-page brand shop inside Amazon, with its own address. Sponsored Brands ads can lead there instead of to a single product. A well-built Brand Store raises the conversion of ad traffic, lets you tell the brand's story and run cross-selling. If you invest in Sponsored Brands, a polished Brand Store is a condition for that traffic to pay off.

Where Sponsored Brands appear

Sponsored Brands take the most visible spots: a banner at the very top of search results (above organic and Sponsored Products), plus placements within and below results. This is exposure you cannot buy with Sponsored Products — which is why the format builds reach and awareness, not just a single sale.

When to use Sponsored Brands

• You have a registered brand and want to build recognition, not just sell individual products.
• Sponsored Products already run steadily — Sponsored Brands is the next step, not the starting point.
• You have several complementary products worth showing together.
• You want to protect your branded terms from competitors bidding on your name.

Targeting in Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brands, like Sponsored Products, target in two ways, and the best accounts combine both:

• Keywords — you show the brand banner on terms customers search; the same match types (broad, phrase, exact) apply as in Sponsored Products.
• Products and categories — you show the brand on specific product pages or across whole categories, capturing customers comparing offers.

Generic terms (e.g. "coffee machine") build reach and awareness, while branded terms defend your brand and convert most cheaply. Best practice is to split them into separate campaigns so you can control each group's budget and ACoS.

How to set up Sponsored Brands

1. Verify Brand Registry — without a registered trademark the format is unavailable.
2. Pick a format — usually a Product Collection leading to the Brand Store plus a separate Video campaign.
3. Choose products and creative — logo, headline and products; in video, show the product in use in the first seconds.
4. Set targeting — separate campaigns for branded terms, generic terms and competitor products.
5. Set budget and bids and the destination (a Brand Store usually converts better than a single product).
6. Measure and optimize once data is in, like any PPC campaign.

Sponsored Brands metrics: beyond ACoS

Because Sponsored Brands build the brand, ACoS alone does not capture their full value. Also track:

• New-to-brand — the share of orders from customers buying your brand for the first time; a measure of real customer acquisition, not just sales to existing buyers.
• CTR — especially important for the video format, where creative strongly affects clicks.
• Assisted sales and TACoS impact — Sponsored Brands often drive later purchases, visible in TACoS rather than a single campaign's ACoS.

How to build an effective Brand Store

Since Sponsored Brands often lead to the Brand Store, its quality directly affects the return on advertising. A good Brand Store is not a catalog of everything, but a designed path. A few rules that raise conversion of ad traffic:

• A home page with a clear message — who the brand is and for whom, in one screen, instead of a wall of products.
• Subpages by category or need — they ease navigation and let you target ads at specific sections (the Store Spotlight format).
• Bestsellers and new arrivals highlighted — help the customer choose rather than forcing them to scroll.
• Consistent brand aesthetics and content — the Brand Store is the one place on Amazon where you fully control the image; use it.

Sponsored Brands Video — creative best practices

The video format usually delivers the highest CTR in all of Sponsored Brands, but only when the creative is made for Amazon, not for TV. Proven rules:

• Show the product in the first 1–2 seconds — customers scroll fast and will not wait for a build-up.
• Keep it short, 15–30 seconds — one product, one benefit, a clear message.
• It must work without sound — most plays start muted; carry the key points with captions and imagery.
• Product in use — showing it working converts better than a static shot of the packaging.

FAQ — Sponsored Brands

Do Sponsored Brands require Brand Registry?

Yes. To run Sponsored Brands you need Amazon Brand Registry, i.e. a registered trademark. Without it, Sponsored Products are available.

Which Sponsored Brands format should I choose?

Test all three, but start with video (highest CTR) and a Product Collection leading to the Brand Store. Store Spotlight makes sense when you have a rich brand shop.

Should ads lead to the Brand Store instead of a product?

Often yes, if the Brand Store is well built. It gives higher conversion of ad traffic and cross-sell that a single product page cannot.

How do Sponsored Brands differ from Sponsored Products?

Sponsored Products advertise one product and close sales; Sponsored Brands advertise the brand and multiple products and build awareness. They work best together, at different funnel stages.