Amazon Sponsored Brands: How to Use Brand Campaigns

What are Sponsored Brands?

Sponsored Brands (formerly known as Headline Search Ads) are an Amazon PPC ad format developed specifically for brand owners. Unlike Sponsored Products, which promote individual products, Sponsored Brands put the brand as a whole front and center.

A Sponsored Brands ad typically consists of:

• Your brand logo
• A custom headline (up to 50 characters)
• Up to three products with image and price
• A click destination: product detail page, Brand Store or custom landing page

The format is especially effective because it occupies the most prominent position in the search results: at the very top, even before the first Sponsored Products. On mobile devices, a Sponsored Brands ad fills almost the entire visible screen.

Requirements: Brand Registry and more

Sponsored Brands are not available to every seller. The most important requirement is enrollment in the Amazon Brand Registry. Here is an overview of all the requirements:

Amazon Brand Registry

Brand Registry is a free Amazon program that protects brand owners and gives them expanded advertising options. To enroll, you need:

• A registered trademark (word mark or figurative mark) with the relevant trademark office (e.g. DPMA in Germany, EUIPO for the EU)
• The trademark must be active and registered (in some cases pending applications are sufficient)
• You must be the brand owner or an authorized representative

Enrollment in Brand Registry usually takes a few days to weeks. Once the brand is verified, you gain access to Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, A+ Content and other tools.

Additional requirements

• Professional seller account: as with all PPC formats, you need a professional seller account.
• At least one active product: you must have at least one product in your catalog that you can show in the ad.
• Compliant logo: your brand logo must comply with Amazon's guidelines. It must fill the entire image or sit on a white or transparent background, and the minimum size is 400 x 400 pixels.

The three ad formats in detail

Sponsored Brands offer three different ad formats, each supporting different goals. Choosing the right format depends on what you want to achieve.

Product Collection

The classic Sponsored Brands format shows your logo, a headline and up to three products. A click on a product leads to the product detail page. A click on the logo or the headline can lead to your Brand Store or a custom landing page.

When to use:

• You want to promote several products from a category at the same time
• You want to encourage cross-selling between related products
• You have a well-designed Brand Store you want to drive traffic to

Best practices:

• Choose products with good reviews (4+ stars) and an attractive main image
• Use the headline for a clear benefit or a unique selling point, not for generic statements
• Link the logo to your Brand Store instead of a product page to expand the brand experience

Store Spotlight

The Store Spotlight format shows your logo, a headline and up to three subpages of your Brand Store, each with its own image and title. Instead of individual products, this format promotes your entire Brand Store.

When to use:

• You have a well-built Brand Store with several category pages
• You want to show customers your entire product range
• You want to strengthen brand awareness, not just sell individual products

Best practices:

• Make sure each Store subpage contains at least three products
• Use appealing lifestyle images for the Store pages
• Name the subpages clearly and in a customer-friendly way (e.g. "On the go," "At home," "Bestsellers")

Sponsored Brands Video

Video ads are the most effective Sponsored Brands format. A short video (6 to 45 seconds, recommended: 15 to 30 seconds) plays directly in the search results and links to a product detail page. The autoplay feature ensures the video starts automatically as the user scrolls (without sound).

When to use:

• You have a product whose benefits are easy to demonstrate visually
• You want to stand out from competitors who only use static images
• You have a product that needs explaining, where a short video makes the purchase decision easier

Best practices:

• Show the product within the first 2 seconds to grab attention immediately
• Use text overlays, since videos in the search results run without sound by default
• Keep the video short and focused: one problem, one solution, one CTA
• Use a 16:9 or 1:1 format and ensure a minimum resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels

Targeting options for Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brands offer similar targeting options to Sponsored Products, with a few specific differences.

Keyword targeting

You choose keywords for which your ad should appear. All three match types are available: broad, phrase and exact. The keyword strategy works fundamentally the same as with Sponsored Products.

A particularity with Sponsored Brands: because the ads appear in a very prominent position, the CPCs are usually higher than with Sponsored Products. In return, the brand impact is stronger, even with users who don't click.

Product targeting

You can target your ads at specific ASINs or product categories. This is especially effective when you want to position your brand on competitors' detail pages.

Strategies for product targeting:

• Competitor targeting: show your brand on the product pages of direct competitors. When a customer views a competitor's product, your Sponsored Brands ad can present an alternative.
• Complementary targeting: place your ad on products that are frequently bought together. If you sell coffee beans, you could advertise on coffee grinder pages.
• Protect your own products: run Sponsored Brands on your own product pages to prevent competitors from capturing customers there.

Negative keywords

As with Sponsored Products, you can define negative keywords for Sponsored Brands too. Use negative exact and negative phrase to exclude irrelevant search queries. This is especially important with broad-match campaigns, which otherwise quickly generate wasted spend.

Creative design: headline, logo and products

Unlike Sponsored Products, where Amazon determines the ad format, Sponsored Brands give you creative design options. Use them wisely, because they make the difference between a good and a great ad.

The headline

The headline is your most important creative element. It should:

• Communicate a clear benefit: "Handmade leather belts from genuine full-grain leather" is better than "Discover our belts."
• Be relevant to the search term: if you bid on "sports water bottle," the headline should pick up that context.
• Not use generic phrases: avoid empty statements like "best quality" or "discover now." Be specific.
• Follow Amazon's guidelines: no exaggerated claims ("number 1"), no special characters as attention-grabbers and no typos.

The logo

Your logo must be clearly recognizable and professional. It is displayed relatively small, especially on mobile devices. Pay attention to:

• High resolution (at least 400 x 400 pixels)
• Good legibility even at a small size
• White or transparent background
• No additional text or slogans in the logo (they get too small to read)

Product selection

With Product Collection you choose up to three products. The selection should be strategic:

• Prefer bestsellers: products with many good reviews and attractive prices convert best.
• Choose products with good images: the ad uses the main image. It has to convince at first glance.
• Show complementary products: if you show three products from the same category (e.g. three different water bottles), the customer has a choice. This can increase the click rate, because there is something for every taste.

Campaign structure for Sponsored Brands

A well-thought-out campaign structure is just as important with Sponsored Brands as with Sponsored Products. Here is a proven setup:

Campaign 1: Brand keywords (Brand Defense)

Bid on your own brand names and product names. The goal: prevent competitors from occupying the prominent Sponsored Brands position for your own search terms. These campaigns usually have a very low CPC and ACoS.

Campaign 2: Category keywords (Generic)

Bid on generic search terms that describe your product category ("water bottle," "insulated mug," "thermos bottle"). Competition is higher here, but so is search volume. The focus is on winning new customers who don't know your brand yet.

Campaign 3: Competitor keywords (Conquest)

Bid on your competitors' brand names. When customers search for a specific competing brand, your brand appears as an alternative. These campaigns often have a higher ACoS, because the search intent is aimed at a different brand. But they can be very effective for gaining market share.

Campaign 4: Video (if available)

Create separate campaigns for Sponsored Brands Video. Videos have different performance metrics than static ads and should be analyzed and optimized independently.

Measuring success: the right metrics

Sponsored Brands partly have different success criteria than Sponsored Products. This is because, in addition to direct sales, Sponsored Brands also build brand awareness, and this effect is harder to measure.

Direct performance metrics

• ACoS and ROAS: as with Sponsored Products, the central profitability metric. However: the ACoS for Sponsored Brands is usually higher than for SP, because the CPCs are higher and part of the value lies in the branding, which is not directly measurable as a conversion.
• CTR: the click rate shows how appealing your ad (headline, products, logo) is to searchers. A CTR below 0.3% points to a need for optimization in the creative design.
• Conversions and revenue: Sponsored Brands have an attribution window of 14 days (instead of 7 for SP). This means sales that happen up to 14 days after the click are attributed to the campaign.

Brand Metrics

Amazon provides additional metrics for Sponsored Brands:

• New-to-Brand orders: orders from customers who have not bought a product from your brand on Amazon in the last 12 months. This shows you how effectively your campaign wins new customers.
• New-to-Brand sales: the revenue generated by new customers.
• Impression share: how often your ad was served compared to the total number of possible impressions. A low impression share can mean your bid or budget is too low.

Best practices and common mistakes

From working with hundreds of Sponsored Brands campaigns, the following best practices have crystallized:

What works

• Use the Brand Store as a landing page: direct clicks on the logo or headline to your Brand Store instead of a single product page. Customers who land in the Brand Store have a larger cart size and more often buy multiple products.
• Prioritize the video format: if you have the resources for a good product video, use Sponsored Brands Video. The CTR is often twice as high as with static ads, and you stand out visually from the competition.
• Test headlines: A/B testing different headlines is one of the biggest levers with Sponsored Brands. A good headline can improve the CTR by 30 to 50%.
• Always occupy brand keywords: even if you rank organically in position 1 for your brand: Sponsored Brands on your own brand names prevent competitors from capturing customers there. The cost is low, the protective effect is high.
• Use seasonal headlines: adapt your headlines to seasons, events or trends. "The perfect Christmas gift" works better in December than a generic headline.

What you should avoid

• Generic headlines: "Discover our products" says nothing. Be specific and communicate a clear benefit.
• Promoting products with poor reviews: if one of your three products only has 3 stars, it drags down the entire ad. Only show products with 4+ stars.
• Targeting that is too broad: broad match on generic keywords without negative keywords quickly leads to high costs at low conversions. Start with exact match and expand step by step.
• Ignoring Sponsored Brands: many sellers focus exclusively on Sponsored Products and leave the most valuable ad position unused. If you have Brand Registry, you should actively use Sponsored Brands.
• Not having a Brand Store: without a Brand Store you miss the chance to offer customers a complete brand experience. A well-designed Brand Store increases dwell time and conversion rate.

Conclusion: Sponsored Brands as a brand booster

Sponsored Brands are more than just another PPC format. They are the most important instrument for building a brand on Amazon and winning new customers. The prominent placement, the creative design options and the video option make Sponsored Brands an indispensable part of any professional PPC strategy.

Start with a Brand Defense campaign on your own brand names, then expand to category keywords and test the video format as soon as you have a good product video. Make sure to measure success not only by ACoS, but also by including New-to-Brand metrics to understand the true value of your brand campaigns.

With Sellantica you can manage and optimize Sponsored Brands campaigns together with your Sponsored Products in one central place. Automatic keyword harvesting and bid optimization work across all campaign types and save you valuable time.