Agency News
In this day and age, we’ve all become very familiar with paid subscriptions that allow us to completely sensor ads. With services like Hulu or YouTube, you can pay a fee to watch videos and movies without the ad clutter, but what category does a service like Amazon fall into?
Amazon offers a prime membership which provides annual subscribers access to free 2-day shipping, streaming movies and tv shows, exclusive shopping discounts, and now special offers at Whole Foods. While yes, they are a streaming service, unlike their streaming competitors, they do not just fall into one category. Amazon is now capitalizing on a new industry: online advertising.
The Ecommerce giant will now display ads throughout their website, even Prime members will see ads in places they hadn’t before. Amazon is now the third-largest online advertising channel right behind Google and Facebook. The biggest perk for brands who advertise on Amazon is the ad placement selection. Unlike Google and Facebook, Amazon is able to collect mass amounts of data on its shoppers, which allows them to present ads to very specific target demographics, down to the last detail.
The best part about advertising on Amazon could also be the worst part. With their recent acquisition of Whole Foods many brands are hesitant to turn to Amazon just yet. Conflict arises due to the fact that marketers would be paying the competition to advertise on their site while allowing them to collect their data.
Many would even be surprised to learn that tangible goods aren’t the only things being advertised on Amazon. Service providers such as Geico and Verizon have been quick to follow the trend. Verizon is testing out a new way of advertising by placing their FIOS logos on Amazon packages that are shipped to customers in Verizon’s corresponding zip codes.
With billions of site views per day, it would only make sense to capitalize on the number of impressions Amazon traffic converts. While certain companies are hesitant to advertise on Amazon, if the company continues to grow they may not have a choice. It will be interesting to see how Prime members react to new ads. With all the data the site collects, they will most likely show up when people are actually looking for such items. This could mean a favorable response from Prime members and advertisers all around.
About The PM Group: The PM Group was founded in 1988. Over the past 30 years, the agency has continued to grow and is currently listed as San Antonio’s Largest Advertising Agency by the San Antonio Business Journal. The PM Group’s client roster spans numerous industries including automotive, CPG, entertainment and sports marketing, legal, business services, non-profit, real estate and fitness. In addition, the agency hosts an annual Charity Gala every February that to date has raised over $3 million for local San Antonio area non-profit organizations in the last 15 years! It is our way of giving back to the community that we so humbly serve.
