Key Points
- Amazon has launched a new ad format that offers contextual, localized messaging through spots purchased within Prime Video.
- The new Interactive Video Ads format will allow national brands to pay for a campaign once, and then deploy localized messaging that reaches streamers based on their geography.
- The format was announced at Amazon’s UnBoxed event, which runs through November 12.
Amazon’s advertising business unit has announced a new feature that will allow ad buyers to launch location-based, interactive video campaigns on its flagship streaming service Prime Video.
The new capability, announced Monday during the company’s “UnBoxed” event, will allow local businesses the opportunity to connect with nearby consumers through the popular streaming service, one of the largest in the United States.
The feature, called Interactive Video Ads, will allow brands of all sizes — including small- and medium-sized businesses — to launch campaigns with the simplicity of a national ad buy, while simultaneously targeting users based on geographic location.
Television and radio broadcasters have cornered the local advertising market for nearly a century, but have seen local ad dollars shift away from traditional media platforms toward connected apps and services that offer enhanced personalization, precise targeting and typically higher return on advertising spend (ROAS) for brands.
Jenn Donohue, the Director of Local Ad Sales at Amazon Ads, said the feature will allow national brands to buy a campaign once, and then deploy contextual messaging based on geography, which should make it “easier for brands to reflect the communities they serve while democratizing access to premium streaming environments.”
Through Interactive Video Ads, brands will be able to upload video assets and location details, tailoring their creative to specific regions. With one remote click, viewers can trigger a push notification that takes them directly to a brand’s landing page. Interactive features such as “Send to Phone” or “Sign Up Today” encourage viewers to act on offers in real time, giving advertisers a measurable way to convert awareness into engagement.
Amazon said the new format combines the reach and recognition of traditional television with the actionable precision of digital media, creating a more relevant and trackable experience for both consumers and advertisers.
Interactive Video Ads strengthens Amazon’s suite of local advertising tools, which also includes Geographic Insights and Activation (GIA), the company affirmed on Monday. GIA uses Amazon’s first-party retail data to identify high-potential geographic areas and help advertisers optimize campaigns for regional performance.
According to Amazon, pet-food brand Purina used GIA to achieve a 300 percent increase in new-to-brand page views, an 85 percent drop in cost per new-to-brand page view and a fourfold rise in total new-to-brand detail page views.
Amazon’s UnBoxed conference is taking place in Nashville through November 12.
