Amazon’s Interactive Video Ads are getting personal(ized)

Amazon is getting personal.

Ahead of its upfronts presentation on Monday in New York, the company rolled out Dynamic TV Creative, a feature that personalizes Interactive Video Ads that appear on Prime Video content using data on viewer shopping habits. The feature allows advertisers to upload creative, after which Amazon will use its own data, including shopping and browsing signals, geography, and product availability, to automatically tailor the creative for viewers.

The feature is rolling out to some US advertisers that sell products on Amazon and advertise on Prime Video, with CPG brands like The Hershey Company among the initial cohort. Dynamic Ad Creative will be available more widely in Q3, including on live sports and Prime Video Channel inventory.

The tool makes “TV creative work harder,” Fabrice Rousseau, director of CreativeX at Amazon Ads, told Marketing Brew ahead of the presentation.

For me? You shouldn’t have: Potential customizations that Dynamic Ad Creative can execute span format and messaging, with CTA options including “add to cart,” “send to phone,” “save to cart,” and “visit brand story.” The feature can also modify headline copy depending on whether a consumer is deemed to be at the “awareness” or “consideration” stage, or emphasize product information like potential benefits or pricing.

What Dynamic TV Creative doesn’t do is modify advertiser creative images, according to Rousseau. That could be a differentiator for advertisers who have expressed dissatisfaction over, or are concerned about augmented visuals appearing on other platforms.

Rousseau said the feature could be used throughout the marketing funnel to help drive consumers toward purchases. New-to-brand consumers, he explained, could see a standard TV ad with a call-to-action encouraging them to “learn more,” while consumers who have seen those ads a few times might see a product carousel containing more detailed product information. If consumer signals indicate a visit to Amazon’s website that suggest additional interest in the brand or the product, a subsequent TV ad might show pricing, product ratings, and a call-to-action encouraging “add to cart.”

Keeping it moving: The Dynamic Ad Creative feature is the latest interactive and customizable ad format to roll out across Amazon’s video offerings as the company continues to lean into streaming video advertising. In October, Prime Video debuted location-based interactive video ads, which allows advertisers to tweak ads based on geography, such as by changing prices depending on location. Those formats have led to 5x higher purchase rates compared to streaming TV campaigns that did not include interactive elements, according to the company.

Rousseau said the new feature will allow Amazon to take the reins and automatically tweak ads based on geography and other factors “with zero lead from the advertiser,” he told us.

It’s all a part of Amazon’s larger product roadmap as more advertising shifts from linear to connected TV.

“The future of connected TV ads will be interactive, shoppable, and customized,” Rousseau told us. “Dynamic TV creative is our first step at helping advertisers customize their TV creative.”