Amazon Advertising is now partnering with Twitch, a video live streaming platform (think YouTube or live television) where millions of users come together daily to game, stream or just chat. Though Twitch has been a part of Amazon since 2014, it made targeting available via the Amazon Demand Side Platform (DSP) in September 2020 to a limited set of locations, and has now expanded both targeting and video placements to EU5.
Amazon DSP offers advertisers the opportunity to buy display, video and audio ad placements with the ability to target audiences both on and off Amazon. Advertisers using DSP can reach customers on Amazon-owned websites and apps as well as through Amazon’s publishing partners and third-party exchanges, expanding their reach far beyond just shoppers on the Amazon website. Now, when choosing video inventory, advertisers can select Twitch as the supply source and run campaigns across Twitch mobile and desktop as well as Smart TV and consoles.
“Brands running Amazon Advertising campaigns can address the diverse interests of the Twitch community through Twitch video and display ad products. Advertising on Twitch will now have the added benefit of Amazon Advertising’s unique
audience insights and measurement for their campaigns”
announced Amazon. While Twitch media and audiences are now available for inclusion in Amazon Advertising campaigns, Amazon audiences are also available for inclusion in Twitch campaigns. By opening up its advertising inventory to many more advertisers through Amazon, Twitch is adding even more value to its advertising business.
Currently available as video inventory, advertisers can book instream (pre-roll and mid-roll) videos individually and in combination with other video supply sources. These ads are shown directly on Twitch channels in the form of 30 second maximum, non-skippable ads with the ability to click and “learn more” when viewed from a desktop or mobile device.
What can I do with Twitch?
Twitch reported 159 million viewers per month in 2020 and 26.6 million daily active users as well as over 5 billion viewing hours in quarter two, made up majorly of young, primarily male, gaming fanatics - an audience notorious for its hard-to-reach but highly engaged nature. The Twitch community is also composed of a diverse range of members with interests spanning from music and technology to films and food and everything in between.
Advertisers buying Twitch inventory through Amazon Advertising now have a direct line to both Amazon’s first-party behavioral data and Twitch’s loyal audiences. These brands can now reach the younger and highly engaged consumers that frequent both the streaming platform and Amazon’s website, address the diverse interests of the Twitch community and recruit new customers.
Twitch segments are now available worldwide in the Amazon DSP based on viewership categories. During campaign setup, you can choose from a variety of Twitch Lifestyle Audience segments (i.e. Console Game Viewers, Non Gaming Viewers, Sports Viewers, etc.) in accordance with your specific targeting strategy. In addition, as of March 2021 it is now possible to Twitch viewers of your ads and bring them directly to your product pages or brand stores for direct conversion.
Who can benefit from Twitch and Amazon DSP?
Utilizing Twitch as a part of an advertising strategy is ideal for brands looking to reach a new demographic audience. It serves as an outlet for branding to not only the gaming crowd, but also the young, tech-savvy users that both stream and watch streams about fashion, politics, food and lifestyle. Amazon Advertising has just handed brands looking to pick the lock leading to this demographic the key to some of the most loyal customers on the internet. Twitch videos are especially suitable for campaigns aiming for a good video completion rate or cost per video completion as the VCR is very high on the streaming platform.
The new collaboration between DSP and Twitch has also provided a bridge in the data gap that once plagued advertisers. Now, brands using Twitch with Amazon DSP have the ability to track exactly how many sales can be attributed to Twitch and adjust future media spend accordingly.
