Amazon Sponsored Brands & Video Ads: The Complete 2026 Guide

What Are Amazon Sponsored Brands Ads?

Amazon Sponsored Brands (formerly known as Headline Search Ads) are a premium ad format available to brand-registered sellers. Unlike Sponsored Products ads that promote a single listing, Sponsored Brands showcase your brand logo, a custom headline, and multiple products in a single ad placement. They appear at the top of search results — the most valuable real estate on Amazon — and can link to your Brand Store, a custom landing page, or a product listing page.

Sponsored Brands are a top-of-funnel awareness play and a mid-funnel consideration driver rolled into one. When a shopper searches "wireless earbuds," your Sponsored Brands ad sits above every organic result and every Sponsored Products ad. That positioning carries enormous weight. According to Amazon's own data, brands running Sponsored Brands alongside Sponsored Products see an average 30-50% increase in branded search volume within 90 days.

There are three core Sponsored Brands ad formats available in 2026:

• Product Collection: Displays your brand logo, headline, and up to three products. Clicking the ad can send shoppers to your Brand Store or a product listing page.
• Store Spotlight: Features your brand logo, headline, and up to three Brand Store subpages with custom images. Ideal for brands with a deep catalog.
• Sponsored Brands Video: An auto-playing video ad that appears in search results, linking to a single product detail page. This format has become the highest-converting Sponsored Brands placement in 2026.

Sponsored Brands vs Sponsored Products vs Sponsored Display

Understanding where Sponsored Brands fits in the Amazon advertising ecosystem is critical for allocating budget effectively. Each ad type serves a different function in the customer journey.

Sponsored Products

The workhorse of Amazon PPC. These keyword-targeted and ASIN-targeted ads promote individual product listings and appear within search results and on product detail pages. They are conversion-focused and typically generate the lowest ACoS. Every brand should have Sponsored Products running as the foundation of their ad strategy.

Sponsored Brands

Top-of-search placements that build brand awareness and drive consideration. Sponsored Brands capture shoppers earlier in the purchase journey when they are browsing categories rather than ready to buy a specific item. They are more expensive per click on average (typically $0.80-$2.50 CPC vs. $0.40-$1.20 for Sponsored Products), but they deliver outsized value in branded search lift and long-term customer acquisition.

Sponsored Display

Audience-based and context-based ads that appear on and off Amazon. Sponsored Display is a retargeting and conquest tool — reaching shoppers who viewed your products, browsed similar categories, or purchased from competitors. It is the broadest reach tool but typically has the highest ACoS and requires careful audience segmentation.

Setting Up Sponsored Brands Headline Search Ads

Getting your first Sponsored Brands campaign live requires Brand Registry and a Brand Store. If you do not have both, stop here and set those up first — they are prerequisites. Once those are in place, here is the step-by-step setup process.

Step 1: Choose Your Ad Format

In Amazon Campaign Manager, select "Sponsored Brands" and choose between Product Collection, Store Spotlight, or Video. For most brands launching their first Sponsored Brands campaign, Product Collection is the best starting point. It is the simplest format and gives you the clearest performance data to learn from.

Step 2: Craft Your Headline

Your headline is your 50-character pitch. It sits next to your brand logo and above your featured products. The best headlines combine a benefit statement with a call to action. Avoid generic lines like "Shop Our Products" and instead use specific copy like "Noise-Cancelling Earbuds — Rated #1 for Comfort" or "Premium Dog Food — Vet Recommended, Grain Free."

Amazon has strict creative guidelines. Headlines cannot include promotional language ("50% off"), all-caps words, or excessive punctuation. Keep it clean, benefit-driven, and specific to the keyword you are targeting.

Step 3: Select Your Products

Choose 3 products that are relevant to your target keywords and have strong reviews (4+ stars, 50+ reviews minimum). The first product in the lineup gets the most clicks, so lead with your best seller. Avoid featuring products that are out of stock or have poor ratings — a 2.8-star product in a Sponsored Brands ad actively hurts your brand perception.

Step 4: Set Your Landing Page

You can send traffic to your Brand Store, a Brand Store subpage, or a new landing page (product listing page). We strongly recommend sending traffic to your Brand Store. Amazon reports that Brand Store-linked Sponsored Brands ads see 17-23% higher return on ad spend compared to product listing pages. Your Brand Store gives you full control over the customer experience post-click.

Step 5: Add Keywords and Launch

Start with 15-25 highly relevant keywords in exact and phrase match. Avoid broad match at launch — Sponsored Brands broad match burns through budget quickly with low-intent searches. Set your daily budget to at least $50 to give the campaign enough data to optimize. We will cover targeting in depth below.

Sponsored Brands Video Ads — Why They Convert

Sponsored Brands Video is the single most underutilized ad format on Amazon in 2026. Despite being available for several years, fewer than 20% of brand-registered sellers actively run video campaigns. That is a massive opportunity for brands willing to invest in creative.

Here is why Sponsored Brands Video ads outperform every other format for consideration-stage advertising:

Autoplay Grabs Attention

Video ads autoplay (muted) as shoppers scroll through search results. In a sea of static product images, motion is impossible to ignore. Our data across 85+ brand accounts shows that Sponsored Brands Video ads generate 2-3x the click-through rate of standard Sponsored Brands Product Collection ads on the same keywords.

Demonstrate the Product

For products that benefit from demonstration — kitchen gadgets, fitness equipment, beauty products, tech accessories — video ads let you show the product in action. A 20-second clip of your blender crushing ice communicates more than 7 bullet points and a gallery of lifestyle images combined.

Higher Conversion at the Detail Page

Because shoppers who click a video ad have already engaged with 15-30 seconds of product content, they arrive at the detail page more informed and with higher purchase intent. We see 15-25% higher conversion rates on clicks from video ads compared to clicks from static Sponsored Products on the same ASINs.

Mid-Page Placement Is Premium

Sponsored Brands Video ads typically appear mid-page in search results, taking up significantly more screen real estate than any other ad format. On mobile, a single video ad can occupy nearly the entire screen. That visual dominance translates to brand recall even when the shopper does not click.

Campaign Structure Best Practices

Campaign structure determines how efficiently you can optimize, scale, and report on your Sponsored Brands investment. We use a segmented architecture that gives us granular control over every variable.

Segment by Ad Format

Never mix Product Collection, Store Spotlight, and Video ads in the same campaign. Each format has different CPCs, CTRs, and conversion patterns. Mixing them makes it impossible to evaluate performance accurately. Create separate campaigns for each format.

Segment by Match Type

Run separate campaigns for exact match and phrase match keywords. Exact match campaigns are your precision tools — they target high-intent shoppers searching for specific terms. Phrase match campaigns capture long-tail variations and discovery opportunities. Separate campaigns let you set different bids and budgets for each.

Segment by Funnel Stage

We create three campaign groups within Sponsored Brands:

• Brand Defense: Campaigns targeting your own brand name and branded product terms. These should have aggressive bids because you must own your brand search results. CPCs are typically very low ($0.15-$0.40) and ROAS is exceptional.
• Category Capture: Campaigns targeting generic category keywords (e.g., "wireless earbuds," "dog treats," "yoga mat"). These are your growth campaigns with moderate CPCs and moderate ROAS expectations.
• Competitor Conquest: Campaigns targeting competitor brand names and specific competitor ASINs. These have the highest CPCs and lowest initial ROAS, but they are essential for stealing market share and introducing your brand to your competitors' customers.

Naming Convention

Use a clear, consistent naming convention so anyone on your team can understand the campaign at a glance. We use: SB | [Format] | [Funnel Stage] | [Match Type] | [Product Group]. For example: "SB | Video | Category | Exact | Wireless Earbuds" or "SB | ProductCollection | Brand Defense | Phrase | All Products."

Targeting Strategies: Keyword, Category, and ASIN

Sponsored Brands offers three targeting options, and each serves a distinct strategic purpose.

Keyword Targeting

Keyword targeting is the foundation of most Sponsored Brands campaigns. You bid on specific search terms that shoppers type into Amazon's search bar. The key principles:

• Start with exact match. Exact match gives you the most control and the clearest data. Expand to phrase match once you have conversion data.
• Mine Sponsored Products data. Your Sponsored Products search term reports are a goldmine. Pull any keyword converting at or below your target ACoS and add it to a Sponsored Brands exact match campaign.
• Target keywords where you rank page 2-3 organically. Sponsored Brands ads on these keywords can accelerate your organic ranking by driving incremental sales velocity. Once you rank on page 1, the ad spend on those keywords decreases naturally.
• Use negative keywords aggressively. Sponsored Brands phrase match campaigns need active negative keyword management. Add irrelevant search terms as negative exacts weekly to prevent budget waste.

Category Targeting

Category targeting lets you show your Sponsored Brands ad when shoppers browse a specific product category rather than searching for a keyword. This is a powerful awareness play for brands with broad appeal. You can refine category targeting by brand, price range, and star rating to narrow your audience.

Category targeting works best for Store Spotlight ads, where you are promoting your overall brand experience rather than individual products. Set bids 20-30% lower than your keyword campaigns, as category targeting typically has lower purchase intent.

ASIN Targeting (Product Targeting)

ASIN targeting places your Sponsored Brands ad on specific competitor product detail pages or on your own product pages for cross-selling. This is your conquest weapon. Target competitor ASINs that have:

• Lower star ratings than your product (you want the comparison to favor you)
• Higher prices than your product (shoppers love feeling like they found a deal)
• High traffic volume (check estimated monthly sales with tools like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout)
• Weak A+ Content or Brand Stores (your polished creative will stand out)

Creative Best Practices for Headlines and Videos

Creative is the variable most brands underinvest in. You can have a perfect campaign structure and targeting strategy, but if your headline is bland or your video is boring, performance will suffer.

Headline Best Practices

• Lead with a benefit, not a feature. "Sleep Better Tonight" outperforms "Memory Foam Pillow" every time.
• Include social proof when possible. "Rated #1 by 10,000+ Pet Owners" adds credibility within your 50-character limit.
• Match the headline to the keyword. If someone searches "organic dog food," your headline should echo that language: "100% Organic Dog Food — Vet Approved." Keyword relevance in headlines improves both CTR and quality score.
• Test at least 3 headlines per campaign. Amazon does not offer native A/B testing for Sponsored Brands headlines, so create duplicate campaigns with different headlines and split budget evenly. Run for 2-4 weeks, then kill the loser and iterate on the winner.
• Use title case consistently. It looks more professional and scans better on the search results page.

Video Creative Best Practices

• Hook in the first 2 seconds. Video ads autoplay silently. If the first frame is a logo or text-only title card, shoppers will scroll past. Start with your product in action.
• Design for muted viewing. Add text overlays and captions that communicate your key messages without sound. At least 85% of Amazon shoppers watch video ads on mute.
• Keep it 15-30 seconds. Shorter videos have higher completion rates. Every second past 30 decreases engagement. Amazon allows up to 45 seconds, but our highest performers are 18-22 seconds.
• Show the product in context. A coffee maker in a kitchen, a backpack on a trail, a toy in a child's hands. Contextual usage shots outperform product-on-white studio shots by 30-40% in CTR.
• End with your product image and a CTA. The last frame should show the product clearly with a text overlay like "Shop Now" or "Learn More." This drives the click after the shopper has been engaged by the video.
• Meet Amazon's specs: 1920x1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, H.264 codec, 500MB max file size. No black bars, no letterboxing, no Amazon branding or references to Amazon in the video.

Bidding Strategies and Budget Allocation

Sponsored Brands bidding is different from Sponsored Products. There is no dynamic bidding (up and down) option. You set a flat bid, and Amazon uses it as your maximum CPC. Here is how to approach it strategically.

Setting Initial Bids

Start bids at 1.2-1.5x your Sponsored Products bids for the same keywords. Sponsored Brands placements are more competitive because they sit at the top of search, and more advertisers compete for fewer available slots. If your Sponsored Products exact match bid on "wireless earbuds" is $1.00, start your Sponsored Brands bid at $1.20-$1.50.

For Sponsored Brands Video campaigns, start at 1.0-1.3x your Sponsored Products bids. Video placements have less competition than headline placements in most categories, so you can often win the placement at lower bids.

Bid Adjustment by Placement

Amazon offers bid adjustments specifically for "Top of Search (first page)" placement for Sponsored Brands. We recommend starting with a 25-40% bid boost for top of search. Sponsored Brands at the very top of search results see significantly higher CTR and conversion than those placed lower on the page. The incremental cost is almost always worth it.

Budget Allocation Framework

For brands running a full Sponsored Brands program, here is how we allocate the Sponsored Brands portion of the total ad budget:

• Brand Defense campaigns: 15-20% of SB budget. Low CPCs, high ROAS, non-negotiable.
• Category keyword campaigns (exact match): 30-35% of SB budget. Your bread and butter for growth.
• Category keyword campaigns (phrase match): 15-20% of SB budget. Discovery and long-tail capture.
• Sponsored Brands Video: 20-25% of SB budget. The highest-growth format with the best engagement metrics.
• Competitor conquest: 10-15% of SB budget. Strategic, not volume. Focus on winnable competitors.

When to Use Cost-per-Click vs. Cost-per-Impression Bidding

Amazon now offers vCPM (viewable cost-per-thousand-impressions) bidding for some Sponsored Brands placements. Use CPC bidding for direct-response campaigns where you want clicks and conversions. Use vCPM only for pure brand awareness campaigns where your goal is maximum visibility, not immediate sales. For 90% of brands, CPC bidding is the right choice.

Measuring Performance: The Metrics That Matter

Sponsored Brands performance cannot be measured by ACoS alone. These campaigns serve a brand-building function, and your metrics should reflect that broader goal.

Primary KPIs

• New-to-Brand (NTB) metrics: Amazon reports what percentage of your Sponsored Brands sales came from customers who had not purchased from your brand in the last 12 months. This is the most important Sponsored Brands metric. A campaign with 40% ACoS but 70% new-to-brand sales is a customer acquisition engine, not a money loser.
• Branded Search Lift: Track your branded search volume before and after launching Sponsored Brands. Use Brand Analytics in Seller Central or tools like Helium 10 to monitor. A healthy Sponsored Brands program should lift branded searches by 20-40% within 90 days.
• TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sale): As discussed in our ACoS vs TACoS guide, TACoS includes organic revenue in the denominator. It tells you whether your total ad investment (including Sponsored Brands) is efficiently growing the whole business.

Secondary KPIs

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Healthy Sponsored Brands CTR ranges from 0.3% to 0.8% for Product Collection and 0.5% to 1.5% for Video. If your CTR is below these benchmarks, your creative needs work.
• Detail Page View Rate (DPVR): For Sponsored Brands Video, this measures what percentage of video viewers clicked through to the product page. Benchmark: 0.5-1.2%.
• Video Completion Rate: What percentage of shoppers watched your video to the end. Above 70% is strong. Below 50% means your video is too long or not engaging enough.
• Impression Share: Available in the Sponsored Brands reporting dashboard, this shows what percentage of eligible impressions you are winning. Low impression share on high-priority keywords means you need to increase bids or budget.

Reporting Cadence

Review Sponsored Brands performance weekly at the campaign level and monthly at the strategic level. Weekly reviews focus on bid adjustments, negative keywords, and budget pacing. Monthly reviews evaluate creative performance, new-to-brand trends, and branded search lift. Quarterly reviews assess the overall contribution of Sponsored Brands to your marketing mix and inform budget allocation decisions.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

After managing Sponsored Brands across 85+ brand accounts and over $120M in marketplace revenue, we have seen every mistake in the book. Here are the ones that cost brands the most money and growth.

1. Judging Sponsored Brands purely on ACoS. Sponsored Brands campaigns will almost always have higher ACoS than Sponsored Products. That is by design. They serve a different purpose — brand awareness, new customer acquisition, and branded search lift. Measure them on new-to-brand percentage and TACoS impact, not direct ACoS.
2. Using broad match keywords at launch. Broad match in Sponsored Brands burns budget on irrelevant placements faster than any other ad type. Start with exact and phrase match. Add broad match only after you have built a robust negative keyword list from search term reports.
3. Neglecting the Brand Store landing page. Sending Sponsored Brands traffic to a generic product listing page wastes the premium you paid for that click. Build a dedicated Brand Store page with compelling content, logical navigation, and strong product merchandising. The post-click experience is half the battle.
4. Running one headline forever. Creative fatigue is real. The same headline shown to the same audience for months will see declining CTR. Rotate headlines every 4-6 weeks and test new angles continuously.
5. Ignoring Sponsored Brands Video. Video is the most underutilized format and the highest-engagement placement. Most brands skip it because creating video feels hard. A simple 20-second product demo shot on a phone outperforms no video at all by an infinite margin. Just start.
6. Not defending your brand terms. If you are not running Sponsored Brands on your own brand name, your competitors are. Brand defense campaigns cost almost nothing and prevent competitors from intercepting shoppers who are already looking for you.
7. Scaling budget without structure. Doubling your Sponsored Brands budget without adding new campaigns, keywords, and negative terms just makes your existing campaigns spend more inefficiently. Scale structure first, then scale budget.
8. Skipping negative keywords in phrase match campaigns. Without weekly negative keyword management, 20-30% of your phrase match Sponsored Brands spend goes to irrelevant or low-intent searches. Pull your search term report every week and add negatives aggressively.
9. Featuring low-rated products. Sponsored Brands ads put your products front and center at the top of search. If those products have 3.2 stars or 12 reviews, you are paying premium CPC to advertise weakness. Only feature products with 4+ stars and meaningful review counts.
10. Not using ASIN targeting for defense. Competitor Sponsored Brands ads can appear on your product detail pages. Run ASIN-targeted Sponsored Brands campaigns on your own top-selling ASINs to block competitors and cross-sell your catalog.

Putting It All Together

Amazon Sponsored Brands ads are not optional for brands that want to grow on the platform in 2026. They are how you build brand awareness, capture new customers, defend your branded search results, and create the top-of-funnel demand that feeds your entire advertising ecosystem.

The brands that win with Sponsored Brands follow a disciplined approach: structured campaigns segmented by format, match type, and funnel stage. Keyword targeting mined from Sponsored Products data. Creative that speaks to the shopper's needs, not the brand's ego. Video ads that demonstrate the product within the first two seconds. And measurement that accounts for the full brand-building impact, not just direct-click ACoS.

Start with brand defense and category keyword campaigns. Add video as soon as you have even basic creative assets. Scale budget gradually as you accumulate data and refine your targeting. And never stop testing headlines, videos, and new keyword opportunities.

That is how you compound brand growth on Amazon. Every impression, every click, every new-to-brand customer builds on the last. That is the Kompound approach.