OTT objections
23. I already have direct relationships with premium publishers, why should I partner with Amazon?
1.Amazon offers an exclusive supply source - Freedive - and an ability to reach more customers than individual app buys alone 2. Unique targeting - leverate amazon audiences that are not able to be purchased directly, enabling you to more accurately reach your customers 3. Unique insights - gain insights into Amazon specific metrics such as branded searches, new to brand, etc. 4. Full funnel solution - you already work with Amazon Advertising on other formats, adding video to the mix increases your visibility to amazon customers as a brand building tactic
11. What are the benefits for advertisers to access this inventory via APS, especially if they buy from those apps directly or via exchanges like SpotX?
APS has a direct connection to this inventory (much like header bidding on web) so all the advantages of APS you know and love apply to OTT: The APS integration enables Amazon to bid on all the ad inventory (100% of available impressions).
13. I'm testing Amazon OTT. The demo is wide (18-49) with our standard frequency cap (4x) but I am unable to deliver in full. Why should I sign up for more?
Amazon OTT scale is currently in a rapid growth stage with scale increasing quickly. Amazon launched IMDb Freedive in Jan 2019 (New Free Streaming Channel) that substantially increased scale across OTT, giving advertisers the opportunity to increase budgets as well as reach an incremental audience to their 3P apps spend. Roughly half of an Amazon OTT buy runs within IMDb Freedive only 3 months after its launch. Additionally, there is little overlap between IMDb Freedive viewers and Fire TV 3P app viewers so this truly is an incremental audience.
17. You need to prove when I buy Fire TV OTT inventory with you that my reach is incremental to my other TV/OTT buys — we use Nielsen TAR to measure this incremental audience metric and if you want my OTT $$$ we need TAR tags and tests that validate you help us reach incremental audiences
Amazon is closely partnering with and vetting Nielsen's product suite; TAR (Total Audience Rating) is a feature currently under discussion and as we gather more information on its availability we will let you know asap. Nielsen conducted a study to understand the de-duplicated reach across TV and Amazon Fire TV. During the study they found that within the 18-34 age bracket, 1 in 5 Fire TV viewers did not watch linear TV.
15. I buy video to add broad reach and frequency to my media plan and do not need Amazon 1P targeting.
Amazon targeting is not a requirement for Amazon OTT buys. If you are interested in leveraging your own DMP or CRM insights please let us know. Amazon OTT however will ensure substantial reach of your audience (see question #13). Additionally, while targeting may not be a key pillar for you, Amazon OTT can guarantee that you are only serving impressions to an authenticated Amazon audience (through our single log-in) mitigating any concerns of ad fraud or brand safety.
Is Amazon's OTT supply only for Connected TV (CTV)? What about OTT content for Desktop and Mobile?
Amazon views OTT as the content rather than a device specific supply type. OTT is available across all 3 device types. With that said, the majority of OTT impressions are currently running on Fire TV.
10. What subscription models fall under the OTT model?
Any model that circumvents traditional cable/satellite subscription will be considered OTT. Please see examples below:
Where are you currently purchasing OTT inventory?
As of Jan 2019, Amazon Fire TV is reporting 30M Monthly Active Uniques (MAU), making it the fastest growing CTV device in the market since being released in 2014. Additionally, Roku confirmed its reach at 27M MAUs, while Hulu is at 25M subscribers. Amazon OTT scale is currently in a rapid growth stage with scale increasing quickly. Amazon launched IMDb Freedive in Jan 2019 (New Free Streaming Channel) that substantially increased scale across OTT, giving advertisers the opportunity to increase budgets as well as reach an incremental audience to their 3P apps spend. Roughly half of an Amazon OTT buy runs within IMDb Freedive only 3 months after its launch. Additionally, there is little overlap between IMDb Freedive viewers and Fire TV 3P app viewers so this truly is an incremental audience.
16. I can only buy specific shows because of brand safety concerns so usually strike deals directly with publishers
Brand Safety is of utmost concern for Amazon. Below are brand safety levers for Amazon OTT:
18. How is competitive separation handled?
Competitive separation has two aspects: 1. We are set up as server side integration on Fire TV for the apps which means there is an exchange of meta data so we can get insight into inputs important for targeting, genres and blacklisting etc, which also means the necessary information is flowing to ensure two ads that are not supposed to run back/back do not. 2. The App controls if two types of ads in a vertical can serve together in the same ad pod. In Rodeo, we have insight into the ad breaks by app and we pass along info that tells the publisher the category for each ad. Subsequently, the App's ad server should have a business rule that will select the correct combination of ads within one ad pod. In other words, in a 60 min show comprised of 6 minutes of ads multiple auto ads may appear however, the App's business rule should protect against these ads appearing within the same pod or back to back based on the information we pass along.
20. IMDb Freedive is exclusive inventory, why wouldn't we just sell that inventory only?
In a short space of time IMDb Freedive has grown in viewership and now represents more than half of our total OTT inventory. However, by buying both IMDb Freedive and third-party Fire TV app OTT inventory together, clients will be able to expand the potential reach of their campaign by 72%
4. Can I choose to target a specific supply source within OTT?
No, but we can blacklist within reason if necessary. For the best opportunity to serve your ad placements, we recommend targeting all OTT and not a specific supply source within OTT.
8. Can we serve 3P creative tags?
No, we do not accept 3P creative tags.
6. Why are OTT CPMs higher than other video related products?
OTT inventory is more closely aligned with TV advertising, which is the most premium environment. CPMs for TV advertising is higher due to 1) full episode players, 2) long format, 3) un-skippable inventory, and 4) ads are 100% viewable. This type of video inventory has a premium CPM and aligns with industry standard CPMs. Additionally, living room devices, such as Connected TV, have a high potential from one to many exposure.
3. What is the main difference between OTT and standard video?
OTT video is more premium video (movies and TV shows) as it is typically long form, Full Episode Player (FEP), unclickable, unskippable, 100% viewable destination video versus web video which is typically clickable pre-roll in front of short form content, not always 100% viewable.
2. What supply sources are considered OTT?
Our current OTT product offering includes supply from IMDb Freedive, 3P Fire TV apps and Amazon Live Events (such as Thursday Night Football). Note: Today, Freedive is available everywhere Prime Video is available. Therefore, you can access that content on all devices Prime Video is available.
21. Ok, but why is buying 3P app inventory better with Amazon than YuMe?
Our direct integrations with top Fire TV apps through Amazon Publisher Services enables advertiser to access 100% of available impressions, even inventory reserved for direct sold campaigns. For example, if a stylish retailer of prescription glasses was trying to reach new customers, their DSP could bid on one, both, or none of the available impressions. However, there are some impressions that are not made available to a DSP, as they are reserved for direct-sold campaigns. As mentioned above, our direct integration allows us to bid on every available impression and bypass the traditional waterfall, allowing us to see 100% of the bid requests. This allows Amazon to put the advertiser's message in front of more Amazon shoppers relevant to the advertiser. Advertisers purchasing 3P Fire TV apps through Amazon Publisher Services no longer need to pay SSP fees | Additional benefits include: 1. Reaching an audience with a singular view across devices and formats. This helps Amazon understand the advertiser's audience and make informed decisions about how, when, and where to best engage the audience. 2. Reduces latency for Publishers and ensures the full dollar bid makes it to them, helping us onboard more publishers and increasing the potential reach of an advertiser's ad campaign. 3. Built-in competitive separation and frequency capping: APS is aware of all the ad opportunities in a program 4. Maintaining a TV-like experience: server-side integrations are more efficient than traditional VAST tags. The ad has the same quality as TV and loads as fast as the content. For live content, this is especially important since advertisers do not know when the ad break will happen.
7. How do you explain your higher CPMs than what we've seen from your competitors?
So I can make sure it's a like-for-like comparison, can you confirm if this is Full Episode Player Connected TV 3P inventory through a DSP? Or is it publisher direct or via platform like Roku? When compared with like-for-like we've heard that we are competitive but I'm happy to take this feedback. I can also clarify that this price includes Amazon targeting and appropriate service fees.
5. Can you tell me more about our 3P Fire TV app supply?
The Amazon Publisher Services (APS) 3P Fire TV app supply is sourced from 3P app developers (a.k.a. broadcasters, publishers) for Fire TV who are sensitive to channel conflict concerns between their sales teams and ours. In order to mitigate these concerns, APS BizDev has provided assurances on how their inventory will be represented by our demand teams and has negotiated transparency conditions with broadcasters. Please see APS Demand Controls and Supply Transparency for FireTV Inventory (Note: This data is Amazon Internal only and should not be shared with any external entity.)
12. Can we book 2019 upfront packages now?
The official upfront season begins in May, however we encourage conversations to begin now to drive engagement and adoption.
22. My TV buyer thinks cord-cutting is overrated and they are reaching them as part of their standard buy
We know connected TV devices like our own Amazon Fire TV are popular but are those viewers still watching linear TV as well?We commissioned Nielsen to find out just that. Using the Nielsen National People Meter panel, Nielsen looked at those who had watched broadcast, cable, or syndicated television live or up to 7 days after airing using DVRs (Digital Video Recorders). They found that in the 18-34 year age bracket, 1 in 5 Fire TV viewers did not watch linear TV during the month long study. This means that using our OTT video ad solutions can help you to recover more than 20% of the Fire TV viewers who were not reached by linear television alone.- Additionally, Amazon Fire TV viewers were more likely to be light or non-TV viewers than the Nielsen Universe Estimates across all age groups.
19. We need to be able to rotate multiple creatives with separate 3P impression trackers. Do you support this?
What 3P impression trackers are you using? We are currently testing DCM, Flashtalking, Innovid and Sizmek 1x1 impression pixels/trackers. If you have a 3P vendor who is not currently listed, please reach out to your Video Specialist for guidance.
9. Are 3P impressions pixels permitted?
Yes, we currently accept the following:DCM Flashtalking Innovid Sizmek
