How Bee's Wrap Uses Amazon Sponsored Brands Video to Drive Sales
When sustainable food storage company Bee’s Wrap ® launched on Amazon in early 2018, they had high hopes for the online marketplace and their presence on it. And while they did enjoy some online success, they quickly realized that there was a lot more to do if they wanted to become one of the top brands on Amazon.
Bee’s Wrap produces natural alternatives to single-use plastic wrap for food storage. Bee’s Wrap cloths keep food fresh yet are washable, reusable, and compostable. They’re a certified Green America company and are committed to positive social change.
In September 2019, Bee’s Wrap partnered with Tinuiti to develop advanced ecommerce marketing strategies and maintain Bee’s Wrap’s advantage as a first-mover in their field.
The Value of Video in Sponsored Brands
Video in Sponsored Brands (ViSB) was the linchpin in Bee’s Wrap’s Amazon marketing efforts, and its performance as an advertising channel exceeded all expectations.
Amazon’s Video in Sponsored Brands is an ad format that allows participating Sponsored Brand retailers to use video in addition to their current line-up of image-based ads.
One of ViSB’s biggest advantages is that it’s strictly self-serve; a stark contrast to video in search, which must be done through an Amazon sales rep. Retailers can use the same powerful targeting options in Video in Sponsored Brands as they have in the regular Sponsored Brands interface, and also has the same in-UI reporting capabilities.
Bee’s Wrap began using ViSB in November 2019 since the beta became available, and have seen positive results from the start.
The initial strategy was for Video in Sponsored Brands to be leveraged as an upper-funnel awareness driver. It was expected to have less efficiency and higher aCPC’s than the previous search structure. What they discovered, however, was quite the opposite.
Together, Bee’s Wrap and Tinuiti applied a mix of various creatives at different ad lengths (0:10, 0:12, and 0:45 seconds) and as a result, were able to stand out in an increasingly saturated category.
“Bee’s Wrap has been a shining example of how to leverage ViSB effectively and after seeing our initial results, I began recommending implementing this tactic across all my clients. ViSB provides advertisers the opportunity to use Amazon PPC advertising as not only a conversion tactic but also as a branding strategy to give consumers an idea of the brand without even reaching a product detail page/store page.”
– Zak Semitka, Marketplace Channel Analyst at Tinuiti
The Results
ViSB campaigns have consistently trended as Bee’s Wrap’s most efficient campaigns. ACoS is 28% lower than historical Sponsored Brands performance, and aCPC dropped by 41%.
Charlotte Addison, VP Marketing & Sales at Bee’s Wrap, had this to say:
“Video is proving to be more relevant to engage customers. We can tell our brand story in a multidimensional way that is both product-focused and educational. Paramount for new concepts like reusable, plastic-free food storage.”
Why should brands use Video in Sponsored Brands?
There are many good reasons to use video in general, but the Sponsored Brands program is especially attractive for the following reasons:
Differentiated – Video in sponsored ads will allow you to both stand out more to mobile / desktop users and telling your brand story in a more complete and compelling way.
Relevant – You can more easily reach customers searching for similar products through the effective use of keyword targeting.
Integrated – If you know how to use the Sponsored Ads creative builder, then video ads are easy to set up. Simply upload your completed video the same way you would do so for your other creative assets.
Common Questions About ViSB
Here are some common questions people have been asking about Video in Sponsored Brands (answers provided by Amazon):
How is this different from video in search? Unlike video in search, which must be done through an Amazon sales representative, Video in Sponsored Brands is self-service through the Sponsored Brands campaign builder. It also has in-UI reporting and is cost-per-click.
Is targeting for Video in Sponsored Brands different? All video creative will have the same targeting options as other Sponsored Brand ads.
Are there new metrics for Video in Sponsored Brands? Video will utilize the same metrics as other Sponsored Brand ads, but will not track new-to-brand metrics while the beta is ongoing.
Where do video ads link to? Users that click on a video in Sponsored Ads will be taken to the ASIN detail page you selected in the campaign builder.
How long should my video ads be? Videos in Sponsored Ads should be from 6 to 45 seconds long. Optimal video length is 15-30 seconds.
Where will my video ads appear? Videos in Sponsored Ads will be eligible for mobile / desktop placements in search results.
How can advertisers maximize the use of Video in Sponsored Brands?
Retailers who want to get the most out of this new Sponsored Brands offering will benefit from following some key best practices:
Know your audience. Amazon customers are shopping for brands and products that can solve their needs, and your content should be educational and product-focused.
Show your product. Research by Amazon shows that videos that feature the product in the first few seconds typically perform much better than those that don’t. Eliminate wasteful effects like fading in from black or empty starting frames.
Brief and focused. 15-30 seconds is the optimal video length. Limit your content to important selling points to limit confusion and communicate a clear message.
Optimize video for ad format. Video for Sponsored Brands auto-plays without sound and runs inline in the search results with no option for full-screen viewing. Optimize your video accordingly: make it viewable without sound and ensure all on-screen text is readable even when minimized. Take into account the location of the user interface within the viewing area so that important elements are not obstructed.
Loop the video. Remember that the video will loop once it ends. You can either add an end card to give the viewer time to breathe or make it a seamless transition back to the beginning of the video.
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