Amazon sponsored brands video: The underused ad format that drives new-to-brand acquisition

Why Sponsored Brands video drives high NTB: The structural reason

Sponsored Brands video drives more new customers because of three simple reasons.

First, Sponsored Brand video is present in the search results feed (usually in the first few rows) before the shopper clicks on any product. A shopper looking at the results is still busy deciding what to buy and hasn’t yet committed to a brand. Sponsored Brands video reaches them at exactly this moment.

Second, a brief video can show a product in action in a way a static image can’t. Many shoppers want to see how a product works before they feel comfortable enough to buy. Sponsored Products ads can’t do that, but Sponsored Brands video can.

Third, Sponsored Brand video plays automatically when the shopper scrolls (no click or tap required). This way, it captures their attention before they’ve even consciously decided to engage.

What SBV isn’t: The ACoS misread that causes brands to pause it

The advertising cost of sales (ACoS) of Sponsored Brands video will be higher than branded Sponsored Products most of the time which isn’t necessarily an issue. 

Sponsored Products reach shoppers who are already searching for your brand. These are the type of customers who convert easily and your ACoS looks clean.

However, Sponsored Brands video connects with those who don’t know your brand. As such, the conversion rate is lower and ACoS reflects that. 

Both results make sense given what each format is doing. However, when both are being measured against the same ACoS goal, Sponsored Brands video looks expensive and gets paused. Instead, SBV is better measured using cost per new customer.

For example, you can spend $8,000 on a Sponsored Brands video campaign and gain 176 new customers at $45.45 each, while a branded Sponsored Products campaign at $6,000 produces only 96 new customers at $62.50 each. Sponsored Brands video has a higher ACoS, but it’s acquiring new customers at a cost that’s 27% lower. When measured correctly, Sponsored Brands video is a more efficient format for growth.

How Amazon Sponsored Brands video works: Placement, specs, and eligibility

Where SBV appears and why placement matters for NTB

Sponsored Brand video plays automatically as shoppers browse the search results. On mobile, it takes up the full width of the screen, whereas on desktop, it’s a horizontal banner with the product image next to it.

It appears in the search feed before the shopper opens a product page. This means they can find the product in the browsing phase, before they’ve interacted with any specific brand.

This feature is what makes Sponsored Brand videos different from other formats.

Sponsored Display ads typically run on competitor product pages. As such, the shopper is already thinking about a certain brand before they encounter the ad.

Sponsored Products also appear in the search results, but are a static image and headline that’s vying for attention without any motion or demonstration.

Sponsored Brand video is the only format that reaches undecided shoppers with a moving, visual pitch before they decide.

Technical specs: What Amazon requires

Before you can launch a Sponsored Brands Video campaign, you must make sure your video file meets Amazon’s technical requirements.

This is what to remember when briefing a video producer or looking at an existing asset:

• The file needs to be MP4 or MOV and have a minimum resolution of 1280x720px (but 1920x1080px is the suggested standard). 
• The video has to be in a 16:9 landscape format (vertical or square video isn’t accepted by Amazon). 
• The length can vary from 6 to 45 seconds (Olifant Digital recommends 15 to 30 seconds). 
• The file size shouldn’t be larger than 500 MB and the frame rate should be a minimum of 23.97 fps.
• Sound is optional (most shoppers watch without it, but it’s worth adding for those who do). 
• Amazon doesn’t allow competitor names or pricing claims in the video file or customer reviews.

Eligibility: What you need before you can run SBV

To run Sponsored Brand videos, you need to have the following in place before you get started:

• Active Brand Registry enrollment
• Some history running Sponsored Products campaigns 
• A Professional selling plan on Seller Central

Amazon typically requires a few weeks of active SP campaigns. If you’ve just enrolled in Brand Registry, allow for two to four weeks before you can unlock Sponsored Brands formats.

The SBV creative framework: What makes a video convert

Most Sponsored Brand video guides tell brands to show the product clearly. This is advice, not structure. The specific creative constraints below are what differentiate campaigns that get high new-to-brand (NTB) rates from those that get mediocre results on the same budget.

The three-second rule: Why the first frame determines everything

SBV plays automatically, without sound and without opt-in as shoppers scroll through their search results. The shopper didn’t opt to watch it and so you have about three seconds to give them a reason to stop scrolling. 

One of the biggest mistakes is to begin with a brand logo animation or slow cinematic product reveal. Those creative approaches work on platforms such as YouTube or Instagram where the viewer has opted to watch something. However, on Amazon, shoppers will typically scroll right past if they don’t see the product clearly or learn one benefit (via text overlay or demonstration) in those first few seconds.

💡Pro Tip: Watch your SBV creative on mute and pause at three seconds to test it. Ask yourself, what has the viewer just seen? If you can clearly see the product and a benefit, the opening is working. This test takes five minutes and will catch most underperforming Sponsored Brands Video creatives.

The single-benefit principle

A second common mistake with Sponsored Brand video is trying to cram too many benefits into a short video. 

In a search results feed, you can’t highlight four, five or six features in 30 seconds because shoppers aren’t in the right headspace to absorb a feature list. They’re scrolling and checking in. 

One product benefit, if it's well-articulated and illustrated from a few different viewpoints, will always trump a truncated highlight reel.

The best benefit to lead with is the one that addresses the biggest concern buyers already have in your category. To identify it quickly, read the one- and two-star reviews of the top three competitors in your category. The pain point that your creative should speak to directly is the complaint you read most often.

Runtime

Amazon will run SBV videos anywhere from six to 45 seconds, but shorter almost always wins. 

Data from our managed accounts at Olifant Digital show that 15- to 30-second creatives work better than longer formats. Shoppers are actively comparing products in a search results feed; they’re not in the mood to watch a video. This means a 45-second ad is asking for more attention than the context will give you.

A 15-second video that shows the product, has one clear benefit, and ends with a strong product shot is almost always more effective. This is why at Olifant Digital we usually start with a 15-second primary asset. If a longer format must be tested, the limit is 30 seconds. 

A 45-second Sponsored Brands video only makes sense for products that really need the extra time to demonstrate, like complex tools or multi-step devices. It isn’t needed for most consumer goods.

💡Pro Tip: Start with your 15-second asset. If it works and tests indicate there’s space to improve with a longer format, write a new 30-second script, rather than trimming a 45-second one. A video designed for 45 seconds will result in a fundamentally different outcome than one designed for 15 seconds.

Sound-off optimization

Sound-off is the constraint to design around. By default, SBV plays without sound and shoppers rarely turn it on. This means that a video that depends on voiceover to get the message across remains effectively silent. 

This means that every claim in your SBV creative has to work without sound. In practice, it takes the shape of a text overlay for a primary benefit in high contrast and displayed long enough so that shoppers can read it. Build the visuals around showing the product in action, not talking about it.

Audio is still important for shoppers who use it, but should enhance what’s on the screen. 

💡Pro Tip: Before you finalize any SBV creative, watch it on mute from start to finish. If the benefit is obvious without sound, the video is working. If the viewer must hear the voiceover to understand the product, the creative needs more visual communication before going live.

The four SBV video formats that work on Amazon

There are four video formats that work consistently well on SBV, each for a different type of product.

Product demonstration 

This is generally the best performer. In the first three seconds, the video demonstrates the product in action and clearly explains what it does and why it works. No brand story, no lifestyle framing. 

The shopper sees how the product works, observes the benefit on screen, and has everything they need to click. Tools, gadgets, supplements that have a physical benefit, and home goods that serve a specific function are best for this type of video.

Problem-solution creative 

This type of video begins with the problem (e.g., achy joints, tangled cords, a worn-out phone case). Then, in a few seconds, it presents the product as the solution, with the result clearly stated on screen.

This format often results in new customers, because it’s targeted at audiences who are already experiencing the problem and looking for a solution.

Before-and-after creative 

This format shows the problem state or a cheaper alternative and then goes to the product outcome. The trick is to be specific and outcome-based rather than mood- or lifestyle-based.

All in all, it works well for personal care, beauty, and home improvement.

The comparative creative 

Amazon doesn’t allow direct competitor comparisons by name, but this format is effective in categories where the buyer is considering quality tiers and your brand has a clear advantage to showcase.

You can do this by placing the product against a generic alternative. The framing is typically along the lines of “vs standard leather”, instead of naming any specific competitor.

What doesn’t work: The five common SBV creative failures

Knowing what doesn’t work is as important as knowing what works. Below are the top five mistakes that lead to underperforming SBV campaigns:

1. Opening with a brand logo for more than three seconds before the product appears. It's a broadcast advertising habit that doesn't translate to a scroll feed where the viewer hasn't opted to watch.
2. Showcasing multiple products in a single video. The brand tries to show eight SKUs in 30 seconds, but the shopper never connects with any single product. Sponsored Brands Video works best when it focuses on one hero product.
3. Lifestyle creative is purely atmospheric. Beautiful scenery and brand mood may work on Instagram, but a shopper comparing products in a search feed needs to see the product in action, not the brand looking good.
4. A text-heavy feature list. Six bullets in 20 seconds don’t land with someone mid-scroll. The eye follows motion, not words.
5. Stretching the video to 45 seconds without a clear reason to do so. The 45-second limit is a maximum, not a goal. A video that could’ve made its point in 15 seconds will cause the viewer to lose interest long before the video ends, but Amazon counts it as a view regardless.

Sponsored Brand video targeting strategy: Where to deploy the budget

Non-branded category keywords: The primary SBV target

The first step is building brand preference, and this is where Sponsored Brands video comes in.

For example, if you’re selling supplements on Amazon, this means terms like “joint supplement” or “fish oil capsules” rather than any brand-specific versions. Focus on high-volume, category-defining terms, and avoid anything too niche to generate meaningful volume.

Use exact match and phrase match only. Broad match generates too many loosely related searches, which makes it more difficult to interpret the new customer data correctly. 

💡Pro Tip: It's best to keep Sponsored Brands video campaigns in a different structure from your Sponsored Product campaigns so that you can keep attribution clean. You can make a separate portfolio for your Sponsored Brands video campaigns and set a fixed budget cap. This stops Sponsored Products campaigns from eating into spend during high-traffic times like weekends or peak days in Q4.

Competitor keyword targeting: The intercept play

SBV is one of the best ways to acquire new customers by targeting keywords that relate to competitors. This means they’re the ideal audience for Sponsored Brand video, already in buy mode but undecided and searching for a competitor. 

To set this up, you need to create a separate Sponsored Brands video campaign targeting the top five to 10 competitor brand keywords. Usually, bids on these terms will be lower because you aren’t the brand owner and don’t need to bid aggressively. What not to target on SBV

On SBV, there are two types of targeting best avoided: your own branded keywords and automatic target acquisition. 

The new customer rate on branded terms drops to about 15-25% because when shoppers search for your brand name, they’re mostly existing customers or shoppers who know you already. Sponsored Products is more effective at reaching that audience. 

As for SBV auto campaigns, these have a tendency to match loosely related searches. This increases impressions, but doesn’t bring in meaningful new customer volume and makes the performance data harder to read.

Use manual exact and phrase match targeting only.

Measuring SBV correctly: The metrics that matter

The primary metric: cost per NTB customer

The right metric for measuring SBV performance is cost per NTB customer. It’s your total SBV campaign spend divided by the number of new customer orders it created.

This one number tells you how much you’re really paying for a new customer who has never bought from you before. Whether it’s acceptable depends on your customer lifetime value (CLV). A one-time buyer who never comes back has a very different value than one who buys four or five times.

Once you know your CLV, you have a clear ceiling on how much you should spend to acquire a new customer. This is the number by which to judge SBV, not ACoS.

ACoS as a guardrail, not a target

ACoS on Sponsored Brand video should be a ceiling, not a target. This ceiling should be well above your break-even ACoS, because SBV is doing the more expensive work of acquiring customers who don't know you yet.

The rule is simple: If your cost per NTB customer is acceptable relative to your CLV, run the campaign regardless of the ACoS.

The budget split: Olifant Digital’s 8-15% rule

At Olifant Digital, we allocate 8 to 15% of the overall Amazon ad budget to SBV for accounts with Brand Registry and solid Sponsored Products performance. 

To achieve sufficient new customer orders per week to make creative testing meaningful in 30 days, you need to spend at least 8%. After 15%, the most efficient non-branded category terms saturate, causing the returns to diminish. 

That said, this allocation could go up to 20 to 25% during product launches or when the company is actively gaining market share.

How Olifant Digital deploys SBV across managed accounts

All managed accounts with Brand Registry and strong Sponsored Products performance at Olifant Digital use Sponsored Brands video.

There’s no other format on Amazon that drives new customers as cost-efficiently, which is why we have Sponsored Brands video running on every eligible account we manage. We’re measuring this in cost per NTB customer, using ACoS as a guardrail instead of the primary target.

Here's how this plays out in practice. When we restructured Bullstrap’s Amazon presence, we built the Sponsored Brands video creative around the dominant objection in the tech accessories category: shoppers thought they were made of cheap materials and had a short lifespan.

We showed off the quality of the premium leather in action, making the case for a higher price point in a way that a static product image surrounded by competitor listings simply couldn’t. The Sponsored Brands video created a new customer pipeline that enabled this growth, resulting in an 85% increase in monthly Amazon revenue.

If you have Brand Registry on your Amazon account and you aren’t running Sponsored Brands video, or you’re running it but paused it because the ACoS looked high, you’re paying more per new customer than needed. 

Get a free marketing plan from Olifant Digital. We’ll pull the NTB analysis, show you what SBV cost per NTB customer looks like for your category, and show you whether your current creative is built to acquire new buyers or just look good in a video preview.

Frequently asked questions

What is Amazon Sponsored Brands video?

Amazon Sponsored Brands video is an ad format that’s exclusive to Brand Registry. It automatically runs in the Amazon search results feed, usually in the first few rows of organic results. It plays with no sound by default and takes shoppers who click straight to a product page or Store. 

Does Sponsored Brands video improve the NTB rate on Amazon?

Yes, SBV is the highest new customer rate of any Amazon ad format. This is because SBV gets in front of shoppers in the search results feed before they’ve opened any product listing and formed a preference for any brand. 

How long should an Amazon Sponsored Brands video be?

The goal for most products should be 15 to 30 seconds. Amazon allows up to 45 seconds, but shorter creatives perform better than longer formats as shoppers in a search results feed are comparing options and not interested to watch a video. 

How much should I spend on Sponsored Brands video?

At Olifant Digital, for accounts that have Brand Registry and proven Sponsored Products performance, we set aside 8-15% of the overall Amazon ad budget for creating Sponsored Brand videos. The 8% minimum is the least amount needed to generate sufficient new customer orders per week to do meaningful creative analysis within 30 days. When the non-branded category keywords exceed 15%, they saturate and their returns begin to diminish. However, when there’s an active market share growth, or we’re launching new products, the allocation can be as high as 20-25%.

Why is my Sponsored Brands video ACoS higher than Sponsored Products?

SBV and Sponsored Products are for two very different audiences. SBV is for shoppers who don’t know your brand and need more convincing, which lowers conversion rate and raises ACoS. As such, SBV should be evaluated correctly using cost per NTB customer against your customer lifetime value and not the same ACoS benchmark you use for branded Sponsored Products.