Amazon Offers New Ad Model for Thursday Night NFL Games

Amazon is offering advertisers a unique marketing opportunity within “Thursday Night Football,” inviting them to take advantage of new streaming tech by programming different creative messages within the same 30-second slot. “For the first time in NFL history, fans across the country will no longer view the same national commercials while enjoying live coverage provided by Prime Video on Fire TV devices,” Amazon said at the NewFronts. For example, an automotive brand could promote sports cars to younger adults, SUVs to outdoor enthusiasts and a general spot for everyone else — all in the same 30-second window.

Amazon also announced that its first “Black Friday” NFL game, November 24, will be made available for free on Prime Video to all football fans, not just Prime subscribers. “Thanks to this new NFL tradition, Amazon Ads can now help more fans discover deals from the comfort of their homes on one of the busiest shopping days of the year,” Amazon said in a news announcement.

“The audience-based creative capability will be available during pre- and post game shows, as well as year two of the Amazon Music Live concert series streamed after TNF,” Broadcasting & Cable reports. Last season, “millions of fans tuned in” to see performances by artists including Kane Brown, Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Wayne, Amazon says.

Of the streaming ad-targeting tech, Amazon VP global advertising sales Alan Moss told Broadcasting & Cable “it’s going to be great for customers because they’re going to see more relevant messages and it should lead to better advertiser outcomes as well.”

Moss explained in the same interview that in discussions so far “we’re working backwards from brands’ desire to not only see their messages at the heart of premium content and offering great customer experiences, but also connecting the dots downstream with them to have meaningful business outcomes for these brands.”

Amazon is also offering advertisers more clickable ad formats. Viewers with Fire TV can use their remote to click “send to phone” or “send to email” buttons that will provide links to a brand’s own product page or shelf on the Amazon store.

To measure all this activity, Amazon will continue to work with Nielsen and adds VideoAmp and iSpot as new streaming TV measurement providers for 2024.

“Advertisers can use these solutions to measure cross-screen impressions and reach, including out-of-home and local stations, complementing the first-party measurement solutions of Amazon Ads,” Amazon said in a blog post.

The company had many other announcements at its NewFronts event.

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