Interactive ads, ads when you press pause, and shopping direct from adverts are all coming to the Prime Video service.
Since earlier this year, those who don’t give Amazon an extra premium on top of their Prime membership will have noticed some interruptions to their streaming viewing. Amazon has started adding standard advertising to its service, and you need to pay an extra £2.99 to get Prime Video in ad-free form. Some choose to do so, some don’t. No revelation there.
However, Amazon has announced that it’s adding new advertising formats that will take effect in its Prime Video service too, and these might just persuade a few more people to take the £2.99 option.
A post over at Amazon’s advertising site is championing “an expanded suite of new interactive and shoppable ad formats for Prime Video with remote-enabled capabilities for living-room devices.”
It writes that “these formats go far beyond QR codes, making it easier for viewers to connect with brands while enjoying the premium streaming entertainment content they love.”
The big one is carousel ads, that will allow you, in the middle of your film or TV show, to browse and shop on Amazon directly from the advert itself.
Amazon adds that “brands can also use interactive pause and brand trivia ads in Prime Video TV shows, movies, and live sports.” This is as a result of the remote control capabilities that it’s introducing.
Pause and trivia are two different formats. The trivia one lets advertisers set a quiz, but the pause one means that when people press pause on their remote control – perhaps a venture to the fridge for a beverage, or to the toilet for a Jimmy Riddle – adverts will pop up. As per Amazon’s post, viewers “will see a translucent ad featuring brand messaging and imagery, along with an ‘Add to Cart’ and ‘Learn More’ creative overlay.”
You can read more on the Amazon announcements on its website. Expect the new ad formats to be rolled out over the coming year.
