Prime Video users risk ad streaming interruptions

What do you want to know

• Amazon Ads will roll out three new interactive ads for Amazon Prime Video on TVs and other devices in the living room.
• The company says this will allow users to seamlessly shop during the 15-30 second commercial breaks between their shows/movies.
• These ads are said to appear even when a video is paused and present information about the brand that will help users shop better.

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Streaming on Prime Video will get a little busier as Amazon announced Tuesday (May 7) that it will add three new interactive and shoppable ad formats to its streaming platform on living room devices.

The company said Prime Video will now receive an expanded suite of interactive and shoppable ad formats, including remotely activated features for living room devices that are a step ahead of the usual QR code that appears in an ad.

Brands will now be able to feature shoppable carousel ads to help viewers browse and purchase multiple product variations on Amazon during commercial breaks in Prime Video shows and movies. Brands can also use interactive break ads and branded quizzes in Prime Video TV shows, movies and live sports.

These interactive ads would appear in three distinct formats during commercial breaks or when the video is paused.

• Shoppable carousel ads: The brands feature a mobile lineup of their products that customers can explore on Amazon and add to their cart using most living room remotes. Viewers can pause these ads to browse products.
• Interactive break announcements: These appear when viewers pause the show or movie they are streaming. A translucent ad featuring branded messaging and imagery, along with an ‘Add to Cart’ and ‘Learn More’, will create an overlay on the screen, replacing the usual pause screen with information about the show/movie — these ads will appear even after the commercial break and disappear when the video resumes.
• Interactive Brand Quiz Ads: These provide information about a specific brand, giving users the opportunity to shop on Amazon, learn more about services and products, and even unlock rewards. Customers can use their living room remote to add a product to their cart, request information via email and claim rewards such as Amazon shopping credits for the purchase of qualifying items.

Amazon research has indicated that interactive ads are more effective at increasing engagement rates and driving product sales, allowing viewers to add items to their cart while watching a show/movie.

“We’re developing innovative experiences to help brands better engage with customers as we work to transform streaming,” said Alan Moss, vice president of worldwide advertising sales for Amazon Ads.

“Ads in Prime Video provide advertisers with an unrivaled experience to achieve any comprehensive marketing objective, whether it’s awareness, consideration or conversion,” added Moss.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted during the first quarter 2024 earnings conference call that the company’s efforts to run ads on Prime Video are off to a good start and that advertisers are “excited to to be able to expand their ability to advertise with us (with) video.” beyond previous offers.

Is this a good decision for users?

Many people find ads on streaming platforms frustrating, and paying an extra $2.99 ​​on top of their Prime Video or Amazon Prime subscription isn’t something everyone willingly does to get rid of ads. Instead, viewers painfully wait for 15-30 second commercials to air. Imagine an extra layer of interactive ads to distract your attention.

However, the downside is that Amazon appears to be looking to increase revenue with these new ads, and it remains to be seen how viewers will respond. Will they really find these ads engaging, or will they become more frustrated and consider switching to an ad-free streaming platform?

Amazon is not the only platform to have introduced interactive ads. Since 2022, they have appeared more frequently on Hulu, Max, and Peacock, and customers were not enthusiastic about these changes.

Kara Manatt of media and advertising group Magna told Variety last year that “having a bad experience or having a lot of cluttered ads erodes the impact of ads and is really bad for users.” Manatt said research found that customers also changed their behavior because of these ads and canceled their subscriptions to streaming services.

Amazon Ads first introduced interactive video ads in 2021 on services such as IMDb TV on Fire TV devices and has continued to expand the format across most of its streaming TV portfolio, including shows, live movies and sports on Prime Video, Twitch and Fire TV channels. and third-party streaming TV apps.