Amazon Lets Brands Polish Product Pages -- for $500,000

Brands can now enhance their product pages on Amazon with wide-screen videos and interactive, multimedia displays—but they have to pay for the souped-up features. Over the past month, Amazon has been rolling out "Premium" product pages at a cost of $500,000 a year per brand, according to advertisers who are familiar with the new offering. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss pricing and other details. The price sounds steep but covers all of a participating brand's products, the advertisers familiar with the program say. Early takers include Bose. "This is entirely new, something that's never existed before on Amazon," one ad executive says. "And guess what? It looks like a TV commercial." The videos take Amazon product description pages to another level for marketers. On desktop, they take up the whole width of the screen, and give the "from the manufacturer" section a more dynamic presentation. The experience also works on the mobile web. Amazon has offered video before, but as thumbnails buried within broader product pages. Amazon declined to comment for this story. A Bose representative did not respond to a request for comment. Marketing executives say they've seen a different, more accessible side of Amazon over the past year as it has become more interested in its ad business. The company has been expanding its palette of marketing and advertising services available to Madison Avenue. Part of that is focused on how vendors and brands appear on its mega-shopping site; part of it is focused on how brands can tap into its growing video platform and devices like the Echo; and part of it is focused on how Amazon's ad tech and data help digital marketers across the internet, outside its own domain. The enhanced product pages help answer brands' desire to show off their goods in the same way they do on their own sites. "The industry talks a lot about virtual shelf space," says Evan Hanlon, VP of strategy and platforms at GroupM, the giant media-agency network. "They have to make sure to optimize that presence like they would at any grocery store or retailer. People have to take that deathly seriously now at Amazon." The product page for the Bose Revolve speaker is filled with the new elements, which start partway down the page. They include video and an interactive comparison guide to browse features from other Bose products. A page for a rival Sonos speaker is less dynamic and robust. Advertisers and marketing experts tell brands that their Amazon presentation directly impacts sales. "As that becomes the superstore of the future, not just the internet," Hanlon says. "Amazon needs to make sure the experiences brands generate there are luxe and premium."

Amazon Lets Brands Polish Product Pages -- for $500,000

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