Amazon Sponsored Brands in Australia: Brand Registry, Ad Formats, Billing and When to Use Them

Amazon Sponsored Brands are cost-per-click ads that feature your brand logo, a custom headline and multiple products, shown in Amazon.com.au shopping results. To run them in Australia you need an active Professional seller account and enrolment in Brand Registry. Amazon offers video, image and collection creative, and you can pay per click or per 1,000 viewable impressions. Amazon states there is no minimum spend for CPC or vCPM campaigns.

Who can run Sponsored Brands in Australia?

Amazon's seller page sets three conditions.

• An active Professional seller account.
• Enrolment in Brand Registry.
• Products that are not adult, used, refurbished or in closed categories.

Brand Registry in turn needs a trade mark and the brand name on the product or packaging. Amazon says the applicant must be the trade mark owner, and that a pending application can meet the requirement. Our guides cover the steps: Amazon Brand Registry in Australia and IP Australia trade marks for Amazon.

If you resell other companies' brands, you cannot run Sponsored Brands for them. Use Sponsored Products instead. See Amazon Sponsored Products in Australia.

What ad formats does Sponsored Brands offer?

Amazon's Sponsored Brands page lists these formats.

Format availability can change by marketplace and over time. Check the campaign builder in your Australian Seller Central account for the options you can actually select. Amazon's older descriptions of Sponsored Brands also mention a Store spotlight format, which the current page does not list, so do not rely on older guides.

Your ad can link to a product detail page, a Brand Store or a custom landing page. A Store is free to create, and Brand Registry sellers can build one without coding. See Amazon Brand Stores in Australia.

Where do Sponsored Brands ads appear?

Amazon says ads may appear above, alongside or within shopping results. Its listed placements include the top of search results, mobile search results, the home page and product pages, on desktop and mobile. Top-of-search placement is the main reason sellers use the format: your logo and headline sit above organic results.

That position also draws competitor spend on your own brand name. Brand-term defence is a legitimate use, but measure it separately from non-branded terms, because branded searches convert differently and will flatter your overall ACoS. What a good ACoS is on Amazon Australia explains how to read blended numbers.

How is Sponsored Brands billed?

Amazon lists three models.

1. Cost per click (CPC) for driving page visits.
2. Cost per 1,000 viewable impressions (vCPM) for growing impression share.
3. Fixed upfront reserve for securing top-of-search share of voice on branded keywords, which requires a minimum spend commitment.

Amazon adds that there is no minimum spend for CPC or vCPM campaigns, and that you can adjust bids or pause CPC and vCPM campaigns at any time. The page does not give Australian minimum amounts for the fixed reserve, and Amazon has not confirmed that it is open to Australian sellers. Ask Amazon Ads support before planning around it.

Amazon lists a recommended minimum daily budget of 15 in local currency for Australia (A$15; confirm it in your ads console). That table sits on a Sponsored Ads budget page, so treat it as guidance and check the console. For costs, see how much Amazon ads cost in Australia.

When should you add Sponsored Brands?

Amazon recommends launching Sponsored Products first. Add Sponsored Brands when most of these are true.

• Your brand is registered and you have a Store or at least a clean landing page.
• Products have stock, reviews and a competitive price, so extra visibility converts.
• You have run Sponsored Products long enough to know which search terms sell.
• You have two or more related products that make sense in one ad.
• You have good images or video, since the creative carries the ad.

New sellers with one product, no reviews and a small budget usually get more from Sponsored Products. The new-seller budget guide covers how to split spend.

How do you set up a Sponsored Brands campaign?

1. Confirm Brand Registry and your Professional plan in Seller Central.
2. Open the Advertising tab and choose Sponsored Brands.
3. Choose a format and the products to feature.
4. Write a headline that states a benefit, not only your brand name. Keep claims you can back up, because Amazon reviews creative.
5. Select keywords or product targeting. Reuse converting terms from your Sponsored Products search term reports; match types apply here too.
6. Set a budget and bids, then launch and review. Keep Sponsored Brands in its own campaigns, separate from Sponsored Products, so you can read each one's results. See Amazon PPC campaign structure.

Better product content raises conversion on every click. A+ Content in Australia is the next lever once the ads send traffic.

How do you judge Sponsored Brands results?

Sponsored Brands often work as a brand and discovery tool as much as a direct-sales tool, so a single ACoS target can mislead. Use a short checklist.

• Compare against your break-even ACoS, not Sponsored Products. Work out the break-even from your own margin first, then decide how far above it you will go for visibility. The method is in the ACoS guide.
• Watch total sales, not only ad sales. If organic sales and rank on the same products rise while the campaign runs, TACoS will show the effect that ad-attributed sales miss.
• Split by landing page. A product-page destination and a Store destination behave differently. Run them as separate ads so you can tell which converts.
• Test one creative change at a time. Swap the headline or the lead product, wait for enough clicks and compare. Changing logo, headline and products together tells you nothing.

What does Amazon not publish for Australia?

Be cautious with anyone who quotes these as fixed facts, because Amazon's public pages do not state them.

• A minimum bid for Sponsored Brands on Amazon.com.au.
• The minimum spend for the fixed upfront reserve, and whether Australian sellers can buy it.
• A typical cost per click or an Australian benchmark ACoS for the format.
• Which creative formats are enabled for your specific account today.

When a number matters to a decision, get it from your own console or from Amazon Ads support. The Amazon Ads overview for Australia lists the other open questions.

FAQ

Do I need Brand Registry to run Sponsored Brands in Australia? Yes. Amazon states that Sponsored Brands and Stores require enrolment in Brand Registry, as well as an active Professional seller account. Brand Registry itself is free but needs a trade mark.

How much do Sponsored Brands cost? Amazon states you can pay per click or per 1,000 viewable impressions, with no minimum spend for either, and a fixed reserve option that does have a minimum. Your actual cost per click depends on auction competition and is not published.

What is the difference between Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands? Sponsored Products promote one listing using your existing listing content. Sponsored Brands show your logo, a custom headline and several products, and link to a product page or Store. Brands need Brand Registry; Products do not.

Can I use video in Sponsored Brands ads? Amazon lists autoplay video as a Sponsored Brands format that can link to your Brand Store. Confirm in your Australian campaign builder that the video option is available for your account.

Should I bid on my own brand name? Often yes, because competitors may bid on it. Keep branded and non-branded terms in separate campaigns so branded results do not mask the performance of generic keywords.

Can I advertise other companies' brands with Sponsored Brands? No. Brand Registry requires you to be the trade mark owner. Resellers can use Sponsored Products for items they are eligible to sell.

Next step

Register your brand, get a Store live and prove your terms in Sponsored Products before you scale Sponsored Brands. If you want help with the whole sequence, Blooprint offers Amazon Ads management for Australian sellers. The Australia hub lists every guide.