Amazon offers multiple ad formats, but Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display serve very different purposes. Using the wrong one for your goal wastes budget. Here's how to choose.
Sponsored Brands: Top-of-Funnel Awareness
Sponsored Brands appear at the top of search results, featuring your logo, a headline, and up to three products. They're designed for brand awareness and discovery.
Best for: Brand building, new product launches, cross-selling multiple products, capturing high-intent search traffic.
Placement: Top of search results (above organic listings).
Requirements: Brand Registry required.
Sponsored Display: Retargeting & Audience Targeting
Sponsored Display ads appear on product detail pages, customer review pages, and off-Amazon sites. They're designed for retargeting and reaching audiences beyond search.
Best for: Retargeting shoppers who viewed your product but didn't buy, targeting competitor audiences, cross-category discovery.
Placement: Product detail pages, search results (bottom), off-Amazon websites.
Requirements: None — available to all sellers.
When to Use Each
| Goal | Best Ad Format |
|---|---|
| Capture high-intent search traffic | Sponsored Brands |
| Launch a new product | Sponsored Brands + Sponsored Products |
| Retarget past visitors | Sponsored Display |
| Target competitor audiences | Sponsored Display (ASIN targeting) |
| Build brand awareness | Sponsored Brands |
| Cross-sell multiple products | Sponsored Brands (store spotlight) |
Our Recommended Strategy
New brands: Start with Sponsored Brands for search visibility and Sponsored Products for conversion.
Established brands: Add Sponsored Display for retargeting and competitor conquesting once you have sufficient traffic to retarget.
High-velocity products: Use Sponsored Display to stay in front of shoppers who viewed your product but purchased elsewhere.