Amazon DSP Performance+: How Brands Can Benefit

Amazon is well known for constantly improving its advertising options and adding new, innovative features. In recent years, there’s been a particular focus on Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform). 

It is a programmatic advertising tool that leverages first-party data and AI to deliver impactful ads on and off Amazon. Amazon DSP is evolving into a strong competitor against leading programmatic advertising platforms such as Google’s Display & Video 360 and The Trade Desk.

To maximize ad budgets, campaign performance, and audience reach, brands must keep up with the latest updates from Amazon, such as the new Amazon DSP Performance+.

What Is Amazon DSP Performance+?

Performance+ is an advanced campaign type within Amazon DSP designed to drive performance toward specific advertiser goals. Combining exclusive Amazon first-party signals, machine learning (ML), and automation maximizes campaign outcomes while giving you full control over key levers and access to transparent reporting.

As an AI-powered technology, Amazon DSP Performance+ automates campaign setup, audience creation, and optimization. It enhances video and display ad performance across Amazon and beyond, aligning with your conversion objectives. 

Whether your goal is to maximize sales on Amazon through improved return on ad spend (ROAS) or increase your website engagement by optimizing cost per acquisition (CPA), Performance+ helps you connect with the right customers at the right time.

Who Can Benefit from Amazon DSP Performance+?

This Amazon DSP campaign type is designed for brands selling beyond the Amazon Store and looking to scale performance with automation. It seamlessly integrates advertising expertise with Amazon’s cutting-edge AI and first-party data, delivering more effective, results-driven campaigns. 

Performance+ attracts brands from various industries, including automotive, finance, telecommunications, retail, and entertainment. According to Amazon’s internal data, advertisers using Performance+ saw a 51% improvement in acquisition costs (CPA) compared to traditional Amazon DSP campaigns.

A notable example from the automotive industry is Nissan Italy, which has enhanced customer acquisition with Performance+, achieving a 15% lower CPA than the original target and a 62% higher CTR compared to benchmarks.

How to Set Up a Performance+ Campaign

Unlike a typical 70-step campaign creation process, Amazon DSP Performance+ leverages automation and AI so that you can easily set up a campaign in a few simple clicks. It is accessible as a self-service via Amazon DSP and Amazon Ads API.

Ensuring you have enough initial data (conversions) for your Perfomance+ campaign will help you achieve the best results.

Key Steps for Creating a Perfomance+ Campaign

1. Set up your campaign: Select the media type, define your goals, and determine your key performance indicators (KPIs).

2. Define conversion events: Identify key actions relevant to your brand, such as making sales on Amazon or tracking specific actions on your website.

3. Choose your marketing tactics: Create Performance+ strategies focused on customer acquisition, remarketing, or retention.

4. Optimize and control: Use various targeting and optimization options to fine-tune your campaign.

5. Monitor your performance: Utilize transparent reports to track and evaluate your campaign's performance.

Note: A new Performance+ campaign can take up to four weeks for the system to learn and optimize.

Advantages of Using Amazon DSP Performance+

The advantages of Perfomance+ campaigns range from increased efficiency and targeted reach to saving time through automation and gaining access to insights and reporting needed to refine your strategy. 

Targeted Audience 

Performance+ employs Amazon's unique signals and advanced machine learning to connect you with audiences with a high probability of converting. While traditional platforms update audience data daily or weekly, Amazon DSP Performance+ refreshes predictive audiences every hour. 

Budget Efficiency  

This advanced technology improves your campaign's effectiveness while helping you achieve your advertising goals without overspending. You can maximize your return on investment (ROI) by targeting valuable customers with customized predictive models that incorporate Amazon’s insights with conversion signals.

Full Customization

Performance+ campaigns provide a perfect balance between automation and customization. You can save time and streamline your campaign creation and management processes while maintaining control over key aspects. Customer acquisition, remarketing, and retention are marketing tactics you can choose from to refine your advertising strategy.

Amazon DSP Performance+ supports three main advertising formats: display, online video, and streaming TV. This allows you to create multi-channel campaigns and reach customers at various stages of their shopping journey. Customize your ad campaigns using targeting, brand safety, and visibility controls.

Clear Reporting 

‍Transparent reporting is a crucial aspect of Performance+, providing detailed campaign-level reports on domain delivery, impressions, engagement, creative performance, and geographic insights. You can use these findings to optimize your campaign and improve results based on your goals and KPIs.

How We Support Brands with Amazon DSP Performance+

There are numerous ways to leverage Performance+ technology. Blue Wheel is currently focusing on testing the lower funnel remarketing solution of the new Performance+ feature to determine if it performs better than our previous legacy orders designed for the same goals. 

Like any AI and machine learning technology, it has taken time to gather insights. However, our clients’ Performance+ campaigns continually outperform the manually optimized campaigns when measuring attributed Amazon sales.

As we continue to test and leverage new capabilities like Performance+, we have two clients, a pet snack company and a beauty brand, who are running live campaigns and have been willing to lean in on these expanded capabilities of Amazon DSP.  

As a result, our clients are experiencing improved performance metrics compared to legacy campaign optimization. As another benefit, Performance+ campaigns save time due to a streamlined campaign setup and launch process, along with algorithmic optimization capabilities.

Blue Wheel Expert's Key Observations

“The time-saving aspect of Amazon DSP Performance+ allows us to focus on other more strategic elements of our clients' overall business,” highlights Michael Tomasch, DSP Senior Manager at Blue Wheel.

 “We are observing significant success with Performance+ campaigns on the direct-to-consumer (DTC) side of the equation. By placing an event tag on the DTC site, the technology integrates signals from both Amazon and the DTC site, resulting in increased conversion activity on the advertiser’s website. When you add it all up from an advertiser's perspective, the technology seems to be working nicely.”

“Brands should consider Performance+ as a part of their DSP strategy as it leverages cutting-edge technology that incorporates Amazon's billions of unique signals to train a model that is learning and optimizing in real time.”

“Looking ahead, we will be testing Brand+, the latest addition to programmatic media buying solutions like Performance+. It uses the same AI-driven technology to target users who are likely to convert over time with streaming TV ads and other video formats,” adds Michael Tomasch.

Interested in incorporating Amazon DSP Performance+ into your brand's advertising strategy? Contact us today to learn more about our Amazon Ads and Amazon DSP solutions.