September 23rd-September 29th

Amazon Ads now connects shoppers with local service professionals through Yelp - At Amazon’s unBoxed conference in San Francisco, Amazon revealed its new Sponsored Services ad format, which shows Amazon shoppers relevant service providers sourced from Yelp. These ads can pop up while someone browses an item on Amazon, finalizes an order, or checks on a delivery. For example, a shopper who buys a ceiling fan on Amazon might be shown a Sponsored Services ad for an electrician. One tap lets them call the business or request a price estimate, all inside Amazon. For now, the format is open to US Yelp advertisers in select home and auto categories. The launch builds on Amazon's recent local ads push, which also includes location-based interactive video ads and a regional targeting tool that uses Amazon's shopping data.

Opinion: This is a big deal for Yelp. AI search is eating the "find me an electrician" query on Yelp.com that used to lead to Yelp ads. Not only does Amazon give Yelp an opportunity to recapture some of those ad dollars, it also offers something very powerful: a shopper at the exact moment they have a service need. We’re a little surprised that Amazon decided to partner with Yelp instead of firing up its own competitive version. Perhaps the idea is to gauge how much revenue Sponsored Services ads can generate through partnership, and then either build or buy.

Amazon Ads and the Amazon DSP get an agentic rebrand - Amazon is combining its Amazon Ads console (for search ads) and its DSP under one overarching brand called Amazon Ads Agent. The Amazon DSP name has been replaced by a new brand called DVA (display, video, and audio). Advertisers used to juggle two separate systems for search ads and the DSP with their own logins, a long-running pain point for Amazon's ad business. New DSP campaigns now start in DVA+, where AI works toward either performance or brand goals, and advertisers can flip a switch for more hands-on control (like a traditional DSP). A new full-funnel campaign type helps smaller advertisers and sellers expand into streaming and audio ads, with AI pitching in on video creative, media planning, and optimization. Amazon also debuted Branded Conversations🔒, which lets brands shape Alexa for Shopping's AI replies with their own product details and “Sponsored Briefs”. Branded Conversations get tagged as sponsored. Brands can test it now in a limited beta, with a broader US rollout in January.

Opinion: Killing the “Amazon DSP” brand is significant. Amazon doesn't want to be benchmarked against The Trade Desk and other DSPs on fees anymore. It wants to be compared to Performance Max and Advantage+, where AI runs campaigns by default and advanced DSP controls are buried. That moves the conversation from take rates and functionality to outcomes, a conversation Amazon will always win. The single interface pulls search-only buyers into Prime Video and audio, opening up budget that traditionally never went to a DSP. 

McDonald’s and Delta are launching their own commerce media networks - McDonald's commerce media push includes a pilot that places other brands' ads on drive-thru menu screens at 450 company-owned US locations. McDonald's says it serves about 85% of Americans each year and hopes the McDonald's Media Network grows into a $1B business. High-margin ad revenue is appealing as beef costs climb and the chain spends billions on restaurant remodels. Meanwhile, Delta has hired former Deloitte Digital exec Keri Paison🔒 to lead its media network, which will tap into its 200M+ annual travelers and fast-growing SkyMiles program. It follows United, whose Kinective Media ran 130 campaigns for more than 100 brands last year.

Opinion: While travel media networks aren’t new, QSR media networks are. McDonald’s is betting that taking money from other advertisers instead of serving its own house ads to try and sell more of its own products will be a net positive. Which is kind of crazy, considering McDonald’s is one of the largest advertisers in the world, and when people are about to order at the drive-thru, they are primed to be upsold a McFlurry or Baked Apple Pie. We’d imagine other QSRs will follow suit, creating a whole new category of commerce media network and a new channel for marketers.

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