Sponsored Brands answers a search: you bid on keywords, and your logo, headline and products appear at the top of the results. Sponsored Display follows a shopper: you target audiences or product pages, and the ad can appear on and off Amazon, including to people who already viewed your products. Sponsored Brands catches demand; Sponsored Display reaches people and brings them back.
Amazon now calls Sponsored Display simply "Display". Checked against Amazon's help pages in October 2026.
Side by side
| Sponsored Brands | Sponsored Display | |
|---|---|---|
| Targets | Keywords, or products | Audiences, or products; no keywords |
| Appears | Amazon search, product pages, homepage | Amazon pages, and off Amazon |
| The ad | Logo, headline, 3 to 10 products, or a video | Built by Amazon, or your own |
| Retargets visitors | No | Yes |
| Pricing | Per click, per 1,000 views, or fixed | Per click, or per 1,000 views |
| Who | Registered brands, vendors, authors with 3 books | Registered brands, vendors, KDP authors, brands off Amazon |
When to use Sponsored Brands
- The shopper is searching. Your brand takes the slot above the results for the words they type.
- You want to show a range. A collection puts up to 10 of your products in one ad, and the click can open your Store.
- You defend your brand name. With Reserve share of voice you can buy the top of search for your branded keywords at a fixed price. How it works.
When to use Sponsored Display
- The shopper is not searching anymore. Remarketing audiences reach people who viewed or bought your products, on Amazon and off it. How Display retargeting works.
- You want to sit on a competitor's page. Contextual targeting shows your ad on the product pages and categories you choose.
- You have no keywords to bid on. Display reaches people by interest, life event or shopping behavior.
Amazon reports that brands running a Display contextual campaign together with a Sponsored Brands video campaign scored 19% higher on awareness, 18% higher on consideration and 15% higher on sales than brands running Sponsored Brands video alone.
Frequently asked questions
Can Sponsored Brands ads show off Amazon?
No. Sponsored Brands appears in the Amazon store and on Amazon Business. Off Amazon, it is Display, or Sponsored Products in 19 countries.
Should I run Sponsored Products first?
Yes, in most cases. Amazon's own order is Sponsored Products, then Sponsored Brands and Display. Sponsored Brands vs Sponsored Products.
Sources
- Understand Display, Amazon Ads
- Create a Display campaign, Amazon Ads
- Understand targeting in Display campaigns, Amazon Ads
- Understand Sponsored Brands, Amazon Ads
- Create multi ad product campaigns, Amazon Ads
- Get started with sponsored ads, Amazon Ads
Gloriads is an Amazon Ads automation platform that creates, monitors and optimizes Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display and Streaming TV campaigns for sellers, brands, authors and agencies, by rules you control. See how it works.