Amazon is seeking to an sudden accomplice in its push for extra advert {dollars}: publishers.
As soon as centered by itself websites and Prime Video, the corporate is now utilizing shopper information, clear rooms and writer partnerships to open up streaming and open-web stock.
For these exterior the advert tech bubble it’s a plot twist; for trade insiders, a reveal years within the making. Amazon has expanded its demand-side platform, deepened writer ties, and leveraged its shopper information to rival The Commerce Desk and the walled gardens by combining huge first-party information, premium stock and increasing writer partnerships to turn into a strong all-in-one advert platform for the open net.
Ask any writer if they’ve a platform desire, and the reply is often the identical: they’re agnostic. Primarily as a result of relying too closely on any single platform — whether or not it’s Amazon, Google, The Commerce Desk, or others — can create dangers, and every drives worth for publishers in several methods. And but, it’s clear that Amazon is quick turning into a accomplice du jour for publishers: a sort of post-cookie information wingman that’s serving to them monetize the approximate 70 % of the open net that’s now unaddressable.
“Amazon sits in a really distinctive place within the ecosystem the place they’re a tech supplier, as a result of they’ve the DSP and SSP pipes, however in addition they have an amazing quantity of sign on the opposite aspect [shopper purchase data] that they’ll deliver to the desk,” mentioned Mike Nuzzo, svp, head of information options, Hearst Magazines, which introduced a signal-matching settlement with Amazon in June. “And I feel as Amazon began to deliver these two worlds collectively internally, they’ve now realized that there’s exterior profit to that, and after they be a part of that with the facility of writer information, that’s the place you see the magic begin to occur.”
For Hearst Magazines, that so-called magic is the mixed information insights that come from matching its personal viewers behavioral and contextual alerts (through its advert concentrating on platform Aura) with Amazon shopper information, to offer a full-funnel view of client behavioral patterns.
Amazon’s push into non-endemic, off-site promoting is giving publishers like Hearst a option to match upper-funnel curiosity alerts with its shopper information, letting advertisers run coordinated campaigns that attain customers each on Amazon and throughout the open net, mentioned Jen Dorre, svp, advert product and information, Hearst Magazines and a former Amazon govt.
In apply, which means if a journey advertiser makes use of Amazon alerts like customers shopping for journey guidebooks for instance, they’ll layer these with Hearst’s Aura viewers information to uncover richer concentrating on insights. Hearst’s “Globetrotter” viewers indexes excessive for journey intent, however so do career-focused and beauty-enthusiast segments, since they usually prep for journeys with new merchandise. This lets advertisers validate and activate high-propensity viewers cohorts throughout Hearst Magazines’ websites.
Hearst and Amazon’s mixed information insights have been woven into one in three of all direct promoting campaigns presently working throughout Hearst Journal websites, in response to the writer. In contrast to extra conventional information partnerships between platforms and publishers — which concerned exchanging user-level alerts, like IDs, cookies or hashed emails (so each side might match and goal people) — its present partnership with Amazon is totally different, careworn Nuzzo.
As a substitute of swapping person identifiers, the 2 events are sharing concept-level alerts, like contextual themes, content material classes, or behavioral patterns, which might be tied to encrypted alerts on Amazon’s aspect. “This offers us a extremely attention-grabbing capability to take a look at each indexing and overlap in audiences and behaviors by the 2 events. It’s an evolution of what a knowledge partnership could have regarded like three or 4 years in the past, in a contemporary, privacy-safe surroundings,” Nuzzo mentioned.
And that’s a vital piece of the puzzle in the case of monetizing the shrinking addressable net, he careworn.
It additionally appears to be what’s fueling Amazon’s speedy advert development. Amazon’s advert enterprise reached over $56 billion in 2024, pushed by initiatives like Prime Video advertisements and retail media networks, whereas Google’s advert income was $72.5 billion in 2024, and The Commerce Desk had $2.44 billion in advert income in 2024, a 25.6% improve year-over-year.
New sort of symbiotic relationship
Individuals Inc. — just lately rebranded from DotDashMeredith — was the primary digital writer to affix Amazon’s Writer Cloud (APC) in October 2023, integrating the writer’s in-house contextual advert resolution D/Cipher with Amazon’s DSP, letting advertisers entry its cookieless viewers segments and mixing contextual insights with Amazon’s shopper information to boost advert concentrating on capabilities.
“Our partnership with Amazon permits each of us to supply a service to the purchase aspect that neither of us might do on our personal,” mentioned Individuals Inc.’s chief innovation officer Jon Roberts. “That stage of joint innovation and funding signifies that we get to repair issues that no one’s mounted but.”
Currently, Individuals Inc. has been testing a brand new APC functionality that measures how digital content material impacts the consideration section of buying. The writer piloted these alerts with a consumer in Could to know how the writer’s information influenced buyer buying selections after which used the insights to optimize campaigns. Roberts declined to share particular income numbers — or identify the model — however mentioned that the efficiency of that advertiser’s campaigns elevated by greater than 50 % as a direct outcome.
“With Amazon, now we have a accomplice totally all in, to go repair and construct and work on this, as a result of they know there’s a ton of [consumer] intent on the open net past what they see on their web site. They’ve all these nice alerts on Amazon itself, however till they labored with us, they weren’t capable of take that sign and perceive the way it translated into conduct, not on Amazon however earlier than folks received there [to Amazon],” mentioned Roberts.
He added that Amazon’s collaborative method allows joint improvement of recent merchandise that enhance on previous choices — a distinction to Google, which has traditionally lacked that sort of co-building relationship with publishers.
Put all of it collectively and it’s clear the pitch for Amazon’s DSP is shifting: it’s now an open gateway to stock from different publishers, not simply Amazon’s personal properties. For instance, whereas Amazon could have NFL rights, it will possibly additionally give advertisers entry to broader sports activities stock — like school soccer — by writer partnerships constructed into the DSP. Meaning advertisers can faucet premium occasions with out utilizing one other DSP, and run hyper-targeted buys like Prime Video’s Thursday Night time Soccer to broad CTV campaigns spanning free ad-supported streamers like Samsung TV, Paramount and Pluto, mentioned Lambos.
“I feel they’re making it very cost-effective [for publishers] — there’s an enormous benefit to path into a big set of advertisers [on its DSP],” Vasilios Lambos, CEO of Lambos Digital — a efficiency advertising company and Amazon DSP accomplice.
He additionally added that when media planning on behalf of purchasers, he can usually purchase stock for less expensive than the trade normal. (Bear in mind this Amazon pitch deck, which touted it prices a 1% DSP charge versus its rivals’ 4%). “I imply, Amazon is form of consuming up the market in a really, very fast trend, turning into very aggressive.”
By the numbers
- $34.5 billion: How a lot AI startup Perplexity has bid to purchase Google’s Chrome browser.
- 660,000: The variety of paying digital subscribers Bloomberg has, having added 100,000 prior to now 12 months.
- 48% of 80,000: Proportion of articles revealed throughout 5 newsrooms (Investing.com, The Defiant, Benzinga, CoinDesk, and Bitcoin Information) that had been generated or assisted by AI instruments.
- 14%: The median referral site visitors drop non-news manufacturers took year-over-year from Google Search, with information manufacturers taking a ten% hit, in response to new inner member information from Digital Content material Subsequent.
What we’ve heard
“I feel there’s a false impression that many individuals have out there. They suppose that is purely an editorial downside, and if we simply change the content material that we write, then we’ll survive. You’ll assist one a part of it, nevertheless it’s not sufficient with nice editorial content material alone. The remaining is right down to branding and technical functionality. If you happen to’ve received glorious editorial content material, however the quotation is branded from a model that’s unknown, you received’t get these click on and engagement alerts you want to stay aggressive.”
—Jes Sholz, advertising advisor and former Ringier CMO on how publishers can strategize for zero-click search.
What we’ve coated
Regardless of the hype, publishers aren’t prioritizing GEO
- Referral site visitors is drying up. In idea that ought to make generative search optimization (GSO) a high precedence for publishers.
- In apply, 5 publishers advised Digiday they’re holding again, skeptical of the hype and unconvinced that GEO presents a significant path ahead for site visitors referral and monetization.
Learn extra.
YouTube’s deliberate sluggish tempo on scalable creator advertisements raises eyebrows amongst entrepreneurs
- As manufacturers improve their spending on scalable creator advertisements, some entrepreneurs say YouTube is lagging behind rival platforms in its implementation of the paid advert format.
- YouTube execs insist its slower rollout is designed to guard the platform’s creator group.
Learn extra.
The Commerce Desk holds its personal towards Amazon’s rising, however nonetheless distant risk
- When The Commerce Desk’s CEO Jeff Inexperienced waved off Amazon as a risk, he wasn’t solely improper. However he wasn’t solely proper, both. It’s a good declare — for now.
- Amazon’s advert enterprise is rising quick, nevertheless it hasn’t but come at The Commerce Desk’s expense. A number of advert patrons advised Digday as a lot.
Learn extra.
Entrepreneurs’ concentrate on influencer efficiency fuels stay buying development in 2025
- In 2025, stay buying platforms are reporting development throughout the board. As soon as a distinct segment development within the West, stay buying — the place creators livestream product gross sales — has gained traction.
- Whatnot reported over $3 billion in gross sales in 2025, surpassing its complete for all of 2024, in response to VP Armand Wilson.
Learn extra.
Meta’s Superintelligence Labs is already turning into a part of the pitch to entrepreneurs
- The brand new unit consolidates Meta’s core AI groups — FAIR, foundational fashions and product — below one roof. As of now, LinkedIn exhibits 105 staff at SuperIntelligence Labs, although it’s believed the crew is definitely far larger, with The Data reporting Superintelligence Labs presently has about 3,400 employees.
Learn extra:
What we’re studying
The Washinton Submit names Sara Kehaulani Goo president of its Creator Community
The writer has made former Axios editor in chief Sara Kehaulani Goo chief of what it has known as its “third newsroom” — a Creator Community which is able to middle on constructing personality-driven content material and franchises.
Perplexity makes $34.5 billion bid for Google’s browser
On Tuesday, AI startup Perplexity made a $34.5 billion all-cash bid for Google’s browser, a transfer geared toward tapping its billions of customers within the AI search race. The bid comes as regulatory strain opens the door for rivals like OpenAI, Yahoo, and Apollo International Administration to problem Google’s browser dominance.
Enterprise Insider founder Henry Blodget to launch new podcast present
Henry Blodget is launching “Options” on August 18 — a podcast and YouTube sequence with Vox Media that includes interviews with company providing concepts to sort out main challenges in science, enterprise, and society.
Google is giving customers extra management over which publishers present up in Search’s High Tales.
The brand new “most popular sources” characteristic lets folks choose the retailers they wish to see most, with chosen articles showing not simply in High Tales but in addition in a brand new “out of your sources” part. The characteristic, which began testing in June, is now stay within the U.S. and India.
USA In the present day’s visionary editor David Mazzarella dies at 87
David Mazzarella, the editor credited with steering USA In the present day towards hard-hitting, enterprise reporting, has died at 87. Throughout his five-year tenure, he labored to shift the paper away from its repute for gentle, bite-sized tales.
