A Guide to Amazon’s Advertising Console (2024)

Amazon Marketing Services vs. Advertising Console: Key Differences

In Sept. 2018, Amazon announced its plan to streamline its advertising portfolio by consolidating the separate entities under one umbrella known as Amazon Advertising. The rebranded offering includes the Amazon Advertising Platform (AAP), Amazon Media Group (AMG), and Amazon Marketing Services (AMS).

Historically, Amazon Marketing Services focused on selling ads on the Amazon marketplace. Under Amazon’s rolling change, AMS became known as “advertising console” and is now where vendors and first-party (1P) brands log in to build Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and product display ads.

According to Amazon, the main goal of reintroducing the brand was simplification. The Amazon Advertising team stated, “We have created complexity around our advertising brands and product portfolio. So we’ve been thinking about how we can invent and simplify to provide a better experience for our advertising customers.”

It is important to note the distinction between Seller Central and the advertising console. Although many of the ad types are the same, Seller Central is the dashboard that third-party (3P) sellers use for selling and advertising, while the advertising console is the dashboard that 1P brands use.

AMS, AMG, and AAP were originally created when advertising was less of a critical initiative for Amazon and required advertisers to work with Amazon separately with AMS and AMG if they wanted to run video ads and Sponsored Brands simultaneously. Now, Amazon Advertising houses the company’s entire advertising portfolio, from Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands to display ads and brand Stores.

Features of Amazon’s Advertising Console

Originally launched in 2012 as AMS, Amazon’s advertising console is home to the company’s three core advertising products — Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and product display ads. Below are the main benefits you can acquire through Amazon’s advertising console, along with a screenshot of what the login menu looks like for the three available advertising options: Seller Central, advertising console, and Amazon DSP console.

• Drive product discovery and traffic to both product detail pages and branded pages such as Amazon Stores.
• Receive a competitive edge to generate awareness to both your products and brand as a whole by pushing exposure to additional in-market shoppers.
• Optimize sales of under-converting SKUs or top performers.
• Liquidate stale inventory.
• Launch and promote a new product or line extension to your catalog.

In July 2019, Amazon redesigned the navigation menu to promote an easier user experience. Designed to be flexible, the menu will appear when you sign in to the advertising console and hover on the menu icon. There, you will find the below options:

1. Easy access to your campaigns, Stores, reports, and bulk operations
2. Billing and payment methods in one place
3. A “manage users” feature, where you can manage access to your advertising accounts, invite additional users, and more
4. Access to the support center, which contains helpful information about Amazon’s ad options and policies

Additionally, you can view and manage your accounts in the upper right-hand corner of the navigation, as well as change languages if necessary. The redesigned layout provides a more comprehensive view of your advertising options, so you will be able to find what you are looking for in less time.

Final Thoughts

To build ads on Amazon as a 1P brand, you need to sign in to your advertising console account to begin —revealing how important of a role the console plays in executing your greater Amazon Advertising plan.

As brands become increasingly sophisticated on Amazon, those who integrate advertising and SEO strategies, adopt a deeper understanding of their entire CompetitiveSphere™, and enforce brand integrity and operational excellence will have a stronger handle on not only their profit dollars, but their overall Amazon strategy.

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