Amazon Ads Launches Sponsored Brands Reserve Share of Voice — Brand-Registered Advertisers Can Now Lock Top-of-Search for Branded Keywords at a Fixed Upfront CPM (unBoxed 2025, November 11)
Amazon Ads announced 'Sponsored Brands reserve share of voice' at unBoxed 2025 on November 11, 2025 — a goal-based campaign type that lets advertisers secure Sponsored Brands top-of-search (TOS) placements for their own branded, exact-match keywords at a fixed, upfront CPM rather than competing in the standard auction. The official Amazon Ads setup guide states the program is restricted to advertisers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry with active Sponsored Brands campaigns, requires reserving a minimum of five exact-match branded keywords, and sets a minimum spend of $6,000 per campaign for the U.S. marketplace. Generic terms, misspellings, competitor brands, and over-broad shared trademarks are not eligible. The feature is available in 20+ Sponsored Brands marketplaces including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Japan, India, and Australia, with self-service campaign creation through the Amazon Ads console or API. Amazon's beta data — drawn from 15+ advertisers between May and August 2025 — reported top-of-search impression share rising from 62.7% to 99.3%, click-through rate from 3.5% to 4.1%, lost top-of-search sales falling from 10.3% to 0.3%, and a 143% increase in click-attributed sales versus auction-only campaigns.
Real-World Impact
A brand reserving 5 branded keywords for a 90-day flight at the program minimum spends $6,000 — roughly $66.67/day across the campaign. If beta-level performance carries over (TOS impression share moving from ~63% to ~99%), that closes most of the visibility gap competitors otherwise capture on a brand's own name searches during the reservation window.
Key Points
- Announced at Amazon Ads unBoxed 2025 on November 11, 2025 — Sponsored Brands reserve share of voice secures TOS placement for branded, exact-match keywords at a fixed upfront CPM instead of through the standard Sponsored Brands auction
- Eligibility (per the official setup guide): Amazon Brand Registry enrollment plus an active Sponsored Brands campaign — sellers, vendors, and agencies are all eligible if they meet those requirements
- Minimum reservation of five branded exact-match keywords per campaign, with a $6,000 minimum spend per campaign in the U.S. marketplace
- Only exact-match branded keywords are eligible — generic search terms, misspellings, competitor brands, and over-broad shared trademarks are excluded; advertisers can appeal ambiguous cases through the Ads Console
- Available across 20+ Sponsored Brands marketplaces — including U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Japan, India, Australia — and supports Sponsored Brands video, store spotlight, and collections creative formats
- Self-service workflow in the Amazon Ads console or API: select branded keywords, define reservation duration, confirm budget, upload creative — Amazon validates keyword eligibility and returns fixed CPM pricing before booking
- Amazon's published beta results (May–August 2025, 15+ advertisers): TOS impression share moved from 62.7% to 99.3%, CTR from 3.5% to 4.1%, lost TOS sales from 10.3% to 0.3%, and click-attributed sales increased 143%
What You Should Do Now
- 1Confirm your Amazon Brand Registry enrollment is active and that you have at least one running Sponsored Brands campaign before considering reserve share of voice
- 2Build a list of your exact-match branded keyword variants (brand name, brand + category, brand + signature product) — at least five are required to launch a campaign
- 3Plan reservation timing around launches, Prime Day, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and any seasonal peak when defensive brand coverage matters most — Amazon's beta data shows the largest gains during high-competition periods
- 4Budget at least $6,000 per U.S. campaign — reserve share of voice is not designed for small spend levels and is not a replacement for auction-based Sponsored Brands at lower budgets
- 5Use the Amazon Ads console or API to validate which of your branded keywords pass eligibility (exact match, no shared trademarks) and request fixed-CPM pricing before committing to a flight