Amazon Sponsored Brands Setup Guide 2026: Banner Ads for Brand Registry Sellers

## What Are Amazon Sponsored Brands?

Sponsored Brands (formerly Headline Search Ads) are banner ads that appear at the top of Amazon search results. They feature your brand logo, a custom headline, and up to three product images. When customers click the banner, they go to either your Brand Store or a custom landing page showing multiple products. Sponsored Brands are available exclusively to Brand Registry members.

## Why Sponsored Brands Matter

The top-of-search placement is the highest-visibility real estate in Amazon search results. Sponsored Brands appear before Sponsored Products (individual product ads) and organic results. This top placement means your brand gets first impression on high-intent searches. Sponsored Brands also build brand awareness in a way that Sponsored Products (which look like organic listings) don't -- the logo and custom headline make your brand visually distinct.

## Campaign Types

Product collection: shows up to three individual products with customizable images and copy. Good for featuring bestsellers or complementary products. Store spotlight: sends traffic to a specific page in your Brand Store rather than a product detail page. Good for driving traffic to your full catalog or a seasonal collection. Video: shows a looping video in the banner instead of product images. Video ads have higher engagement rates and are worth testing for hero products.

## How to Set Up Sponsored Brands

In Seller Central: go to Advertising > Campaign Manager > Create Campaign > Sponsored Brands. Select your campaign type. Choose your target keywords (same keyword research as Sponsored Products applies). Upload your logo and select the products to feature. Write your headline (maximum 50 characters). Set your daily budget and bid per click. Minimum bid: typically $0.10, with competitive niches requiring $0.50-2.00+.

## Bidding Strategy

Sponsored Brands uses cost-per-click like Sponsored Products. Start with manual bidding to establish baseline performance before enabling dynamic bidding. Track ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sale) per campaign, not per keyword -- Sponsored Brands often have a longer attribution window than Sponsored Products. Consider VCPM (viewable cost per thousand impressions) bidding for brand awareness campaigns where you care more about visibility than immediate conversions.