Amazon’s Full-Funnel Strategy Just Inverted, and It Changes Everything

Just a few years ago, the conversation was about pushing large, endemic brands (brands who sell products on Amazon’s marketplace) to consider Amazon’s DSP for upper-funnel activations. The argument was functional but limited, with owned and operated (O&O) video largely confined to Twitch. The introduction of Prime Video advertising flipped the script entirely: today, Prime Video's ad inventory is dominated by large, non-endemic advertisers, like BYD, Morrisons and Uber Eats. Major non-endemic advertisers have been drawn by the promise of massive, engaged audiences, now reaching over 22 million monthly viewers in the UK.

Amazon's full-funnel message has pivoted to compelling new, top-of-funnel advertisers to engage further down the funnel. The strategy leverages Amazon's entire ecosystem to drive mid- and lower-funnel activations.  It’s a culture shift that has happened in less than three years, transforming Amazon Ads from a retail media network into a comprehensive media powerhouse.

Amazon is applying its 'everything store' principle to advertising.

Amazon’s strategic evolution in advertising mirrors the DNA of its marketplace, resulting in an  "everything store" for advertisers. 

The 2025 UK Upfront made this most evident through the sheer diversity of its original content slate.  From the reality-comedy of Last One Laughing and the high-stakes thriller Steal, to Riz Ahmed’s decade-in-the-making project, Bait, Amazon is serving every genre and niche of the entertainment landscape simultaneously. In the original ecommerce marketplace, unparalleled selection is key; Amazon is now applying that same principle to content. The significant number of actor-, writer-, and director-led projects brings fresh perspectives that might not find a home within traditional broadcast frameworks. This commitment is underscored by a promised £40 billion investment in UK content, signaling an ambition to outmatch competitors on content diversity by several magnitudes. The wider the audiences Amazon can attract with this programming, the more firepower they have to entice both endemic and non-endemic advertisers.

Beyond O&O, Amazon’s recent partnership announcements reflect an “everything store” approach to buying ad inventory as well. With recent integrations with platforms like Spotify, Netflix, and Disney, Amazon is embedding its marketplace DNA into its media offering. If an advertiser’s ideal inventory isn’t on an Amazon property, Amazon Ads can act as the trusted pathfinder to connect them, all powered by the first-party data collected across the marketplace and O&O properties. The announcement at Upfront UK that Amazon DSP can now reach eight out of ten UK households underscores this immense scale.

New ad formats signal a shift from engagement to orchestration.

All of the announcements at the Upfront UK signal that engagement and customer centricity are top of mind. The introduction of interactive pause and video ads, which their data shows have already proven to lift orders by 36% in the US, was deliberately timed. By allowing competitors to introduce the initial friction of new ad formats, Amazon aims to follow with a superior, data-driven version that enhances rather than disrupts the consumer experience. 

The Upfront programming also highlighted the effectiveness of engaging consumers in high-attention cultural moments. For example, the Morrisons sponsorship of Clarkson's Farm stood out, having driven a 17% increase in brand favorability.  Prime Video is one of many content subscriptions for consumers, but Amazon’s roadmap makes it clear they’re capturing attention share in a way that advertisers can’t ignore.

This year’s Upfront UK marked a turning point. Amazon's business has evolved from selling media into building an orchestration system where content, commerce and technology converge to deliver full-funnel advertising at scale. The future of advertising now hinges on choosing a comprehensive platform over individual channels, and Amazon is making a compelling case to be the only one marketers need.

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