Key Points

  • Amazon TAM is a way for publishers to gain access to Amazon's unique demand and centralize their header bidding demand in a single place.
  • It is not required in order to do header bidding or bring in real ad revenue, but because of Amazon's dominant place in the market, TAM is an incredibly helpful tool.
  • The best practice for most publishers is to use TAM alongside various other parts of a healthy ad revenue strategy.

For many publishers, Amazon's Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM) is more than just a piece of the advertising revenue puzzle. For some, it's one of the only keys that open the lock keeping them from the revenue they work so hard to earn.

In other words, Amazon TAM is essential for many publishers. How, then, is it possible that there's so much confusion surrounding what Amazon TAM is and who can or should use it? 

Chalk it up to all of the noise in ad tech or whatever you like - in any case, we're going to clear up the confusion today. Read on for an in-depth look at what Amazon TAM is, as well as plenty of frequently asked questions about it.

If you're here looking for Amazon demand, you're on the right track. And if you want Amazon demand and more, you're going to want to partner with Playwire. We've built a leading ad revenue platform that incorporates Amazon demand alongside demand from dozens of other bidders. Contact us to get started.

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Header Bidding Pillar

The Complete Guide to Header Bidding

About Amazon TAM

Let's open this discussion with a simple definition:

What Is Amazon TAM?

Amazon TAM is a header bidding platform that grants publishers access to broad demand from Amazon's huge transparent ad marketplace. Like Google Open Bidding, it also allows publishers to incorporate demand from other header bidders to compete with Amazon demand in a unified auction.

Now, let's dive deeper into how TAM works.

Amazon TAM FAQs

If you have questions about Amazon TAM, you'll find the answers below:

Which ad formats does Amazon TAM support?

Amazon TAM supports pre-roll video and display banners for websites (both desktop and mobile). With the integration of a software development kit (SDK), you can also run video and display units in mobile apps via TAM.

Is Amazon TAM the same thing as header bidding?

Amazon TAM is a form of header bidding. In fact, Amazon markets TAM as "Header bidding made easy."

However, pure traditional header bidding will look quite different from using Amazon TAM to bring in ad revenue. That's because Amazon has built a user-friendly dashboard surrounding the header bidding process it facilitates, lowering the technical barrier to entry to header bidding.

Which demand partners can I use through TAM?

The number of demand partners TAM works with is constantly growing, but the tool will not work with all demand partners. However, most of the biggest demand partners are already covered in the list of more than 50 partners the tool will work with.

Examples of demand partners you can use through TAM include Xandr, Smaato, OpenX, and Magnite.

One thing to keep in mind: You have to have separate contractual relationships with any demand partners you intend to use, even if you're going to use them through Amazon TAM.

Does Amazon TAM work for mobile publishers?

Yes. Amazon TAM is very friendly to mobile apps. The setup process is slightly different between mobile apps and websites, of course, but the end result is similar.

Does TAM charge publishers a fee?

No. As of the time of this writing, TAM does not charge publishers a fee for its Amazon web services. Instead, it charges bidders a $0.01 CPM.

Are Amazon TAM and Amazon UAM the same thing?

Amazon TAM and UAM (Unified Ad Marketplace) are not the same things, but they accomplish very similar end goals. They are both header bidding solutions that operate on a server-side model. However, there are some key differences between TAM and UAM:

  • TAM is intended for larger publishers, while UAM is meant for smaller and mid-sized publishers.
  • TAM does not charge publishers a fee, while UAM does.
  • Amazon handles the payments from SSPs and other demand sources for Unified Ad Marketplace, while TAM requires publishers to maintain their own contractual relationships with bidders.

To get access to Amazon TAM, you'll have to meet minimum publisher size requirements or work with a partner that already has access, like Playwire.

Playwire: Demand from Amazon TAM and Dozens More

There's no doubt about it: Amazon TAM is a really handy tool for publishers who are looking for solid demand for their inventory and highly respectable CPMs. 

But there's an important truth that publishers need to understand: A single source of demand - even one as mighty as Amazon - is just one source. There are dozens of important demand sources in the header bidding space. Why pick just one?

Playwire has built a platform that enables you to pick all of them. We incorporate Amazon TAM demand with demand from Google, Prebid, and countless others. The result is the highest possible demand - and highest possible competition - for your inventory. And that leads to jaw-droppingly high CPMs.

Interested? Reach out to Playwire to learn more about how our platform can help you.

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