Inside Amazon: Everything we know about the e-commerce giant’s growing advertising business

• Amazon is steadily building an advertising business that competes with Google and Facebook.
• Amazon’s ad business is expected to make $17.6 billion in 2020, according to financial services firm Cowen.
• Amazon is increasingly rolling out new ad video and search formats and measurement tools to win budgets from big brands.
• At the same time, Amazon’s ad business is experiencing a number of growing pains like proving to advertisers that its platform can increase brand awareness and loyalty.
• Business Insider has pulled together all of our recent coverage chronicling Amazon’s advertising business. You can read most of these stories by subscribing to BI Prime.

Amazon is increasingly taking on Facebook and Google for digital advertising dollars. Here’s the latest on what we know about the company’s moves to turn advertising into a larger revenue stream.

Amazon’s leadership

• Advertising is Amazon’s fastest-growing business and is expected to surpass $17 billion this year. Here are the 19 top insiders leading the charge.

How to get a job at Amazon

• Amazon is known for its ruthless interviewing process. We talked to insiders about how to get a job there.
• Amazon insiders explain the company’s unique ‘loop’ interview system and how it’s the ultimate test of whether someone will be a cultural fit

Competing with Google, Facebook and Walmart

• 7 charts show why Amazon’s ad business could balloon to $17 billion this year and is a growing threat to Google
• Meet the 11 execs who are leading Walmart’s effort to challenge Amazon’s advertising business
• Walmart is rolling out a self-serve ad platform to compete directly with Amazon for big advertisers
• Amazon is acquiring an ad server from bankrupt ad-tech firm Sizmek, giving it a new tool to compete head-on with Google. Here’s what it means for marketers.
• Amazon is pumping money into Google to promote Prime Day, and it could be a brilliant way to also boost Amazon’s own ad business
• The growth rate of Amazon’s ad business is plunging but revenue is still up
• Digital now makes up the majority of marketers’ ad spending, and Amazon is poised to win big as it eats into Google’s share
• Amazon’s ad business is set to more than quadruple by 2023 – and Google should be worried
• Amazon’s nascent ad business is bigger than it’s ever been – and it’s starting to make inroads with big brands
• ‘They should all be worried’: Google’s move to bring shoppable ads to image searches should terrify Amazon, Instagram, and Pinterest
• Google’s ad business is facing its biggest new threat in years, but for Google’s Q1 earnings, Amazon’s ‘bark is worse than the bite’

OTT advertising

• Amazon’s new OTT pitch deck shows how the e-commerce giant is letting advertisers use Alexa to market their products
• Amazon is allowing ad-tech companies to sell ads in streaming TV apps, and marketers see it as a sign that the e-commerce giant is becoming less of a walled garden
• Amazon wants to take on OTT heavyweights like Roku for advertising dollars. Here’s the pitch deck it’s using to sell marketers video ads.
• Amazon’s pitch deck shows why it could be better positioned than other video streaming services to help marketers reach rich consumers
• Big brands like Verizon and Toyota are backing Amazon’s Freedive as the e-commerce giant pushes deeper into OTT advertising
• A top Amazon Studios exec talks about why it puts a huge focus on experiential marketing and reveals how it will push its ‘Lord of the Rings’ series
• It seems like Amazon and Google may finally be ending their streaming video feud

Relationships with agencies

• Amazon has a big leadership hole to fill with the departure of advertising exec Seth Dallaire. Here are five insiders that ad execs say are his likely successor.
• Inside Amazon’s charm offensive to win over big brand budgets from Madison Avenue
• Marketers say Amazon’s advertising business is difficult to navigate. Here’s why the company thinks the ‘chaotic’ structure actually makes sense.

New ad formats and measurement tools

• Amazon is rolling out a tool that shows just how much Google and Facebook ads drive people to do their shopping on the e-commerce site
• A Wall Street firm says Amazon is stepping up its efforts to win small advertisers with cheaper prices and help from sales reps
• Amazon wants to disrupt the $100 billion gaming industry, so it’s hiring for a ‘stealth advertising’ engineering team
• Amazon is pushing harder into video search ads, and industry insiders say it’s a direct attack on Google
• ‘It’s in this weird middle ground:’ Amazon has a new plan to win over big brands with video ads, but agencies aren’t buying it
• Amazon is finally letting brands track traffic from Facebook in its latest effort to cozy up to big marketers
• Amazon is opening up ads in AmazonFresh, its Instacart killer, to win over big packaged-goods brands

Amazon’s move into private labels

• Amazon’s private-label business is on a tear and rival marketers are racing to stay a step ahead of its tactics
• Many of Amazon’s exclusive products look just like other brands you know and love – see them side by side
• Warren’s plan to fight big tech directly threatens one of Amazon’s most successful businesses

Influencer marketing

• Amazon is now paying influencers big commissions to sell its products. We got a leaked document that shows how it all works.
• Amazon wants to build an army of influencers to help sell products. We got an inside look at how much people are making.
• Amazon is paying influencers big commissions to sell its products, and it’s open to anyone. Here’s how to sign up.
• Meet the influencer agency that is helping Amazon merchants break free of the e-commerce giant

Moving into New York

• Amazon decided to shut down HQ2 in New York but advertisers see no sign of the e-commerce giant slowing down its attack on Madison Avenue
• Amazon is coming for Madison Avenue’s talent, and it could be another blow to embattled agencies and ad-tech companies