AMZN
MSFT
New ad combo, same old money chase
Amazon is reportedly helping advertisers reach professionals through connected TV ads by pairing its ad stack with LinkedIn data. Translation: if you’ve ever wondered how brands decide that your couch time should also be a shopping funnel, this is the kind of plumbing that makes it happen.
The pitch here is pretty simple. Amazon gets to offer marketers a more precise audience target, while LinkedIn — owned by Microsoft — brings the professional identity layer. In ad land, that’s catnip. Better targeting usually means better campaign performance, and better campaign performance usually means more ad dollars flowing to the platforms that can prove they’re not just tossing darts in the dark.
Why investors should care
Amazon’s ad business has been one of the company’s sneakiest growth engines, sitting in the shadow of e-commerce and AWS while quietly becoming a beast of its own. Deals like this matter because they make Amazon Ads stickier and more useful, especially in the premium CTV market where everyone wants a slice and nobody wants to look generic.
And for Amazon, every new advertiser tool is another nudge toward the same big thesis: the company doesn’t just sell stuff, it sells access to the people selling stuff. Big picture: the more precise the targeting, the more Amazon can charge for the privilege.