How to Create an Amazon DSP Campaign: 2026 Setup Guide

To create an Amazon DSP campaign in 2026, open Amazon Ads Agent, choose a Display, Video and Audio campaign, then set a goal and KPI, a budget and flight, conversion tracking and a frequency cap. Add ad groups for audiences, supply and bids, attach your ads, and launch.

That is the short version. The screens changed a lot this year, and most guides still show the 2024 DSP console.

This guide walks through the current flow step by step, the settings we use in the DSP accounts we manage, and the legacy flow for advertisers who still see it.

What Changed: Amazon DSP Campaigns Are Now DVA Campaigns

At unBoxed on September 29, 2026, Amazon renamed its unified platform Amazon Ads Agent. It offers three campaign types: sponsored ads; Display, Video, and Audio; and Full-Funnel Campaigns.

Amazon DSP buying now happens as Display, Video and Audio campaigns. Amazon's DSP product page says the DSP "has evolved into Amazon Ads Agent," and existing campaigns, reporting and settings carried over.

The structure is the same three tiers. Only the names moved, which matters because Amazon's help pages now use the new terms.

Amazon's help article Understand Display, Video, and Audio campaigns confirms the mapping. Every ad group inherits its campaign's goal, budget and KPI.

The bigger change is DVA+. It is a simplified campaign flow that bundles what used to be separate Amazon DSP, Sponsored Display and Sponsored TV campaigns, with "advanced settings" for buyers who want the old controls.

Amazon's DVA+ launch note says DVA+ was in extended closed beta in the US at launch. Open beta was expected from late October 2026, with general availability across 35 markets targeted for Q1 2027.

Before You Start: Access, Budget and Assets

Get these four things ready before you click Create campaign. Missing any of them is how a first campaign ends up live with no conversion data.

1. An Advertiser Account With the Right Access

You need an Amazon Ads Agent account with a Display, Video and Audio advertiser. Sellers, vendors and brands that don't sell on Amazon can all use it, as our guide to Amazon DSP for non-Amazon sellers explains.

Access to the two flows differs. Per Amazon, existing advertisers with programmatic experience get DVA+ and advanced settings, while new and sponsored-ads-only advertisers get DVA+ and request advanced settings through an account manager.

2. A Budget, Not a Minimum

Amazon's Ads Agent page says Display, Video and Audio campaigns are available self-service "with budgets you set," or through managed service, which typically requires a minimum that varies by country.

Its DSP guide puts the managed minimum at $50,000. Self-service bills on CPM, plus a technology fee that Amazon's pricing transparency guide describes as a percent of media cost, disclosed at setup.

No minimum is not the same as no practical floor. We plan a first test at four to six weeks, with enough budget for each ad group to buy a few hundred thousand impressions.

3. Conversion Tracking

List the ASINs you want measured: the advertised products plus close variations. For a link-out campaign to your own site, install the Amazon Ad Tag before launch, or the campaign will report impressions and little else.

4. Creative Assets

For products sold on Amazon, responsive eCommerce creatives build ads from your listings. Amazon recommends three custom images (1200x1200, 900x1600 and 1200x628) for better-looking versions.

For video, have a 15- or 30-second cut ready. Our Amazon DSP ad types guide lists the specs for every format.

Which Amazon DSP Setup Flow Will You See?

Four flows are live in October 2026, and which one you get depends on your country, your history and what you want to control. Pick the flow first, then follow its steps.

For a first campaign we almost always use advanced settings, even when quick setup is available. You learn what works only when each audience and supply source sits in its own ad group.

How to Create a DVA+ Campaign With Quick Setup

DVA+ quick setup is four steps. Amazon's DVA+ page lays out the path from Create campaign.

1. Choose DVA+ and an Objective

Create a new campaign and select DVA+ under Display, Video, and Audio campaigns. Then choose an objective such as sales, traffic or awareness; Amazon's launch note also lists leads.

The objective picks the engine. Awareness runs on Brand+, and consideration and conversion run on Performance+.

2. Add Products or a Brand URL

Select the ASINs you want to advertise. Brands that don't sell on Amazon enter a brand URL instead.

3. Review the AI-Generated Creative

DVA+ drafts streaming TV, online video and display assets from your listings or site. Check them against your brand guidelines, edit them, or upload your own.

4. Set Budget and Dates, Then Launch

Enter a budget and campaign dates. Billing is CPM with no minimum spend, and the system handles targeting, inventory, format mix and bids.

Quick setup is fine for a brand that wants Prime Video and display reach without a programmatic team. Its weakness is reporting: one campaign, one blended result, and no clean read on which audience did the work.

How to Create an Amazon DSP Campaign With Advanced Settings

This is the full manual flow, and the one most "create Amazon DSP campaign" searches are really about. The settings below come from Amazon's Create a Display, Video, and Audio campaign and ad group help articles, updated in September and October 2026.

1. Create the Campaign and Name It

Click Create campaign, then the Display, Video and Audio option. Name it so a report makes sense in six months, for example "US | Conversion | ROAS | Remarketing | Nov26".

Add a PO number if your finance team needs it on invoices. Tick Amazon deal only if the campaign runs against a negotiated deal.

2. Pick the Goal and KPI

The goal is awareness, consideration or conversion, and it decides which KPIs you can pick. Our guide to Amazon DSP campaign goals covers the trade-offs in depth.

Set a KPI target you can defend, such as a ROAS of 3.0 or a cost per detail page view of $1.50. Amazon notes that changing the KPI after launch resets the campaign's learning, so decide it before you save.

3. Set Budget, Flights and Budget Allocation

The budget is what all ad groups in the campaign can spend during a flight. Split a long campaign into monthly flights so you can change spend without rebuilding it.

Turn on automated budget allocation for most campaigns. Amazon's budget allocation guide says it moves budget toward ad groups that deliver more goal conversions per dollar, with the campaign budget as a hard ceiling.

Skip the daily or monthly budget cap unless you need a strict limit. Amazon's own tip is that caps can cause under-delivery by blocking full budget use.

4. Add Conversion Tracking

Add every ASIN you want attributed: the advertised products, their variations and, for halo, the rest of the brand. Amazon says adding the right products before launch prevents data loss once the campaign begins.

For link-out campaigns, choose the off-Amazon conversion events from your Amazon Ad Tag here.

5. Set the Campaign Frequency Cap

The campaign frequency cap is the most impressions one customer can see across all its ad groups. Amazon applies a default if you leave it blank, and the combined ad group frequency must never exceed it.

If you run several campaigns at the same shoppers, add them to a Frequency Group so the cap holds across campaigns. Our frequency capping guide has the caps we start from by funnel stage.

Then click Save. The campaign exists, but nothing serves until it has an ad group and an ad.

6. Create Ad Groups by Audience and Supply

An ad group decides how, where and to whom ads are delivered. In each one you set the ad type, device (desktop, mobile or connected TV for video), mobile environment, product category and inventory type, plus any deals or inventory groups.

Our rule: one funnel stage and one supply type per ad group. Mixing remarketing and prospecting in one ad group lets the cheaper audience take the budget, and the report can't tell you which one worked.

Amazon's own optimization best practices agree from the delivery side: use all relevant ad group types, because they represent different supply sources.

7. Add Targeting and Exclusions

Targeting sits inside the ad group. You can combine Amazon audiences (in-market, lifestyle, life event, remarketing), multi-signal tactics such as Product, In-market categories and Keyword, plus location, device and supply.

Exclusions matter as much as targets. On every prospecting ad group we exclude recent purchasers and detail page viewers, so new-customer money isn't spent on people already in the remarketing pool.

Our Amazon DSP targeting guide covers every option, and our post on excluding audiences in Amazon DSP campaigns has the builds we reuse.

8. Set Delivery: Dates, Budget, Pacing and Frequency

Ad group dates default to the campaign's flight. Leave the ad group budget blank when automated allocation is on, or set it as a cap.

Pacing has three options. Even spreads spend across the flight, Pace ahead delivers up to 25% above the even daily pace to avoid underspend, and ASAP spends as fast as inventory allows, which can empty the budget in a day.

We use Even for nearly everything, and Pace ahead for short event flights such as Black Friday week. Add an ad group frequency cap too: without one, Amazon says it defaults to unlimited.

9. Set Bidding

Bidding priority tells Amazon how to bid against your goal KPI. The base bid is the CPM you would ideally pay, and Amazon optimizes toward it without guaranteeing it.

Maximum average CPM caps the average you'll pay. If you leave it blank, Amazon defaults it to five times the base bid, which is why we always fill it in.

Bid adjustments raise or lower bids for specific dimensions at auction time. Our guide to Amazon DSP bidding strategies explains when to use them.

Before launch, do the arithmetic on every remarketing ad group. Its audience size and frequency cap set the most it can usefully spend.

In the example, 25,000 shoppers at four impressions a week for four weeks is 400,000 impressions. At a $6 CPM that is $2,400. Give the ad group $5,000 and the rest either goes unspent or buys impressions past the cap.

10. Build and Attach Ads

Ads are the assets the shopper sees: standard display, HTML5, responsive eCommerce creatives, online video, streaming TV and audio. Build them in the ads section, then associate each one with the right ad groups.

For products sold on Amazon, start with responsive eCommerce creatives. They pull price, deal badges and ratings from the listing and stop serving for out-of-stock ASINs.

Ads go through Amazon's moderation before they serve. Submit them a few days before the flight starts, not on launch morning.

11. Launch, Then Leave It Alone for a Week

Amazon says not to be alarmed by poor numbers in the first few days, because the system is learning and improves after about a week.

Amazon's guidance sets a sensible rhythm. For flights of a month or longer, make the first round of changes five to seven days after launch, then give each change four to seven days.

Wait at least 24 to 48 hours to judge any change, because the UI tables refresh only two to three times a day. Near the end of a flight, add no more than about 10% extra budget at a time.

The Legacy Amazon DSP Flow Outside the US

If you buy DSP in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, Japan, Australia or another of the listed markets, Amazon's DVA+ page says you keep the existing Amazon DSP experience for now.

That experience uses the old names, in the same order:

1. Create order. Name, goal (awareness, consideration or conversion), KPI and target, bid and budget optimization strategy, budget, flight dates and optional budget caps.

2. Add products. Associate the ASINs to track, or set up off-Amazon conversion tracking with the Amazon Ad Tag.

3. Set the order frequency cap.

4. Create line items. Choose the line item type (standard display, mobile app, online video, streaming TV, audio), product category, inventory and supply sources, audiences and exclusions, location, device, domain lists, flight, budget, frequency and base and max CPM bids.

5. Create creatives in the creative section, then assign them to line items.

Every setting in the advanced-settings steps above has a legacy equivalent, so the same structure and arithmetic apply. Expect the screens to change once DVA+ reaches your market, which Amazon targets for general availability in Q1 2027.

When to Use Full-Funnel Campaigns Instead

Full-Funnel Campaigns put sponsored ads, display, video and streaming TV into one campaign with one budget. You give Amazon products, a budget, creative and an optional ROAS threshold, and its AI splits spend across funnel stages.

It launched in open beta on September 29, 2026 for US advertisers who sell on Amazon. Amazon reports beta advertisers saw 67% higher long-term ROAS and 29% lower cost per new-to-brand purchase than the same formats run separately.

Those are Amazon's numbers on Amazon's measurement, so we test them rather than assume them. Run a Full-Funnel Campaign beside your structure, with its own budget, and compare total sales and new-to-brand customers for the period.

It isn't a replacement for a DSP campaign you control. You can't build your own exclusions or read results by audience, and those are the two things a first DSP test needs to teach you.

How to Measure Your First Amazon DSP Campaign

A DSP campaign that targets new shoppers will lose a last-click ACOS comparison with Sponsored Products almost every time. Judge it on what it was built to do.

• Prospecting ad groups: reach, detail page view rate, cost per detail page view and the share of purchases that are new to brand.

• Remarketing ad groups: ROAS and cost per purchase, checked against the new-to-brand share. A 6.0 ROAS with 5% new-to-brand is mostly buying sales you'd have made anyway.

• Streaming TV and video: completion rate, reach and branded search lift.

Know the attribution rules before you compare years. Since January 1, 2026, DSP ads served in the Amazon store use a stricter view attribution model, so view-based results can look lower than in 2025.

Our Amazon DSP reports guide lists the reports to pull each week. For paths from DSP exposure to Sponsored Products purchases, use Amazon Marketing Cloud.

Mistakes We See in New Amazon DSP Campaigns

• Changing the KPI a week in. It resets the learning, and the campaign starts over. Decide the KPI before you save.

• Leaving maximum average CPM blank. Amazon defaults it to five times your base bid, which is rarely what you meant.

• Prospecting without purchaser exclusions. The campaign reports strong ROAS on customers you already had.

• Too many ad groups for the budget. Eight ad groups at $500 each never collect enough data to optimize. Fewer, bigger ones learn faster.

• Budget caps "for safety". Amazon warns they cause under-delivery. Use flight budgets and pacing instead.

• Forgetting conversion tracking. Products added after launch don't recover the data from the days before.

• Using ASAP pacing on a multi-day event. It can spend the whole event budget on day one.

Our list of Amazon DSP mistakes to avoid covers more of the ones we fix in audits.

How We Set Up Amazon DSP Campaigns in Adbrew

Everything above works directly in Amazon Ads Agent. The hard part is keeping ad groups, exclusions, frequency caps and budgets consistent across many campaigns and brands, week after week.

Adbrew is an agentic retail media management platform for Amazon and Walmart, and DSP runs in it next to Sponsored Ads, AMC and Marketing Stream:

• Your DSP, your way. Run Amazon DSP through Adbrew's own seat with no minimum spend, or connect a DSP account you already hold. Amazon's self-service has no stated minimum either, so the difference is the team and tooling around the campaign.

• Automation you can read. Rules on bids, budgets, audiences and frequency caps, with the thresholds and guardrails you set, and every change logged.

• AMC audiences without SQL. Build cart abandoners, repeat viewers and custom AMC audiences in a few clicks, then target or exclude them in DSP ad groups.

• Adbrew Intelligence. Ask for "new-to-brand share by DSP ad group, last 30 days" and an Adbrew Intelligence agent builds the report from your data.

More than 5,000 brands, agencies and aggregators use Adbrew, and they cut ACOS by 46% on average.

Build the Structure Before You Spend

The 2026 screens look new, but a good Amazon DSP campaign is built the same way it always was: one clear goal, ad groups you can read, clean exclusions and a frequency cap that matches the audience.

Want a first DSP campaign built on your account, through a seat with no minimum spend? Book a demo with our team and we'll map the campaign, ad groups and budget with you.