Next in Media talked to Kelly MacLean, Vice President of Amazon DSP, about her journey from professional soccer to leading one of the industry's most talked-about demand-side platforms. MacLean discussed Amazon DSP's evolution from a single-purpose tool to a comprehensive multi-purpose platform, the technical rebuilding required to compete at scale, and how AI is transforming campaign automation while maintaining advertiser control. The conversation covered Amazon's approach to streaming TV inventory, their partnerships with major publishers like Roku and Disney, and how changing consumer behaviors are shaping the future of digital advertising. MacLean also teased upcoming innovations to be revealed at Amazon Unboxed in November.
🔖Chapters:
[00:01:12] - Kelly's Background: From Soccer to Ad Tech
[00:03:22] - Making the Move from Meta to Amazon
[00:04:44] - Amazon DSP's Evolution from Single to Multi-Purpose
[00:06:10] - Adapting to the Streaming TV Revolution
[00:07:31] - Technical Differentiators and Competitive Positioning
[00:13:30] - AI Integration and the "Crystal Box" Approach
[00:16:54] - The Future of Automated Advertising Agents
[00:18:03] - Impact of Changing Consumer Search Behavior
[00:19:56] - What's Next and Amazon Unboxed Preview
💡Takeaways:
🏆 Kelly MacLean's competitive background as a professional soccer player shaped her approach to building fast-moving, high-performing ad tech teams.
🔧 Amazon completely re-architected their DSP backend and frontend, moving from single-purpose to fully functioning multi-purpose platform, improving overall performance by over 40%.
📺 Amazon DSP is now the only platform offering authenticated reach to over 80 million CTV households in the US through partnerships with Roku and other premium publishers.
🤖 Amazon's "crystal box" approach to AI provides transparency and control while leveraging automation, contrasting with traditional "black box" systems.
💰 Amazon offers industry-leading low fees: 0% for programmatic guaranteed deals on Amazon properties and 1% across premium streaming publishers.
🎯 Performance Plus campaigns have driven over 51% improvement in customer acquisition costs through AI-powered optimization.
📱 Amazon launched Complete TV ahead of upfronts, using AI to help marketers plan, manage, and measure holistic streaming TV buys across platforms.
🔮 The future will likely combine simplified AI-driven products with complex expert features, as different campaigns and brands will require varying degrees of automation.
🏈 Live sports remains one of the "last best places" where consumers are truly engaged for long durations, making it increasingly valuable for advertisers.
📊 Amazon's approach focuses on deterministic identity and frequency capping to provide more efficient spend and clearer impact measurement.
Amazon DSP: https://advertising.amazon.com/solutions/products/amazon-dsp