Does social creative work on CTV? Research finds real upsides

Strong social content is built to gain attention amid an endless scroll. But what happens when you repurpose the exact same creative on the biggest screen in the home?

To answer this question, Roku and Publicis Media Exchange (PMX) partnered to study two campaigns using high-performing social assets. An energy drink brand brought its made-for-social content to the Roku home screen, while a quick-service restaurant (QSR) loyalty program ran its social-first content in mid-roll ads during TV shows and movies.

We studied 652 adults (18–50) as they streamed TV and scrolled social media naturally on their own devices - navigating a CTV home screen to select a show (with ads along the way), and scrolling a curated Facebook feed with ads in natural in-feed positions.

Turns out, social creative takes on new strengths when it moves to CTV. Below, we highlight select findings from the study. 

Social thrives at engagement. It also comes with an annoyance tax

First, the good news for social marketers: Ads built for the feed excel at grabbing attention. When exposed to identical creative on social and TV, viewers were more likely to call the social placement “engaging,” compared with the same ad seen on CTV.

But there was a catch. Viewers were also more than likely to call that same creative “annoying” on social than when it ran on CTV. How much more likely? Our in-depth results unpack exactly how the environment surrounding an ad can shape how that attention feels.

Bigger screen, stronger relevance

In addition to offsetting annoyance, bringing social content to CTV drove meaningful gains in relevance and purchase intent.

For both brands studied, the share of viewers saying the product felt “made for someone like me,” rose meaningfully when they saw it on the Roku Home Screen. But how does that lift in relevance shape purchase intent? And how do social and CTV ads complement each other?

Dig into the full findings

There’s much more in the full study, including deeper dives into both campaigns, age- and brand-level results, and specifics on how social creative seen on TV screens impacts purchase intent.

Download Social’s Big Screen Moment, the full Publicis Media Exchange × Roku study, to explore what the research means for your next social, creator, and CTV campaign.

What happens when social moves to CTV?

New research from Roku and Publicis Media Exchange on how social creative performs on CTV.