The Big Game remains advertising’s biggest stage, one where the ads are nearly as important as the main event. But once a brand’s ad spot has run, it’s crucial to extend the momentum beyond Super Sunday.
Realizing this, e.l.f. Beauty partnered with Roku to extend their reach to U.S. households with over 120 million daily viewers. e.l.f. scored a touchdown with its “Judge Beauty” campaign during the Big Game, and then scored again with a high-impact streaming campaign on the Roku platform.
Having generated buzz with its Big Game spot, e.l.f needed to rekindle that interest with women every time they reached for blush, powder or gloss.
In partnership with its marketing agency Tinuiti, e.l.f. tapped Roku to accomplish this. According to Nielsen, more than six out of 10 young adults aged 18 to 29 use streaming services to watch television. With its vast reach and broad spectrum of ad experiences, Roku’s platform offered both the scale and creative impact e.l.f required to drive continued engagement with its campaign.
The brand’s creative, featuring Judge Judy and talent from “Suits,” spoofed courtroom reality TV. Instead of handing out verdicts, Judge Judy Sheindlin sentenced people to e.l.f. products, which match the quality of high-end cosmetics at a fraction of the cost.
Following the Big Game, the brand built on the initial wave of attention with a multi-faceted Roku campaign. The foundation of this streaming extension was a native Marquee ad on Roku’s home screen.
By clicking this ad, viewers were taken to a Brand Showcase featuring e.l.f. beauty products. The Brand Showcase also offered the option to visit the brand’s website via a QR code.
A billboard placement in Roku City further extended the campaign.
For e.l.f., “brandformance” is the name of the game. By combining the massive reach of Roku’s home screen with actionable ad units, the campaign aimed to achieve both brand awareness and measurable performance.
“Viewers are more receptive to advertising when it’s seamlessly integrated into their experience and aligns with their interests. Roku’s native ad solutions enable our partners to deliver their messages in a way that feels organic, enhancing the streaming experience without being intrusive,” said TaraLynn Marinho, Roku senior manager DTC brands and performance marketing.
e.l.f.’s campaign proved that powerful branding drives performance. The home screen placement, Roku City billboard and Brand Showcase together resulted in more than 45 million impressions. That reach translated into a 37% increase in message association, 12 times higher than Roku’s beauty category benchmarks.¹
Overall, e.l.f. saw a 1.03% click-through rate on its home screen and Roku City screensaver ads, and the campaign drove 66,000 visits to the brand’s website by those who saw the Brand Showcase 2x higher than its other channel investments.
“Not all streaming ads are created equal. Our work with e.l.f. and Roku proved that if you can get in front of the right audiences using the right platforms, you can pique customers’ interest and get them to want to learn more.” said Shasta Cafarelli, Tinuiti SVP media investment.
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¹ Roku Internal Data, 2024