Now that streaming usage has officially surpassed broadcast and cable viewing, it’s clear that CTV is mainstream and here to stay.
For auto marketers, CTV’s rise represents a powerful shift in how influence is built, and Roku, as the #1 streaming platform in America, is at the center of that shift. Nearly half of Roku users discover car makes and models from TV streaming ads, and six in ten plan to buy a car within the next year, a 50% jump from 2023.¹
No wonder then that more car brands now turn to streaming to connect with hesitant buyers on the biggest screen in the home. For these marketers, Roku Advertising is their go-to navigation system, guiding buyers from screen to showroom with powerful reach, innovative ad formats, and full-funnel performance.
Let’s explore how they do it.
Discover: Help active car shoppers find your brand
Streamers today use an average of nine paid and free apps each month², -and it takes Roku users just under 17 minutes to decide what to watch³ – creating a fragmented experience that mirrors the sea of sameness car buyers face when exploring their next vehicle.
Roku is well positioned to solve this discovery problem for streamers and auto brands alike. Nearly 50% of all streaming hours happen on our platform⁴, and Roku’s Home Screen is the starting point for our streamers’ entertainment journeys. Advertising on the Home Screen gives brands a powerful front-door placement to showcase new models and seasonal dealership events before streamers even start watching.
And discovery extends beyond the Home Screen as well. Because a car can break down or be replaced at any time, always-on storytelling is critical. With Roku’s video ad solutions, brands can sustain awareness through high-impact ads in premium, brand-safe environments. For example, we make it easy to buy the top 100 channels via Roku’s direct relationships with major apps. These buys can engageaudiences across both free and paid services in one seamless buy — whether they’re watching the latest SVOD originals or library titles.
When Toyota launched the Mirai—the first mass-produced fuel-cell vehicle—the Southern California Toyota Dealerships Association used a home screen Marquee ad placement along with video ads on Roku’s Audience Network to boost awareness and consideration.
But the campaign didn’t end with awareness. It leveraged Roku’s 100% authenticated, proprietary data to reach in-market auto shoppers across Southern California zip codes – turning Roku’s Super Bowl sized reach into neighborhood-level targeting. The results speak for themselves: nearly 73,000 visits to leading auto websites, more than 11,000 visits to Toyota dealer sites, and a 2% click-through rate.⁵
Decision: Convert awareness to engagement
Reaching car buyers is just the beginning. With Roku’s interactive streaming formats, auto marketers can help viewers evaluate models and advance their decision process – all made simple through the Roku UI and the ease of the remote.
For example, Roku’s Action Ads and Showroom experiences make it easy to compare, explore, and take action without leaving their living room.
- Action Ads. Let viewers engage in real-time by scanning a QR code displayed within a video ad or pressing “OK” on their Roku remotes to receive a personalized text or special offer.
- Showroom experiences. Place your brand inside an immersive, interactive hub with video, 360° product imagery, and rich media. Seven in 10 viewers who saw a Showroom ad said it improved their perception of the brand⁶
By encouraging viewers to drill down and learn about new models using their Roku remote, auto makers increase the time spent with their brands – and the likelihood of a dealer visit.
Dealership: Motivate visits and complete the sale
National reach is key for brand awareness, but dealership activation is what drives sales. That’s why Roku offers geo-targeted ad solutions that help brands guide viewers to their nearest dealership, using tools like text-to-learn prompts, local landing pages and more.
These interactive and personalized experiences allow brands to go far beyond traditional awareness to deliver engagement and measurable outcomes on a single, seamless platform. The Toyota example above is far from the only example of this. In fact, 87% of Roku auto campaigns (as measured by Polk) have driven incremental vehicle sales, converting shoppers who wouldn’t have purchased otherwise.⁷
Navigating the next era of auto advertising
In today’s market, exposure isn’t enough. Auto marketers need performance. With 100% authenticated users and the largest reach in TV streaming, Roku Advertising combines massive scale with precise targeting, helping auto brands modernize the buyer journey from awareness to action.
Think of it as your streaming GPS – built to navigate complexity, connect the dots, and deliver ROI at every turn.
Reach out to learn how Roku can help drive results for you.
¹ Roku + Lucid Auto Study, Q3 2025
² TiVo Video Trends Report, Q2 2024
³ Comscore State of Streaming, 2025
⁴ Roku Analysis of Comscore CTV Report, 2024
⁵ Roku Advertising: The Southern California Toyota Dealers Association partners with Roku to drive consideration for Mirai launch
⁶ Roku Internal Data, 2025
⁷ Roku Internal Data + Polk, 2025
