New research from Roku and Microsoft answers questions that have perplexed marketers for years: What actions do consumers take after seeing my ad? Does this behavior change based on the product or brand advertised?
For example, do consumers take action differently when seeing an ad from a Retail brand versus a Technology brand?
To answer those questions, we analyzed consumer interactions with Roku TV streaming ads, Microsoft Audience Network ads, and paid and organic searches on Bing. The results — featured in our new whitepaper “Reimagining Cross-Channel Measurement” — offer new insights on how ads incentivize search behaviors.
When broken down by industry vertical, the data offers useful learnings on optimal ad frequency, timing, and keyword topics. We examined retail, tech, and travel by studying three key personas:.
Here are the key takeaways, organized by industry vertical, that marketers can use to optimize their TV streaming advertising strategy.
For technology buyers, exposure to Roku TV streaming and Microsoft Audience ads are a winning combination. Exposure to both types of ads drove a 10% lift in search and a 17% lift in clicks — regardless of the order in which those ads were served. Ad frequency also plays a major role in a campaign’s success. In fact, technology brands see the greatest search lift (20%) after consumers who saw Roku TV streaming ads 11+ times and were exposed to a Microsoft Audience ad at some point in their journey.
Technology consumers are most impressionable in the beginning of the week and are focused searchers when querying products they may want to buy. They search primarily on weekdays, in the afternoon, and evenings. Everyday Viewers and Streaming Enthusiasts typically engage with a Microsoft Audience ad about 2 and a half weeks after being exposed to a Roku TV streaming ad. That number drops to 12 days for Impressionable Viewers.
Travel consumers are more likely to be influenced by Roku TV streaming ads and Microsoft Audience ads than buyers in other industries we studied. They generally engaged with Microsoft Audience ads more quickly after exposure to a Roku TV streaming ad, averaging just five days between streaming ad exposure and digital ad engagement.
For all travel personas, exposure to both Roku TV streaming ads and Microsoft Audience ads drove a 9% lift in search and a 6% lift in clicks (vs. streaming alone). Meanwhile, travel brands saw the greatest search lift (47%) after consumers viewed Roku TV streaming ads 11+ times and were exposed to a Microsoft Audience ad at some point in their journey. Travel consumers primarily conducted searches on weekdays (with a peak on Wednesdays), with most search activity focused in the afternoon and early evening.
Consumers who were exposed to Microsoft Audience retail ads at some point in their journey saw the strongest post-search lift compared to other verticals — 240% after seeing seven to 10 Roku ads. Exposure to both Roku TV streaming and Microsoft Audience retail ads drove a 6% lift in search and a 11% lift in clicks.
Consumers exposed to Microsoft Audience retail ads conducted searches mostly in the afternoon, evening and late night — and primarily on weekdays and Sundays. The highest-ranking category in this group was Home & Garden, and consumers expressing search intent in this category had fewer Roku TV streaming ad exposures on average than other verticals.
Across all verticals, the data points to three solid strategies brands can take to uplevel their TV streaming ads.
Want more insights from Microsoft and Roku? Download the full whitepaper here.
Microsoft + Roku Internal study data, examined MSAN exposures from 17 clients within the Retail vertical, 5 clients within the Travel vertical, and 14 within the Technology vertical, all in congruence with advertiser agnostic search activity, April-July 2022.