2022 was a year of big progress in Roku’s quest to create better TV for consumers and advertisers. We launched shoppable ads. We added new forms of measurement. We even got Weird.
Along the way our team helped marketers of every stripe, guiding new clients through their first Roku campaigns and helping more seasoned advertisers enhance their campaigns, reach new audiences and acquire customers.
As we reflect on the year that was, we’ve assembled below some of Roku’s most important announcements, content initiatives, and industry analysis from the last 12 months.
Roku partners with Walmart and Nielsen
Did you know 48% of streamers have paused an ad to shop for the product online? Rather than inconveniencing streamers by requiring them to use their phones or laptops to shop, we wanted to let viewers transact directly using their remote controls. This led us to partner with Walmart Connect to offer shoppable ads on the Roku platform.
Simply press “OK” on an ad, proceed to checkout, and use Roku Pay to automatically populate payment details. One more tap of “OK” on Walmart’s checkout page and the order is complete. These shoppable ads reduce friction for customers and increase sales for brands.
We partnered with Nielsen to measure ratings on every screen.
The rapid shift to streaming has posed a measurement challenge for buyers and sellers. Nielsen, still the industry’s dominant measurement vendor, has updated its methodology to more accurately count audiences and assess viewing on laptops, phones and other devices in addition to traditional TVs.
In August we partnered with Neilsen to use Total Ad Ratings so marketers running ads on Roku can better understand campaign reach and frequency. Total Ad Ratings deduplicates metrics, reduces advertising waste, and ensures relevant ads are delivered to the right audiences across devices.
New from The Roku Channel and Roku Brand Studio
Roku Original WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story. How do we uplevel our original programming? Get Daniel Radcliffe to play Weird Al Yankovic, Evan Rachel Wood to play Madonna, and a slew of other celebrities to join in with fun cameos (Quinta Brunson as Oprah anyone?) The result is a raucous, ultra-fun movie about America’s song-parody king.
Series launch: Lesbian Bar Project. Lesbian bars have been in decline in the United States for years, and we launched a three-part docuseries to examine why. The new streaming series, Lesbian Bar Project, by Roku Brand Studio and Mast Jägermeister US, and directed by Erica Rose and Elina Street examines the lively and powerful communities that lesbian bars serve.
The Sports Experience on The Roku Channel. In today’s TV landscape, sports fans watch a ballgame on one channel, recap on another, local coverage on a third, and documentaries on a fourth. We launched the Sports experience to bring all that content into one place. Roku streamers can choose sports from the Home Screen Menu, search for “sports” with Roku Voice, get watch options for their favorite games, and watch shows like The Rich Eisen Show and the all-new Roku Original series Emeril Tailgates.
We helped brands break through with streamers
H&M’s “Suns Out, Funs Out” campaign grows brand favorability. H&M sponsored a group of fun summer movies and shows on Roku to promote their summer line, giving viewers free access to those releases. The campaign led to a 22% increase in brand favorability among 18-34 year olds and a 55% lift among viewers with a household income between $50,000 and $99,000.
HP increases brand awareness thanks to Roku’s deterministic targeting. By combining its privacy- compliant, permissioned email data with Roku’s first-party data, HP reached a receptive audience. Results for this campaign far surpassed Roku norms, generating a 108% increase in brand awareness for HP and a 167% lift in brand favorability.
Headspace increases web conversions. The wellness and mediation leader, partnered with Roku to drive more web traffic and app downloads. They launched a Movie Pass experience, providing streamers access to free holiday-themed movies throughout December. The partnership increased web conversions 134%, incremental households reached by 112%, and conversion rates for households exposed to the Brand Experience and a separate OneView campaign by 8.5%.
Philips Sonicare drives purchase intent. The brand partnered with Roku to communicate the value and science behind its electric toothbrushes. Using non-skippable video impressions in 15- and 30-second ads, they increased perception of the brand as “superior technology” by nearly 8%, purchase intent for 25-34 year olds by over 17%, and purchase intent overall by 14.5%.
Knowledge Resources: Learn more with Roku’s 2022 guides
Consumer Electronics Report: Plug In To TV Streaming. Understand how TV streaming ads help tech-savvy consumers discover new products they love.
The Guide To First-Party Data on TV Streaming. With cookies on the verge of becoming obsolete, marketers need new ways to find audiences. First-party data allows marketers to make better creative and smarter media plans.
Creative Best Practices for TV Streaming. Ever watch an ad rather than change the channel? That’s attention-grabbing creative at its best. But it’s hard to replicate. Our best practices guide explains the fundamentals of streaming creative and how to find success with new formats like shoppable ads.
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