Next week, Roku is heading to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. From brand experiences to brand integrations, The Roku Channel is the ultimate canvas for brands to showcase their creativity. We sat down with Katina Papas Wachter, Director, The Roku Channel Ad Revenue Strategy, to hear what she’s excited to discuss on the ground at Cannes this year.
Katina Papas Wachter, Director, The Roku Channel Ad Revenue Strategy
Q: After a transformative few years for marketing and advertising, what’s Roku’s focus heading into Cannes?
Katina: As America’s #1 TV streaming platform, Roku is building a better TV experience for everyone.¹ We’re focused on building a better TV viewing experience with The Roku Channel and building a better TV storytelling experience with Roku Brand Studio.
Q: Why should marketers care about The Roku Channel?
Katina: The Roku Channel is the home for free and premium TV and a top 5 channel on the Roku platform in the U.S.² In addition to Roku devices, streamers can watch The Roku Channel on Samsung and Fire TVs as well as desktop and mobile experiences. It really is everywhere!
And when it comes to content, there really is something for every streamer to watch both VOD (video on-demand) and Live. The Roku Channel hosts 80,000+ free movies and TV shows, 270+ live linear channels, and 75+ Roku Originals with an upcoming slate of 30+ original shows and movies that were just announced at our NewFront last month! All of this is curated for our streamers using machine learning that serves custom experiences for different passions.
Take a look at all the new Roku Originals and new series we announced during our 2022 NewFront!
Q: What makes The Roku Channel a top 5 channel on Roku?
Katina: First, distribution on America’s #1 TV streaming platform, which not only helps people become cord-cutters, but stay that way. For example, our Roku Original Die Hart reached more people ages 18-34 in its first 30 days, than the linear premieres of shows like Top Chef and Fear the Walking Dead.³ When brands advertise on The Roku Channel, they are reaching a young and diverse cordless audience. Second, the platform connection and data insights we see allows us to understand what our streamers want in real-time. We use this to create innovative formats like the Pause Ad and to create new content experiences for Kids and Family and Spanish-language content, as in Espacio Latino.
Q: What can you tell us about Roku Originals?
Katina: We launched Roku Originals in May 2021 and have spent the last year analyzing viewing behavior and audiences that the Originals bring into The Roku Channel. Just last month, we announced a new slate of shows at our NewFront, which includes:
- Renewal seasons of hit shows like Die Hart and Roku Recommends
- New Dramas and Comedies, including WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story starring Daniel Radcliffe
- An impressive Lifestyle lineup, including shows from Martha Stewart and Jessica Alba
- A broad range of Reality shows from dating shows to cooking competitions, including The Great American Baking Show brought to us from the creators of The Great British Bakeoff
Q: How can marketers partner with Roku to deliver creative ads for streaming audiences?
Katina: It always depends on the brand’s objective, but I love being able to offer a range of creative opportunities to marketers – from turnkey solutions to custom shows and integrations – thanks to our internal creative studio, the Roku Brand Studio. We love helping teams think beyond the traditional :30 second TV ad spot and build experiences made for streaming audiences.
Q: Can you tell us about the Roku Brand Studio?
Katina: Roku Brand Studio is a team of strategists and producers focused on creative strategy, sponsorships, integrations, and custom content. They use Roku data to offer custom or off-the-shelf solutions for brands to consider as they strive to reach audiences across their streaming journeys. Having access to Roku Originals productions to build on top of and integrate advertisers’ stories within is something we’re excited about as we proceed into the upcoming year.
Q: What does Roku have planned for Cannes this year?
Katina: After a long hiatus, I know the industry is thrilled to be back in the Riviera at Cannes Lions to reignite connections. If you’re on the ground at Cannes, be sure to visit The Roku Cabana between June 20-23. We are hosting a full week of panels, including sessions that dive into what goes into producing a Roku Original as well as a discussion about how brands can go beyond the :30 second ad spot. We’ll also have a session dedicated to a new favorite topic of mine: the future intersection of TV and commerce. If you can’t make it, you can catch updates and recaps on our blog and via our LinkedIn channel.
See our full event schedule here. If you would like to be invited to any of the events or would like to schedule a meeting, fill out this form or reach out to rokuadsalesevents@roku.com.
¹ Based on hours streamed according to Hypothesis Group, October 2021
² By reach and engagement in Q1 of 2022 (Roku Q1 2022 Earnings)
³ Roku Internal Data, April 2022; Nielsen
