Roku Launches Advertising Brand Studio Ahead of TV Upfronts

Roku, Inc., today announced the launch of an advertising brand studio to produce new creative ad formats and TV programming tailored for marketers.

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“The shift to TV streaming has accelerated and leading advertisers are going beyond the 30-second ad”

The advertising brand studio will help marketers go beyond the traditional 30-second TV ad spot and amplify big moments in the marketing calendar, including advertiser-commissioned short-form TV programs, interactive video ads, and other branded content on The Roku Channel.

“The shift to TV streaming has accelerated and leading advertisers are going beyond the 30-second ad,” said Dan Robbins, Vice President, Ad Marketing, Roku. “We’re excited to launch a new advertising brand studio for marketers to create streamer-first campaigns on America’s #1 TV streaming platform.”

In launching the studio, Roku has completed an agreement with the Funny Or Die Branded Entertainment division in which a number of the company’s branded content team members will join Roku. Industry veterans Chris Bruss and Brian Toombs from Funny Or Die and Rachel Daly Helfman from Snap Inc. will join Roku’s Patrick Colletto in leadership roles for the advertising brand studio. These individuals bring extensive expertise crafting award-winning content for advertisers such as Kroger, Lyft, Ralph Lauren, Wendy’s and more.

TV streaming has creative flexibility that goes beyond what traditional linear TV can offer to marketers. The new advertising brand studio will build on Roku’s existing offerings, which include sponsorships and native ads such as this year’s TurboTax partnership that will bring the 2021 March College Hoops Hub to life in TV streaming. In partnership with Roku, the brand built a College Basketball Game Guide on the Roku platform that not only unlocked free college basketball content for streamers, but also invited streamers to try to beat the buzzer across their TV and phone with an augmented reality lens.

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Immersive branded experiences drive incremental value for both marketers and consumers today. A 2020 study by MAGNA, Roku and IPG Media Lab, “Valuing the Value Exchange,” found that these branded experiences, alongside video advertising, generate 4X greater purchase intent than video advertising alone.

“Branded experiences on the Roku platform helped us shift ad budgets quickly to TV streaming and go beyond traditional advertising to move the needle on purchase consideration,” said Lisa McQueen, Media Manager, Lexus. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Roku for a world-class, hands-on production experience for our streaming TV advertising campaigns seen by millions of streamers.”

Roku will unveil additional details, partners and advertising projects at its IAB NewFronts presentation on May 3, 2021.

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