Why Barbie Is a Connected TV Star

Why Barbie Is a Connected TV Star

by Tim Colucci Connected TV

I’ve written a few times about Roku’s marketing innovations in 2023, and for good reason: with more than 70 million active accounts, Roku is the leading streaming platform in the United States, and it is a bellwether for the rise of connected TV (CTV). Roku’s ability to create branded content illustrates the marketing possibilities of CTV, an area where True Interactive has deep experience.

The latest sign of Roku’s leadership: the company has successfully acquired the rights to the highly anticipated Barbie movie. The deal, which has generated considerable industry buzz, underscores Roku’s commitment to expanding its original content offerings and capitalizing on the growing popularity of streaming services.

The Barbie movie, a joint production between Mattel Films and Warner Bros., is expected to be a major draw for viewers of all ages. As part of the agreement, Roku has secured exclusive streaming rights for the film, which will be available only to Roku’s extensive user base. This maneuver is set to not only attract new subscribers but also solidify the loyalty of existing Roku users.

The Barbie movie is taking over Roku devices, including a Barbie Dreamhouse in Roku City; a takeover of the Roku home screen (where users access the apps to watch their shows and movies); and the ability to watch a trailer for the movie or buy a movie ticket directly on their TV sets.

Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is present on the Roku home screen. When users pause what they’re watching up through July 23, the Barbie Dreamhouse and Barbieland take over the Roku City screensaver, as do Barbie-themed billboards and movie theaters. When users click through, they are brought to a landing page to watch a trailer for the movie, and with a QR code that will let them instantly buy tickets.

Roku’s move towards producing original content represents a shift in its business strategy. Traditionally known for providing a wide array of streaming options from various content providers, the company is now positioning itself as a creator of exclusive, premium content, setting it apart from its competitors, which include Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and others.

Industry analysts speculate that this acquisition is just the beginning of Roku’s plans for expansion. With the rise of streaming services and cord-cutting becoming the norm, Roku is keen on establishing a strong position in the market by producing engaging original content.

As streaming wars continue to intensify, Roku’s focus on content creation may set the standard for the entire CTV industry. By leveraging its massive user base and constantly growing digital ecosystem, the company is poised to make a significant impact in the entertainment industry.

At True Interactive, we believe it’s important that businesses understand the growth of advertising on streaming platforms in context of the rise of connected TV. If you’ve not done so already, take a closer look at why connected TV is growing and how it could expand your audience. (True Interactive can help you with that.) Connected TV is enjoying 60-percent growth, driven by a public’s appetite for streaming that continues unabated.

Contact True Interactive

True Interactive can help you navigate the connected TV landscape. Our services range from media strategy and planning to automated performance reporting. Learn more about our services here, and contact us to learn more.

Why Roku’s Relationship with Shopify Matters to Advertisers

Why Roku’s Relationship with Shopify Matters to Advertisers

by Tim Colucci Connected TV

Roku has announced a partnership with Shopify that provides viewers the ability to purchase products from Shopify merchants directly from their TV through Roku Action Ads. This announcement is significant because it demonstrates the potential convergence of connected TV (CTV) with e-commerce.

When viewers see an ad for a Shopify merchant, they can simply press OK on their Roku remote to learn more about the product and purchase it. Viewers can use Roku Pay to complete their purchase. Once the transaction is processed, purchasers will receive an email confirmation from the merchant.

This integration is the first commerce integration for independent Shopify merchants on TV streaming. It creates a new advertising channel for Shopify merchants to reach a wider audience. Men’s apparel brand True Classic, the game-based connected rower Ergatta, and wellness brand Olly have signed on as initial partners.

With this new integration, viewers can now purchase products directly from their TVs after seeing an ad for a Shopify merchant. Here is how the experience looks, courtesy of Roku:

Although the partnership is just coming out of the gate, it offers some potential benefits, including:

  • Shortened advertising funnel: viewers can now purchase products directly from their TVs after seeing an ad, which shortens the advertising funnel and gives Shopify advertisers more data about their customers.
  • More customer data: Shopify advertisers can now collect more customer data, such as purchase history and shipping information, which can help them better understand their customers and target their advertising more effectively.
  • Point-of-sale access: Shopify merchants can now reach a wider audience by advertising their products on Roku devices. This gives them point-of-sale access to Roku’s audience, which can help them increase sales.

This new partnership is a win-win for both Roku and Shopify, and it’s a sign of the growing importance of commerce on TV streaming devices.

Roku and Shopify have been partners in commerce for years. In 2021, Roku launched a marketing app for Shopify merchants, allowing them to build, purchase, and measure TV streaming ad campaigns. This was the first TV streaming app available in the Shopify App Store.

Also worth noting: two months ago, Roku revealed new ad products at the 2023 IAB NewFronts presentation. These products include AI capability searches that match a brand’s message and place their ads in real time, as well as an interactive Roku screensaver where businesses can advertise.

Roku is a major player in the fast-growing connected TV industry. For the first time, streaming viewership topped cable in 2022, and this trend is not going to reverse course as cord cutting continues. As reported in Axios recently, traditional television companies and major media firms are bracing for further declines in the ad market and yet another increase in cord-cutting this year. At True Interactive, we believe it’s important that businesses understand the growth of advertising on streaming platforms in context of the rise of connected TV. If you’ve not done so already, take a closer look at why connected TV is growing and how it could expand your audience. (True Interactive can help you with that.) Connected TV is enjoying 60-percent growth, driven by a public’s appetite for streaming that continues unabated.

Contact True Interactive

True Interactive can help you navigate the connected TV landscape. Our services range from media strategy and planning to automated performance reporting. Learn more about our services here, and contact us to learn more.

How Roku Plans to Generate More Ad Revenue

How Roku Plans to Generate More Ad Revenue

by Tim Colucci Advertising

Roku screensavers are becoming fertile ground for advertising.

Roku makes streaming devices that allow users to watch TV shows, movies, and other content from the internet on their TVs. Roku also offers a variety of content, including channels from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and many more. As of 2023, Roku has over 60 million active accounts. Its competitors include Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.

When people watch content via their Roku devices, they invariably see a screensaver, which appears when a user has been inactive on their device (this is true for users of other streaming TV devices). Roku has been using that digital real estate to generate advertising revenue.

Roku’s screensaver consists of “Roku City,” a playful urban landscape first introduced in 2017. Roku is experimenting with different ways to turn Roku City into a playground for brands. For instance, at the 2023 SxSW festival, Roku created a real-life Roku City via an interactive, multi-level attraction with Best Buy. The pop-up Roku City featured a Best Buy Home Theater Experience, a rooftop diner destination, a style shop, and hidden Hollywood references throughout the Roku cityscape.

Now, Roku is turning the screensaver into a place to buy ad inventory. At the annual IAB NewFronts, Roku unveiled a number of advertising initiatives, including plans to give ad space on billboards within the screensaver, which Roku says reaches 40 million homes. McDonald’s this summer will be the first brand to appear within the Roku City skyline. The fast food giant will have an animated restaurant with its Golden Arches inserted straight into the screensaver.

And that’s not all. Roku is also relying on AI to incorporate brand messages into an “iconic plot moment” in its content library. Head of Roku U.S. Brand Sales Julian Mintz explained that AI will search for “iconic plot moments” within shows and match them up with a brand’s message. For example, an apparel ad could appear when Tim Gunn makes a critique during “Project Runway.”

As streaming giants such as Netflix embrace ad-supported content tiers, Roku also stressed at NewFronts that the company complements but does not compete with streaming businesses.

“Netflix, Hulu and Disney+—50% of all Super Bowl streaming took place on Roku this year,” said Charlie Collier, president of Roku Media.

Roku is not the first business to turn interstitials into ad opportunities. For instance, Peacock’s Pause Ad is something of a “younger brother” to Roku’s interactive screensaver. Pause Ad offers an ad initiated by the viewer when they pause what they’re watching. A static brand advertisement takes over the screen after a video has been paused for more than five seconds, typically with messaging that is contextually relevant and calls attention to the pause.

Why the News Matters

This news matters because Roku is a major player in the fast-growing connected TV industry. For the first time, streaming viewership topped cable in 2022, and this trend is not going to reverse course as cord cutting continues. As reported in Axios recently, traditional television companies and major media firms are bracing for further declines in the ad market and yet another increase in cord-cutting this year. At True Interactive, we believe it’s important that businesses understand the growth of advertising on streaming platforms in context of the rise of connected TV. If you’ve not done so already, take a closer look at why connected TV is growing and how it could expand your audience. (True Interactive can help you with that.) Connected TV is enjoying 60-percent growth, driven by a public’s appetite for streaming that continues unabated.

Connected advertising is similar to linear TV advertising because both formats rely obviously on video. But connected TV is different in many important ways. For one thing, advertisers need to understand how to create video content that will reach viewers across a variety of viewing devices in addition to TV screens, and connected TV ads are competing with multiple content streams.

Contact True Interactive

True Interactive can help you navigate the connected TV landscape. Our services range from media strategy and planning to automated performance reporting. Learn more about our services here, and contact us to learn more.

Why Walmart Connect Expanded Its Advertising Partnerships

Why Walmart Connect Expanded Its Advertising Partnerships

by Tim Colucci Walmart

As the 2022 holiday season kicks into high gear, retail analysts are watching closely how much consumers will spend during a time of inflation. But it’s equally fascinating to understand how people shop. Walmart Connect, Walmart’s fast-growing advertising arm, believes that holiday shopping online – indeed all shopping online — will increasingly happen via social media, television commerce (t-commerce), and livestreaming. That’s one reason that Walmart Connect has expanded its advertising partner program to encompass social apps such as TikTok and streaming platforms such as TalkShopLive.

What Is the Walmart Advertising Partner Program?

Walmart Connect wants to help businesses advertise across the digital world beyond Walmart.com. To do that, Walmart Connect’s partnership program works with platforms to help brands scale, automate, and optimize their Walmart Connect advertising. These include partners that make it possible for Walmart Connect to expand self-service advertising through an application programming interface (API). Those API partners can be found here.

The partnership program is becoming more important to Walmart as it positions itself as a strong retailer-based ad platform alternative to Amazon Ads. And Walmart says the program is increasingly delivering value. For example, when BirdRock Brands turned to Pacvue (an enterprise software suite for eCommerce advertising) to scale its manual Walmart Sponsored Products campaigns, BirdRock was able to help design a campaign that ultimately experienced a return on ad spend 11 percent greater than its target, and an 83 percent increase in sales quarter over quarter.

What Did Walmart Announce About Its Advertising Partner Program?

Walmart has added a slew of advertising partners known as innovation partners. According to Walmart, these innovation partners will provide test-and-learn opportunities with formats such as social, entertainment, and live streaming throughout the entire holiday season. The newly expanded offering includes additional touchpoints and channels to reach customers wherever they are with new ad formats:

  • TikTok: this partnership provides an opportunity for advertisers to connect with potential shoppers on the red-hot TikTok platform. As Walmart noted, more than 50 percent of TikTok users say they watch ads on their feed instead of scrolling past them. The first-to-market pilot between TikTok and Walmart Connect will provide advertisers with the opportunity to serve in-feed ads on TikTok. This will leverage TikTok’s sound-on full screen video format together with Walmart Connect’s targeting and measurement.
  • Snap: the partnership with Snap enables advertisers to buy ad units including augmented reality, Collection Ads and Snap Ads through Walmart Connect and take advantage of the Walmart Connect’s geo-based measurement. This is the first time advertisers can buy Snap ad units through Walmart Connect and get in front of the unique Snapchat audience (75 percent of 13-34 year-olds in the U.S.), who hold over $1.9 trillion in spending power.
  • Firework: this partnership enables supplier-funded shoppable livestreams and short shoppable videos on Walmart.com/live. Walmart Connect is testing how brands can leverage Firework’s capabilities to create premium, engaging, mobile-first video experiences and, to start, has partnered with Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.
  • TalkShopLive: Walmart Connect is expanding its relationship with TalkShopLive to partnership enable supplier-funded shoppable livestreams on Walmart.com/live, TalkShopLive’s platform, brand and publisher sites, as well as across the web. Walmart Connect is testing how brands can amplify their content and connect with shoppers at scale. To start, it has already executed livestreams with Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Samsung, among others.
  • Roku: Walmart wants to help make TV streaming the next e-commerce shopping destination. Walmart touts Roku as America’s Number One TV streaming platform (citing Hypothesis Group research). So, Walmart has become the exclusive retailer to enable streamers on Roku to purchase featured products and have the transactions fulfilled by the chain. Walmart Connect will connect brands to customers through the Roku platform, and checkout will be seamless for customers, while advertisers receive insights on effectiveness via Walmart Connect measurement.

In announcing these partnerships, Walmart discussed how online search and shopping has become more diversified especially in the post-pandemic age. Seth Dallaire, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, Walmart U.S., wrote in a blog post:

Consumers who turned to online shopping during the pandemic have chosen to stay there, with those returning to in-store relying on online research to guide their decisions. Consumers realized the importance of “connection” and were forced to adapt and connect in new ways including social feeds, livestreaming, mobile and more, specifically across video and connected TV. In fact, the predicted growth of social commerce from 10% of all e-commerce to 17% by 2025 will be driven by Gen Z and millennial consumers and nearly two-thirds (64%) of social media users — an estimated 2 billion social buyers — said they made a purchase on social media in the past year.

Now, Walmart Connect intends to do its part in connecting social media discovery to actual sales. So far, Walmart Connect’s partnerships have been hands-on in nature. Brands get custom reporting about their campaigns, based on activations on Walmart.com’s live shopping, TikTok, Snap, and Roku. But Seth Dallaire told Advertising Age that the partnership program expanding to the point where it would be more automated and widely available within Walmart Connect, so that brands could better target ads on social media and connected TV.

Contact True Interactive

To succeed with online advertising, contact True Interactive. Read about some of our client work here and our Walmart Connect expertise here.

For Further Insight

“Why Walmart Connect Is Winning,” Tim Colucci, February 25, 2022.

“Why Retailers Are Launching Ad Businesses,” Tim Colucci, January 11, 2022.

“Walgreens Doubles Down on Its Advertising Business,” Tim Colucci, May 19, 2021.

“Amazon Unveils New Ad Units Across Its Ecosystem,” Kurt Anagnostopoulos, May 4, 2021.

“Why Macy’s Launched an Advertising Platform,” Tim Colucci, March 3, 2021.

“Walmart Asserts Its Leadership in Advertising,” Tim Colucci, February 8, 2021.

The Roku Deal with Google: Advertiser Q&A

The Roku Deal with Google: Advertiser Q&A

by Tim Colucci Connected TV

The fight is over – for now. Connected TV provider Roku has reached a multiyear agreement with Google to keep YouTube and YouTube TV on its streaming platform. Thus ends a months-long standoff between Roku and Google that had resulted in Roku users losing access to YouTube TV (Google’s livestreaming service) and most likely the YouTube app. The deal will allow the 56.4 million active Roku accounts to continue to watch YouTube and YouTube TV without disruption. So, what does all this mean to advertisers? Let’s answer some questions:

Why does Roku matter to advertisers in the first place?

Roku matters because it’s a gateway to over-the-top (OTT) television viewing, which is gaining in popularity. OTT television refers to watching TV content that is streamed directly through the Internet – such as subscribing to a streaming service or streaming content from apps like YouTube on TV.

Approximately 2.3 billion people worldwide watch OTT content, and the number are growing. The OTT market will grow to $1.039 trillion by 2027, according to Allied Market Research. Of all the revenue made in the OTT market, 52 percent comes from advertising video-on-demand (AVOD). In short, advertisers are following the eyeballs.

You don’t need cable to watch OTT — but you do need a device like Roku.

Roku competes with devices such as Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV to offer audiences access to OTT. These devices collectively are known as connected TV. Roku is the most popular device, with a 37 percent share of TV viewing time in North America.

These devices control access to content on OTT. They need to support apps and streaming services in order for a viewer to get access to OTT. In short, connected TV devices wield considerable power. And Roku is especially popular because it sells smart televisions with built-in streaming technology along with devices that users can plug into TVs.

Roku makes most of its money selling ads on streaming channels and taking a share of the streaming services’ subscription revenue and ad inventory. In addition, Roku offers OneView, an ad-buying platform for TV streaming.

What was the problem between Roku and Google?

Roku had removed YouTube TV from its channel store in April as part of a dispute with Google over how search results were displayed on Roku’s platform. As a result, viewers could still watch the Google app, but access to the app was about to expire when Roku and Google reached a deal.

Roku alleged that Google interfered with Roku’s independent search results, requiring that it favor YouTube over other content providers. The company also claimed that Google discriminated against Roku by requiring search, voice, and data features not required of other connected TV devices.

As a result of Roku removing YouTube TV, an owner of a Roku device could not stream YouTube TV via OTT. The YouTube TV app allows subscribers to watch live TV channels online for a monthly fee. YouTube TV offers live streams of nearly 100 popular channels, including ESPN, CBS, Fox News, and CNN.

And, Google lost access to those viewers for its ad-supported YouTube TV service.

Why did Google and Roku reach an agreement?

Google was under pressure to reach a deal. Google would have lost out on millions of dollars in ad revenue in addition to the YouTube TV revenue that would have come from Roku. But Roku had motivation to reach an agreement, too. Competitors such as Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV carry YouTube. Roku could have lost customers to those competitors.

What were the terms of the deal?

Terms were not disclosed. We don’t know what concessions both sides made to restore access to YouTube TV for Roku viewers. Likely Google eased up on some behaviors that Roku deemed anticompetitive, but it’s hard to say exactly what might have happened.

What should advertisers do?

The news underscores why it is important for advertisers to understand the constantly evolving OTT and connected TV landscape. Connected TV makers are rolling out more ad units that increase revenue (for the connected TV devices) and reach (for advertisers). For example, Amazon is expanding advertising opportunities on Amazon Fire TV, which competes with devices such as Apple TV and Roku to stream content on connected TVs for millions of viewers. Amazon Fire TV is more than a connected TV provider. It’s a way for advertisers to reach people as they browse and discover new entertainment. One new ad unit, Sponsored Content Rows, is designed for businesses to promote content such as new shows and movies in the form of a row (or carousel) of sponsored content while people browse for shows on their connected TVs (akin to sponsored search results in a Google search engine results page).

Watch, learn, and capitalize on connected TV and OTT ad opportunities.

Contact True Interactive

Eager to capitalize on the opportunities connected TV can offer your brand? Contact us. We can help. Learn more about our connected TV services here.

For More Insight

“Advertiser Q&A: Connected TV,” Tim Colucci