Roku announced today the launch of a new advertising brand studio to create branded content experiences. Roku has partnered with Funny or Die and will bring several of the company’s branded content team members over for the launch.
Those joining Roku from Funny or Die include executives Chris Buss and Brian Toombs, along with former Snap executive Rachel Daly Helfman. Together, the team has experience in creating advertising content for companies including Kroger, Lyft, Ralph Lauren, Wendy’s, and more.
“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.”
With the new advertising studio, Roku is hoping to create unique ads that will allow advertisers to engage more actively with cord cutters through immersive branded experiences. For Roku, the new advertising studio offers more opportunities for presenting innovative ideas for reaching a streaming audience to more partners. For advertisers, it means reaching a new audience in a new way, with more than a simple 30 second video.
“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 ended 2020 with 51.2 million active accounts, with users streaming 58 billion hours of content throughout the year.