Advertisers for the first time can tap Roku’s first-party data via a managed service measurement system called Ad Insights, released on Wednesday.
The Ad Insights platform builds on Roku’s support of third-party measurement partners like existing partner Nielsen, Kantar Millward Brown, Oracle, Placed and Experian.
“This launch was really the result of us stepping back and taking stock of all the unique assets we have as Roku to help do measurement better,” said Scott Rosenberg, SVP and GM of Roku’s Platform business.
Ad Insights lets clients measure the impact of their campaigns across Roku media and the app publishers in Roku’s network.
Roku’s measurement capabilities come from its first-party registration data, representing millions of active viewer households, as well as data on streaming behavior Roku collects using either pixels or automatic content recognition.
“We do a lot of business with content owners, whether it’s TV networks or OTT providers who want to promote their programming,” said Dan Robbins, head of ad research and insights at Roku. “With automatic content recognition technology, we can directly measure whether a tune-in led to an increase in linear viewership, which is something we’ve tested with a bunch of clients.”
Roku’s Ad Insights also aims to address lower-funnel demands for performance marketers.
Using the measurement suite, advertisers can determine if, for instance, a campaign targeting cord cutters drove sales. Or, a telco advertiser who wants to upsell a broadband service to existing pay-TV customers could tap into that subscriber information.
Most of Roku’s ad revenue comes from brand advertisers, Rosenberg said.
“But because we serve every ad on a one-to-one basis, have that first-party registration data and partner with folks like Datalogix [Oracle] and Placed, we’re well positioned to tie out that exposure to actual sales impact, purchase intent or brand perception,” he said.
Finally, Ad Insights includes a survey tool that collects real-time feedback and demographic data from opted-in consumers via email and new survey units served to Roku device screens.
“This takes advantage of the fact that we have a relationship with our customers, so we can very quickly stand up surveys to get real-time feedback about a campaign,” Robbins said.”
