Roku enlists agencies to help small businesses with streaming ads

Dive Brief:

Roku has launched a certified partner program that will run through its OneView platform and is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) tap into the growing streaming video advertising market, according to a press release.
The first OneView partner is Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media, which will leverage the platform’s data, machine learning and measurement tools to set up, optimize and measure streaming ad campaigns.
The deal gives Camelot access to a platform with data from Roku’s more than 63 million global subscribers, 53% of whom say they prefer shopping at local, independent stores, per a 2021 MRI-Simmons USA study cited in the release.

Dive Insight:

As cookies and mobile IDs become less available, marketers are looking for solutions that will enable them to continue offering personalized marketing experiences to consumers. While larger companies and agencies have financial and employee resources to help them find new solutions, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are finding themselves scrambling to stay apace.

Roku is positioning itself to support these advertisers as it looks to boost its streaming advertising business, which has seen slowing growth of late. With Netflix prepping to launch streaming ads this year, the already-hot category is likely to continue growing and become more competitive.

TV streaming is one place where SMB marketers can get that personalization as well as optimization and performance metrics to determine if campaigns are working. Accordingly, 47% of SMB leaders said they intend to increase marketing spending in the TV streaming channel over the next year, according to a recent Advertiser Perceptions SMB Advertising Report cited in the release.

Roku’s OneView platform, which was introduced in 2020, can help SMBs reach streaming audiences across platforms and devices, according to the company. In addition to having its traders certified on OneView, Camelot was a launch partner of Roku’s clean room collaboration tool that enables agencies and advertisers to use encrypted first-party data in their advertising programs. Camelot’s list of clients includes Experian and Cue Health.