Dive Brief:

• Roku will adopt The Trade Desk’s Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) audience identity product to enable more precise targeting to advertisers on its premium streaming platform, per a company announcement.
• Integrating UID2 with the first-party data from Roku’s 83.6 million households on its streaming platform will enable more personalized advertising at scale and increase interoperability across the programmatic ecosystem, according to the company.
• UID2 will be integrated into the Roku Exchange, a media sales platform launched in June that connects Roku’s ad supply to programmatic demand across an array of DSPs, including The Trade Desk.

Dive Insight:

Google may have made headlines recently with its announcement that it would shelve its plans to deprecate third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, but Roku’s announcement shows how the industry has moved on. Cookies have played a vital role in digital advertising’s development, but the continued growth of cookieless spaces like connected TV and mobile has led to a rise of alternative solutions like UID2.

Roku’s adoption of the audience identity solution is an indication of the demand marketers and advertisers are putting on advanced audience targeting. By adopting UID2, Roku says it can now offer advertisers greater reach, seamless activation and better campaign performance and return on investment.

“The adoption of Unified ID 2.0 represents another step forward in Roku’s strategic programmatic path, rooted in our goal to revolutionize the ad ecosystem,” said Jay Askinasi, senior vice president and head of global media revenue and growth at Roku, in a blog post further explaining the adoption.

“By further partnering with The Trade Desk, we aim to enhance targeting capabilities, improve ad performance and efficacy to drive growth, and maintain our leadership position in the TV streaming space,” the executive said.

In its recently announced 2024 Q2 earnings, Roku said its streaming households grew by 14% year-over-year, streaming hours increased 20% and platform revenue increased 11%. The company’s total net revenue was $968 million, up 14% year-over-year, and platform revenue was $824 million, up 11% year-over-year. 

For its part, The Trade Desk saw revenue of $491 million in Q1 2024, accelerating growth 28% year-over-year. The company will report second quarter earnings after the market closes on Aug. 8.