Roku Advertising in 2024: The Complete Guide for Marketers

by Frankie Karrer

7 Min Read

In Q3 of 2023, streaming service provider Roku surpassed the 75 million active accounts threshold — a feat that comes on top of the platform’s user base rising by almost 20 million in just the last two years, altogether signifying a huge acceleration in growth. That rapid development is something that marketers have, naturally, taken notice of, leading Roku advertising to experience a noticeable uptick as well.

Advertising on Roku is a great option to incorporate into your digital marketing mix and subsequently diversify it. To help you learn more, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about Roku ads below.

What Is Roku Advertising?

Roku advertising refers to the suite of ad products and solutions offered by Roku, one of the most prominent and leading streaming platforms.

Advertising on Roku is a great way to expand your reach and connect with niche audiences based on their streaming preferences and viewing habits. This form of CTV advertising gives you a few different options — namely static images and video ads — to connect with prospective customers and boost your brand awareness.

How Does Roku Advertising Work?

Roku advertising leverages its users’ data and viewing habits to deliver targeted ads. When advertising on Roku, you’ll be able to customize a wide range of campaign settings, including your budget, targeting preferences, and ad length, among other factors.

Roku will then programmatically place your ads in front of viewers who are most likely to be interested, ensuring a better return on investment (ROI).

Benefits of Roku Advertising

Advertising on Roku, like many other streaming TV advertising platforms, offers all sorts of benefits, including the following:

Extensive Reach: Roku has millions of active users, providing you with an expansive audience right out of the gate
Targeted Advertising: Advanced targeting ensures ads reach the most relevant viewers
Measurable Impact: Roku provides detailed analytics on your ads’ performance

Roku advertising also gives you total control over your budget by allowing you to set daily, weekly, and campaign spending limits, ensuring you stay within your financial constraints. All of these benefits combined help make it more impactful than traditional television advertising.

Roku Ads Manager, Explained

The Roku Ads Manager is the platform’s built-in advertising interface. It is a self-service tool that simplifies the process of creating and managing your ad campaigns on the platform by offering user-friendly features for creating ads, targeting audiences, budgeting, and tracking performance.

If, however, you are running video ads on multiple Connected TV platforms, it is more beneficial to adopt an all-in-one CTV ad management solution like MNTN Performance TV. In doing so, you’ll be able to view the results of your Roku advertising efforts in the context of your overarching CTV marketing strategy.

Types of Roku Ads

When advertising on Roku, you’ll be able to run several types of ads, which include the following:

Home Screen Banner Ads

These static image ads appear on the Roku home screen and provide high visibility, as they will appear as soon as users launch their Roku device. That said, they can still be overlooked, as users might be distracted by the various app icons that appear on the home screen to focus on your ad specifically.

Screensaver Ads

Screensaver ads appear when the Roku device is left idle, capturing users’ attention in a non-intrusive way. An additional perk to these ads, in particular, is that you won’t be competing with app icons and other content when they appear; when a Roku device is left alone, your screensaver ad becomes the star of the show.

Video Ads

Video ads are integrated with streaming content, and though they are the most costly type of Roku advertising, they are also the most impactful. That is because they are more dynamic than still frame imagery and play when users are already actively engaged with their favorite shows and movies.

How to Advertise on Roku

Advertising on Roku is an easy, frictionless process. You can get started by following these simple steps:

Create a Roku Ads Manager Account

As is the case with all streaming platforms, Roku requires you to create an advertiser’s account before uploading your content. Thankfully, creating a Roku Ads Manager account is quick and easy, but if you do need some help, Roku can connect you with an advertising expert who will guide you through the account and campaign creation process.

Define Your Campaign Goals

With your account created and verified, you can launch a new campaign. During the campaign creation process, Roku will prompt you to select campaign goals. Its algorithm will then optimize your ad placements based on your stated goals.

Select Your Target Audience

Next, you can customize your target audience. Roku offers several audience segmentation options, meaning you can get your ads in front of the right people at the ideal time in their customer journeys.

Choose Your Ad Format

One of the most important decisions you’ll have to make involves choosing your ad format. As we alluded to earlier, banner and screensaver ads are the more economical ad formats, but videos tend to be more impactful. If you are running multiple types of ads at once, you’re likely trying to strike a balance between efficacy and cost.

Set Your Budget and Launch

On the subject of costs, setting your spending limits is one of the final steps for advertising on Roku. You can set a campaign limit, as well as daily or weekly spending caps.

After you choose your budget, you are ready to upload your content and launch your campaign.

How Much Does It Cost to Advertise on Roku?

Advertising on Roku is budget-friendly, as the platform’s minimum campaign spending limits is currently just $500. The more you spend, the wider your reach and the higher your odds of driving conversions.

That said, if you’re new to advertising on Roku, it’s best to start with a small budget that you can test the waters with.

Roku Ads Best Practices

Roku advertising may seem pretty easy — and for the most part, it is — but there is still a learning curve associated with the process. The good news is that you can soften that learning curve by following a few tried and true best practices.

Use Advanced Targeting: Roku’s advanced targeting options are designed to help you reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. This ensures your ads are seen by viewers most likely to be interested in your product or service, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
Optimize Creative for TV Screens: Design your ads with the big screen in mind. Use high-resolution images and videos, clear and legible text, and ensure that your messaging is easily understood when viewed from a distance. For more details, check out our complete guide to CTV ad specs.
Incorporate Interactive Elements: Take advantage of Roku’s interactive ad capabilities to engage viewers more deeply. Interactive ads can include clickable elements that lead to a landing page, offer more information, or provide special offers, enhancing viewer engagement and the likelihood of conversion.
Utilize Sequential Messaging: Develop a campaign that tells a story over time rather than relying on a single ad. By using sequential messaging, you can guide the viewer through a journey, building awareness and interest progressively.
Measure and Optimize: Use Roku’s analytics tools to track the performance of your OTT ads, including reach, frequency, engagement, and other critical marketing metrics. Analyze this data to understand what’s working and what’s not, then adjust your campaigns accordingly.

What Is Performance TV?

Developed by MNTN, Performance TV is a strategic approach to CTV advertising that transforms Connected TV into a performance marketing channel, emphasizing measurable outcomes and ROIs.

By focusing on performance marketing principles, you can make CTV platforms, including Roku, powerful tools for achieving specific marketing objectives.

MNTN’s Performance TV platform helps you get more out of your Roku advertising efforts by measuring campaign performance and converting that data into actionable insights.

You’ll also enjoy the following benefits with Performance TV:

Premium Inventory

MNTN has deals with over 150+ blue-chip streaming TV networks, including Peacock, ESPN, CBS, Bravo, FOX, and other premium providers. We leverage our premium CTV inventory to provide our clients with access to the highest-quality ad placements that maximize visibility and ROIs.

Verified Visits™ Technology

Our innovative Verified Visits™ technology offers unparalleled ad-tracking capabilities. You can monitor consumer journeys and determine which ads and channels are driving meaningful results for your business.

Creative Solutions

Lastly, you’ll have the opportunity to tap into MNTN’s network of vetted creatives, which can help you develop advertising content that captivates your target audience and generates conversions.

Advertising on Roku: Final Thoughts

Roku advertising presents a compelling opportunity for your brand to engage with a large and diverse audience through CTV. By combining the platform’s targeting options and versatile ad formats with the principles of Performance TV, you can make every marketing dollar count. Connect with MNTN today to learn more about the power of Performance TV and its ability to magnify the efficacy of CTV platforms like Roku.