CANNES — A year after it launched a shoppable TV ad, Roku came to Cannes Lions with a major Walmart partnership to talk about.
Roku in May 2022 had announced a “frictionless retail” scheme combining shoppable ads with its Roku Pay technology.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Lindsay Pullins, Director, Ad Revenue Business Strategy, Partnerships, Roku, says: “Retail media streaming and commerce will be the way that we transact in the industry moving forward.”
Making TV Interactive with Shoppable Ads
“Roku has a relationship with Walmart and Walmart Connect that allows our consumers to interact with a Walmart ad on screen by clicking the Roku Pay button and then purchasing that item directly from their television screen,” says Pullins.
This partnership with Walmart Connect enables Roku to target and measure the impact of these interactive ads for brands, giving them an understanding of their customer engagement and conversion rates.
Roku’s collaboration with Walmart and Walmart Connect plays a crucial role in its shoppable ad strategy. “We have a direct connection into their API where Roku is actually the front end showing that relevant ad and shoppable ad to the consumer,” Pullins shares.
Shoppable Video: Complement, Not Substitute
Pullins believes shoppable ads are not substitutes for traditional spot ads but rather an effective addition to any television or streaming media buy.
“It gives the advertiser an opportunity to have that shoppable ad work for any different KPI, whether it’s for your upper funnel KPI where you’re trying to drive more reach and awareness of your product.”
But do consumers genuinely want to shop on TV? “We are early days, but I would say absolutely some of the early testing that we’re seeing, and engagement with our consumers is very, very strong,” Pullins says.
The secret, she says, lies in personalization and relevance. By focusing their efforts on making the shopping experience as intuitive and valuable as possible, Roku thinks it can ensure consumers find the process far from interruptive, but rather, easy and convenient.
You’re watching coverage of the Global Retail Media Summit at Cannes Lions 2023, presented by Criteo & Habu. For more videos from Beet.TV’s Cannes Lions 2023 coverage, please visit this page.
