In a milestone agreement, Amazon Ads and Roku are teaming on a new advertising initiative that will give media buyers access to more than 80% of U.S. connected-TV households.
The new offering is expected to hit the market by the fourth quarter of 2025. Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP) will be used to place ads on top-viewed platforms like the Roku Channel and Prime Video along with other services available via Roku and Fire TV operating systems.
The team-up was unveiled as the ad, entertainment and tech sectors converge in the south of France for the annual Cannes Lions confab.
In early trials, the integration has yielded strong results, according to the companies. Ads placed via the new setup reached 40% more unique viewers without any additional cost to the buyer, and reduced the frequency of how often ads were shown to the same person by almost 30%. That outcome equates to triple the value for the same ad spend compared to previous options.
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In an interview with Deadline, Jay Askinasi, Head of Global Media Revenue and Growth at Roku, and Kelly MacLean, VP of Amazon DSP, acknowledged that the two tech companies are rivals in some areas. But they also pointed out that the two are customers of each other as well, with Roku selling connected devices on Amazon.com and Prime Video available on Roku’s 100 million-plus households.
“There was a strong business relationship there to begin with,” Askinasi said. Plus, both companies are “trying to solve marketers’ challenges,” he added, “and I think we are uniquely positioned together to do something like this.” Amazon and Roku are also “both very customer-obsessed,” MacLean added. “We’ve both been trying to solve these CTV industry challenges.” She described the combined arena opened up by the partnership as a “new canvas” for brand messages.
Paul Kotas, SVP of Amazon Ads called the collaboration “a giant leap for advertisers.” He added that it would unlock “unprecedented capabilities and deliver performance in ways that simply weren’t possible before.”
The integration uses what the companies described as “a custom identity resolution service,” which allows the Amazon DSP to recognize logged-in viewers across the Roku operating system and devices in the U.S. That capability is aimed at increasing targeting.
“For years, Roku has been committed to delivering performance-driven, open, and interoperable solutions that provide visibility and accountability for advertisers. Our partnership with Amazon strengthens this mission, as Amazon DSP exemplifies these principles,” said Charlie Collier, President, Roku Media.