The Unmissable Roku NewFront

The Big Message: Consider Roku the TV universe's Grand Central Station -- a crossroads to a multitude of smart TV-distributed channels and bundles. Or in the words of new Roku Media Group president Charlie Collier, it's "a first-class luxury resort hotel for content and advertisers, where we elevate the viewing experience every step of the way." Result: a multitude of ad campaign approaches can be realized at scale. "Roku makes unmissable possible in a complex world," Collier continued. Eventually, "all advertising will be bought at scale, platform-first."

Host: Collier, looking cool and conversational. Here and there, his opening remarks had the makings of a successful opening monologue on Saturday Night Live.

What Worked: A tight balancing act of announcements from Roku executives, videos and on-stage celebrity short takes, all in front of a moving backdrop of popular screensaver Roku City. First celebrity up to the plate: "Weird Al" Yankovic, taking a pubic bow for the award-winning success of Weird, the made-for Roku flick about his rise to songwriting parody fame. "Today I'm serious Al Yankovic," he said. "Roku made Weird unmissable."

What Also Worked: Spacing announcements throughout the presentation, instead of delivering the big news all at once.

What Didn't Work: Nothing. The presentation ran in a smooth, unmissable fashion.

Bonus Points: A rousing, hilarious finale from pop star Charlie Puth, inviting the audience to help him write a theme song for his new semi-scripted Roku original series -- which has no official title. "I'd like to call it Note to Self," Puth said, sitting at a keyboard. "Call this my life with episodes pushed to the brink of insanity." Clearly, some advertising reps appreciated the inclusion of ROI and other favorite business acronyms.

Data Points: About half of everyone watching this year's Super Bowl via a smart TV did so through Roku. Forty million people watch the Roku City screensaver every month. More than 350 programming services and thousands of on-demand movies are now playing on The Roku Channel.

News: The interactive commerce era at Roku is underway, now under the heading "Action Ads." Walmart and Crest toothpaste are among the early advertisers running messages that give viewers the option to order merchandise and services with their voice or voice remote -- without using a second screen to trigger the order. Microsoft, Best Buy, Kroger and Instacart will join other companies in supplying retail data to Roku on a regular basis for the development of future commerce TV deployment. In upcoming culinary competition series Special Delivery, viewers will be able to sample the winning meal on each episode through home delivery. As for Roku City, advertisers can now place messages on any building of the screensaver. McDonald's will be the first tenant in this virtual territory. Over the course of the 2023-24 season, Roku will premiere a number of unscripted and lifestyle series, including Celebrity Family Cook Off (executive produced by Sofia Vergara), Carpe DM with Juanpa (a bilingual travel/adventure experience featuring social media sensation Juanpa Zurita) and Side Hustlers (aspiring entrepreneurs work to turn their nascent enterprises into high-profile businesses).

Parting Words:

"We're not fighting for turf in the streaming wars. We are the turf." -- Charlie Collier, Roku Media President

"Power on to purchase complete. This is the scale and storytelling you all need to make your advertising unmissable." -- Roku Vice President of Ad Revenue and Marketing Solutions Alison Levin

"Prior to Aaron Rodgers, the (New York) Jets were missable." -- Rich Eisen, host of The Rich Eisen Show, presented live weekdays on The Roku Channel

"Everything we do, from our first player to our latest Roku Originals, is about getting you closer to your customers. Many are renting you ad space, but Roku is building an entire ad-friendly world where the viewer, content and advertising come together at every step of the streamer's journey." -- Roku Media Head of Content David Eilenberg

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