New Study from Magna and Roku Finds New Video Ad Formats in Streaming TV Are 2x More Favorable than Traditional TV Ads

Study finds brands that use innovative streaming TV ads drive 78 percent greater search intent compared to traditional TV ads

MAGNA Media Trials, MAGNA’s industry-leading proprietary research offering, and Roku announced a new study in partnership with the Roku Brand Studio that finds new video ad formats in streaming TV are twice as favorable as traditional TV ads for consumers.

Marketers want to stand out in the shift to streaming. Traditional TV ads alone miss an opportunity to surprise and delight across the entire streamers’ journey outside the traditional ad break. The Beyond the :30 on Streaming TV report examines how marketers can make streaming TV ad experiences more engaging and impactful.

“Better TV storytelling for brands starts with Roku”

Three new “Beyond the :30” video ad formats were tested:

• Thematic Tagged Vignette: A 30-second animated ad where a brand celebrates streaming.
• Roku Original Vignette: A 30-second ad where a brand references the Roku Original show being streamed.
• Watch Alongs: Ad breaks where a brand sponsors discussion about the show or movie being streamed.

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All three “Beyond the :30” ads posted stronger results than traditional TV ads for top-of-mind brand recall (+57% “Beyond the :30” vs. +43% traditional), brand favorability (+8% vs. +3%), and intent to search (+16% vs.+ 9%). These results illustrate the strong promise of “Beyond the :30” ads, including enhancing brand awareness and promoting purchases.

“In the current advertising environment, it is important to recognize that viewers can easily skip over advertising, but our study found they are less likely to do so if the ads are as entertaining as the programming and present a more enjoyable experience,” said Kara Manatt, EVP and managing director, intelligence solutions, MAGNA. “One of the most memorable formats for viewers is Watch Alongs, likely because the advertiser is offering the viewer added value to the show they are watching.”

Key findings from Beyond the :30 on Streaming TV include:

• Thematic Tagged Vignettes catch attention: 65% of respondents agreed that the spots “taught me something new,” besting traditional spots by some 20 points.
• Roku Original Vignettes triple return on purchase intent: +10% purchase intent for Roku Originals Vignettes vs +3% for traditional TV ads.
• Watch Alongs improve recall: 66% top-of-mind ad recall for Watch Alongs vs. 39% for traditional ads.

“Better TV storytelling for brands starts with Roku,” said Asaf Davidov, director, head of ad measurement and research at Roku. “The takeaway for marketers is clear — the key to winning the entire streamers’ journey is surprising and delighting beyond the traditional TV spot.”

The research involved multiple brands representing different verticals, including T-Mobile and Subaru. An at-home panel of 1,316 viewers was divided into randomized exposed and control groups, who watched content of their choice interspersed with streaming-specific advertising and traditional advertising. Following the content-viewing experience, viewers were surveyed to assess the impact on brand key performance indicators, or KPIs, and to learn more through consumers’ points of view.

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