Unity is partnering with connected TV tech firm Roku to deliver a new avenue for app makers to place ads for their apps. Now, from within Unity, Roku is presented as a user acquisition channel allowing users to place ads within the streaming TV service’s ad channel. Viewers seeing the ad can interact directly with it, triggering a download of the app to their mobile device.
The partnership makes it easier than ever for app makers to reach TV viewers and have them download and start using apps as quickly as possible – all from within Unity.
This first-to-market partnership comes as TV streaming advertising continues to grow. GroupM expects TV streaming advertising to grow by 13.2% globally in 2023 to $25.9 billion. With Roku’s reach approaching half of US broadband homes – and with at least 82 of the top 100 games using Unity to grow their games according to data.ai figures – the partnership represents a significant new outlet in the ongoing battle for user acquisition.
The new partnership connects Roku’s scaled, premium TV streaming inventory to the Luna app marketing platform allowing mobile app marketers to feature connected TV as part of their user acquisition campaigns. Roku’s Action Ads aim to enable a frictionless experience, where a viewer uses their Roku remote to initiate the download process of the game onto their chosen mobile device, after which they return to their TV streaming viewing.
Additionally, app marketers will be able to measure the performance of their TV streaming campaigns from initial TV ad exposure to mobile app download – enabling them to drive more cost-efficient growth.
Campaign set-up, management and optimisation are promised to be seamless within the Luna from Unity platform with app marketers selecting Roku from a list of marketing channels.
“Mobile app marketers seek to maximise their budgets and ad opportunities. TV streaming has become the right performance channel to enable growth and provide channel diversity in a highly competitive market,” said Miles Fisher, senior director, head of emerging and programmatic sales at Roku. “Roku’s scale, tech, and direct connection with the viewer are uniquely positioned to make the largest screen in the home work harder for mobile performance marketers on Unity.”
“The driving force behind this partnership is to turn CTV into a high-scale performance channel for apps and games,” said Omer Kaplan, SVP revenue and operations for Unity Grow. “Savvy app marketers today know that they have to harness every available channel to drive truly incremental and cost-efficient growth, and CTV represents a huge and largely untapped opportunity. By coupling that scaled inventory with Luna from Unity’s robust campaign management and optimization technology, this partnership unlocks unique value for app marketers who are looking to drive performance on home TVs. We believe that there is no better combination of partners more suited to making CTV a successful performance marketing channel to add to app advertisers’ UA toolkit.”
Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the world's biggest entertainment, home and tech media brands. He's reviewed all the greats, interviewed countless big names, and reported on thousands of releases in the fields of video games, music, movies, tech, gadgets, home improvement, self build, interiors, garden design and more. He’s the ex-Editor of PSM3, GamesMaster, Future Music and ex-Group Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Musician, Guitarist, Guitar World, Computer Music and more. He renovates property and writes fun things for great websites.
