CTV is Better Together: Amazon and Roku’s partnership to reach your next customers

Where are your next customers coming from? Converting consumers who are already in-market for your product can be relatively simple (though not easy). The omnipresent challenge for advertisers is finding new customers to fill the top of their funnel with fresh demand – all while audiences are fragmented across varying consumption platforms. Amazon and Roku’s latest analysis shows how connected TV (CTV) can help advertisers address this challenge.

Last year, Roku and Amazon Ads partnered to offer advertisers access to the largest authenticated CTV audience in the U.S., with coverage for over 80% of households. Since launch, we’ve analyzed 400+ brands that activated Roku through our exclusive Amazon DSP integration, which includes an authenticated data match at an OS level, applicable across all supply paths integrated within Amazon DSP, as well as a direct supply path between Roku Exchange and Amazon DSP. Our study compared brand campaign performance on days when Roku Media was in-flight versus inactive days, while controlling for promotions, seasonality and other factors.

Combining data from Roku Media with insights from Amazon DSP, the results offer advertisers both a solution to the challenge of attaining measurable CTV results and a new playbook for driving top-of-funnel demand.

CTV ads deliver fresh demand from new-to-brand shoppers

CTV ads delivered fresh demand, especially when Roku Media was accessed through Amazon DSP for a sustained period. Exposure to Roku Media on CTV drove sales, with more than half (55%) coming from new-to-brand customers. These are new shoppers with no purchases from the participating brands in the 12 months prior. CTV media brought them into the customer journey.

Our results show that if an advertiser’s key objective is to grow customer audience, CTV is a very efficient path to reach shoppers who are new to your brand.

So, if CTV generates demand, how do advertisers optimize it to find new-to-brand consumers?

Build your brand funnel first

Per the study, a minimum 10% increase in Roku spend drives a 5.6% lift in branded search and a 6.4% lift in detail page views on Amazon. CTV introduces the brand to customers while they’re watching on the big screen. Then when they pick up their phone or laptop, they search for that brand, discover the product page and buy.

Add CTV to augment your total media plan

With Roku Media CTV priming the funnel, all your non-CTV ads work harder. On days when your campaigns are running on Roku Media CTV, your non-CTV Amazon DSP ads generate 87% higher returns than comparable days when not running on Roku Media CTV. These results control for similar total investment, similar audiences, and similar creatives, with the presence or lack of Roku Media CTV delivery being the only structural difference.

Consistency pays off

We observed 87% higher returns as the average across all investment levels, but brands that sustain buying Roku Media CTV for over six months see total gains roughly 26% above that average. Short-burst advertisers running for only a month or two capture only a fraction of the amplification effect. Results suggest that sustained CTV investment over six months or more is associated with stronger performance outcomes.

CTV also delivers during must-win seasonal moments. A toy brand running Roku for four months during the holiday season drove strong seasonal volume, demonstrating CTV’s impact during tentpole periods when capturing demand is critical. Brands sustaining investment beyond seasonal bursts saw even greater amplification, suggesting CTV rewards both tactical seasonal activation and always-on commitment.

Amazon and Roku’s Partnership: Direct supply integration and authenticated audience match

Amazon DSP offers a direct supply path to Roku Media CTV inventory via a direct integration with the Roku Exchange. Campaigns also benefit from Amazon and Roku’s authenticated identity graph of logged-in users, enabling precise, deterministic audience matching on all supply paths, whether via the direct Amazon DSP integration or Amazon DSP via any indirect supply-side platform (SSP), and across all CTV supply on the Roku Operating System.

A pet food brand recently tested this direct integration and audience matching versus an indirect integration (via SSP) with audience matching artificially disabled. The direct route through Roku Exchange, plus authenticated audience matching, delivered 21% lower cost per unique viewer reached and 29% higher product page view rates while controlling for similar Roku inventory, campaign settings and budgets. Lower frequency waste meant spending less to reach each unique household, while the higher engagement rate meant putting ads in front of viewers more likely to act.

An automotive brand reached 66% more unique viewers through Roku Media and Amazon DSP via the direct connection and audience enablement. They achieved lower frequency and lower cost per reach, compared to buying via a third-party SSP with data match purposefully disabled (with the same spend and the same CPM).

The proven path to customer growth

Buying Roku CTV inventory makes your entire media plan more efficient. If your goal is to acquire new customers, using Amazon DSP to access Roku Media is a proven path to introduce your brand to new shoppers. It builds top-of-funnel consideration that your mid-funnel converts – making every dollar in your plan work harder. And brands that commit to a sustained investment and buy through the direct authenticated route from Amazon DSP get the most benefit. CTV is the demand engine your funnel needs to bring new customers to your brand.

Sources:

Amazon internal, full panel 400+ brands, US, Jan 2025 – Mar 2026.