oct 2021 - apr 2023
In 2021, Roku doubled its ad commitments by investing heavily in performance advertising. I led the design of new interactive ad formats and TV commerce experiences that powered this growth.
Project Overview
The interactive ads organization was tasked with designing and delivering high-performing on-screen ad formats.
I began the project by auditing current formats and, recognizing the novelty of TV performance marketing, worked with product to define the highest-value opportunities for customers.
After multiple conversations across the board we documented the priorities—data, best practices, and flexibility in TV advertising—and used these insights to structure experiments that revealed the source of truth.
Approach
As a team we agreed to cap each test at three design variables for interpretability, and standardize success metrics (CTR, CVR, engagement). Over 1,500 controlled experiments shaped the design patterns and roadmap, codifying winners and retiring ineffective ones.
Working alongside marketing I identified 3 experiment variables to conduct these quantifiable experiments and worked with them to instrument these tests with 50+ alpha partners.
overlay iterations
on-screen checkout
I led the design of a highly customizable on-screen checkout component for TV Commerce. We launched in 2022 Upfronts with Walmart as our key partner, shortly followed by Shopify.
“We’re working to connect with customers where they are already spending time, shortening the distance from discovery and inspiration to purchase,” said William White, Chief Marketing Officer, Walmart. “No one has cracked the code around shoppability, until now. By working with Roku, we’re the first to market retailer to bring customers a new t-commerce experience and seamless checkout on the largest screen in their homes – their TV.”
Includes all production ready attributes
I participated in 10+ usability studies led by the user researcher to identify the information hierarchy best suited for on-screen shopping.
We developed a design that emphasized exploration and product discovery while enabling users to complete checkout efficiently with their remote. To encourage low-price impulse purchases under $35, it removed friction at key points in the checkout process.
scaling across product categories & beyond
I worked with our visual designer to build a design system and defined variables of change, enabling software engineering to plan which parts of the UI should be built for customization.
Worked with the Walmart and Shopify design teams to validate that the approach could support diverse product categories and merchants, enabling engineering to build a scalable system.
Outcomes
"This is a market that is a multibillion dollar – many multibillion dollar market that just traditionally was not even tapped into by TV platforms. We have so much opportunity to experiment with this type of interactivity adding value to the viewing experience. "
— CEO, Anthony Wood
The suite of ad offerings I worked on during my time at Roku has bolstered the company as a dominant leader in the ads space, accounting more than 49% of it's revenue. Thankful to have been a part of this initiative.
$