“It was as startup as startup could get,” Levin added. “We weren’t fighting for a share. We were literally creating the opportunity. We had to bake the pie before we could get our own slice of the pie.”
Roku slowly began making inroads in the marketplace and found that top media buyers actually had Roku devices of their own.
“Once they saw it, they got it,” said Levin. “This dynamic still exists today. Even though we’re the number one TV streaming platform and half of U.S. households have Roku devices, we had a coastal situation where media buyers didn’t understand, see it or feel it.”
People don’t realize how new we are to the NewFront. We’re often compared to businesses that have been around for 50 years.
Alison Levin, VP Ad Sales and Strategy, Roku
That led to a strategy of traveling across the country to take meetings and plugging in devices to demonstrate the product.
Later in the year in 2015, Roku landed a meeting with the McDonald’s CMO. Unfortunately, the executive wanted to come to the startup office in New York.
“I panicked and got a tablecloth and flowers and tried to make the place look even decent,” Levin said. “She walked in, and I swear she thought we were going to kidnap her. She was like, ‘This is Roku’s headquarters?’ Full horrified.”
But the CMO left impressed and told Levin’s team to give her a call when the company hit 10 million active accounts. McDonald’s is now one of Roku’s major partners.
One year later, Roku signed its first upfront partnership, teaming up with Magna.
“We left and walked down Sixth Avenue and were screaming of happiness,” said Levin. “That was the moment we really started to move with the major holding companies.”
The product evolution
Levin’s team wouldn’t have been able to lock down deals with McDonald’s and Magna without a solid platform to offer.