Roku and Amazon Ads: CTV Drives 87% Higher ROAS Across the Media Mix

Connected TV (CTV) is increasingly being evaluated not only for what it delivers as a channel, but for how it influences the performance of the broader media mix.

A new analysis from Roku and Amazon Ads suggests that CTV can have a significant halo effect on other advertising channels. Looking at more than 400 brands running campaigns through Amazon DSP, the study found that non-CTV channels generated 87% higher return on ad spend (ROAS) on days when Roku Media CTV was active, compared with comparable days without Roku CTV.

The findings point to a broader shift in how advertisers may need to think about CTV: not simply as another line item in the media plan, but as a driver of demand that can make other channels work harder.

According to the Roku and Amazon Ads analysis, the research compared brand sales on days when Roku CTV was running with days when it was not. The analysis controlled for nine variables that could otherwise influence performance, including other advertising spend, pricing, promotions and seasonality, while using each brand’s own performance as a baseline.

CTV can create demand that other channels capture
One of the study’s most significant findings is that the impact of CTV extends beyond the television screen.

Across the brands analyzed, 55% of sales came from new-to-brand customers — consumers who had not purchased from those brands during the previous 12 months.

The analysis also found that increasing Roku investment by at least 10% was associated with a 5.6% increase in branded searches and a 6.4% increase in Amazon detail-page views.

That behavior illustrates how consumers increasingly move between screens throughout the purchase journey. A CTV ad can create awareness and demand on the largest screen in the home, while the resulting interest may later translate into a search on a smartphone or a product visit on a laptop.

For advertisers, that makes CTV less of a standalone awareness vehicle and more of a potential catalyst for activity further down the funnel.

The halo effect on the media mix
The 87% ROAS increase is particularly notable because it applies to non-CTV channels.

On days when Roku Media CTV was active, those other channels generated significantly stronger returns than on comparable days without Roku CTV. According to the study, the analysis accounted for similar levels of overall investment, audiences and creative, with Roku CTV delivery serving as the key structural difference.

The implication is that CTV may help generate the demand that other parts of the media plan subsequently capture.

This reinforces a growing argument within the advertising industry: evaluating channels exclusively on their direct attribution can overlook the role they play in influencing the performance of the entire customer journey.

Sustained investment compounds the effect. The research also points to the importance of consistency.

Across investment levels, brands experienced the 87% increase in non-CTV returns on days when Roku Media CTV was running. However, brands that maintained their Roku CTV investment for six months or more achieved total gains of more than 20% above that average amplification effect, according to the study.

Advertisers running CTV for only one or two months captured a smaller portion of that effect.

That does not necessarily mean CTV needs to be an always-on investment. Seasonal campaigns and high-demand periods can still benefit from the medium, particularly when advertisers need to generate awareness and capture demand quickly.

But the findings suggest that sustained exposure can give advertisers more opportunities to build and reinforce that demand over time.

From media channel to growth engine
The study arrives as advertisers continue to look for ways to connect brand-building activity with measurable business outcomes.

CTV has traditionally occupied a complicated position in that equation. Its ability to deliver premium, sight-and-sound storytelling at scale is well established, but measuring its contribution to downstream behavior has been more challenging.

The Roku and Amazon analysis suggests that part of CTV’s value may lie precisely in what happens after the ad is seen — and in the way that exposure influences searches, product consideration, purchases and the effectiveness of other media channels.

For brands focused on customer acquisition, that makes CTV increasingly relevant as part of a broader growth strategy.