{"id":58564,"date":"2024-02-02T09:58:42","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T17:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/?p=58564"},"modified":"2024-02-02T09:58:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T17:58:42","slug":"the-magic-of-roku-city-rockin-ux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/blog\/the-magic-of-roku-city-rockin-ux\/","title":{"rendered":"The Magic of Roku City? Rockin’ UX"},"content":{"rendered":"

What started as a simple screensaver has become a dynamic destination. What?<\/em><\/p>\n

If you let a Roku idle for a bit, you land in an immersive, magenta-hued cityscape, where you can explore art deco theaters, cozy diners, elegant cafes, noir-ish mansions, and a romantic moon-kissed lagoon, all with a Blade Runner-esque vibe. This noteworthy screensaver has taken on a life of its own \u2014 known on social channels as Roku City<\/em> \u2014 with fans dreaming of packing their bags to move in. That\u2019s the power of some seriously good UX.<\/p>\n

When most folks flick on their Rokus, the streaming hub that says it has more than 70 million active accounts<\/a>, it\u2019s generally because they want to watch a movie, show, or event. However, what has become quite clear is that many of these people are also spending a bit of time watching Roku\u2019s dynamic screensaver.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis particular screensaver has taken on a life of its own,\u201d said the New York Times<\/a> last year, pronouncing that idle Rokus had become \u201cthe unlikely venue for a massive public art experiment.\u201d With the sheer size of Roku\u2019s customer base, millions of homes peek into Roku City every night, providing a window into its dazzlingly enigmatic streets. \u201cIt\u2019s always golden hour in Roku City \u2014 it\u2019s really appealing to everyone,\u201d shared Cheryl Singletary, a design director at Roku. And over time, an enthusiastic subculture of Roku City devotees has emerged on the web.<\/p>\n

This digital cityscape was born in 2018<\/a> and was designed by Kyle Jones, a freelance graphic designer at the time who now works at Pixar<\/a>. He imbued the digital urbanscape with 30 plus movie references, from the emerald city of Oz to Sleepless in Seattle, King Kong, Spider-Man, and more \u2014 crafting an aesthetic that dances between Art Deco and noir.<\/p>\n

In the foreground, we see a shining strip of theaters with lit marquees, romantic restaurants, cafes, and apartment buildings. But across the river is a more pleasingly frightful affair, with rampaging monsters, voluptuous volcanoes, and other assorted chaos. This friction-y contrast is part of what makes Roku City so mesmerizing and easy to space out to as your mind wanders into the contours of this land that is, yes, a screen saver.<\/p>\n

Now, this digital Gotham is folding in something new: advertising.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While it’s a nascent endeavor, it’s a sign that Roku is pioneering new ways to grow at a time when other streaming services are cutting costs to stem subscriber loss. Roku had a strong last quarter of 2023, growing total revenue 20% year-over-year<\/a> and, for the first time, opened Roku City up to major brand advertisers like MaNel and McDonald’s, integrating those brands’ visuals into their now-iconic screensaver, presenting a new way to engage their audience.<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer, Grimace appeared in Roku City<\/a>, bringing McD’s Golden Arches and all to R.C.’s Main Street, part of the first branded ad deal on the screensaver. Barbie’s marketing campaign this summer<\/a> included adding an extravagant three-story Dreamhouse to Roku City, complete with an extensive shoe closet, hot pink slide, and rocking dance floor \u2014 along with a Barbie-branded Roku Movie Theater, with billboards showcasing the film’s trailer \u2014 representing a revolutionary approach to movie marketing. And more recently, an Acura dealership and a Walmart opened their own virtual storefronts, leaving some to speculate that Roku City may be spawning Roku Suburb<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Right now, it’s not clear exactly how much money Roku City ads may be bringing in, but Roku has said that there is more to come, suggesting that demand is higher than capacity. What is clear, however, is that Roku is building an ad-friendly digital city \u2014 which has become increasingly valuable real estate.<\/p>\n

Last May, Paramount+ muscled into the Roku City space with its own \u201cneighborhood\u201d vis-\u00e0-vis a brand takeover that reimagined R.C.\u2019s digital streetscape with Paramount-centric landmarks, from its logo to visual homages to Star Trek and Top Gun: Maverick among others \u2014 with billboards in this Paramount corner leading straight to Paramount content. What makes these engineered spaces valuable is the UX that makes them believable. Digital innovation is entering a new era of invention \u2014 and stellar UX is at the helm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

__________________________________<\/p>\n

Takeaway<\/h2>\n

The contours of the marketing landscape are ever-changing; Roku has crafted a monetizable digital metropolis, birthing a completely new way to engage with its customer base. Marketers, take note. If you want to lead your company’s UX marketing innovation charge but need help figuring out where to start, Creative360<\/a> can help you dream up a whole new world where you can proudly plant your very own brand flag.<\/p>\n

GET IN TOUCH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What started as a simple screensaver has become a dynamic destination. What? If you let a Roku idle for a bit, you land in an immersive, magenta-hued cityscape, where you can explore art deco theaters, cozy diners, elegant cafes, noir-ish mansions, and a romantic moon-kissed lagoon, all with a Blade Runner-esque vibe. This noteworthy screensaver […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":58565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,75],"tags":[80,139,160,161,162,163],"class_list":["post-58564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creative-insights","category-employer-insights","tag-digital","tag-digital-marketing","tag-ui","tag-user-experience","tag-user-interface","tag-ux"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Magic of Roku City? 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