Dive Brief:

• Roku and DoorDash today (Feb. 7) announced a multi-year partnership, according to a press release shared with Marketing Dive. As part of the deal, new and existing Roku account holders can get six months of complimentary DashPass, DoorDash's membership program.
• In the first year of the partnership, DoorDash will be the exclusive marketplace ad solution for restaurants and grocers on its platform that buy interactive shoppable ads on Roku. The partnership lets merchants place click-to-order offers within Roku ads that they can attribute, target and measure.
• Wendy's will be the first restaurant brand to test the Roku-DoorDash integration, giving Roku subscribers who see the chain's ad access to $5 off any purchase of $15 or more, as part of its efforts to double down on digital acceleration. 

Dive Insight:

Roku and DoorDash have come together to find synergies as they look to boost offerings for advertisers and enrich experiences for consumers. Complimentary DashPass access for six months is the type of perk that digital companies have teamed up to offer consumers as competition has increased across categories like streaming TV and mobile food delivery.

More central to the partnership is a shoppable ad offering that makes DoorDash the exclusive ad marketplace for restaurants and grocers who buy interactive ads on Roku. The click-to-order offers look to shorten the sales funnel for DoorDash and the merchants on its platform, while giving advertisers better tools for targeting, attributing and measuring ads.

The deal taps into behaviors like digital delivery and streaming TV that surged during the early stages of the pandemic but have become less sure bets as competition has increased. One-third of Roku users order take-out or delivery weekly, according to Roku research, while 36% of users are interested in receiving interactive offers including scannable QR codes or text messages, demonstrating the marketplace demand for this partnership.

As part of the partnership, DoorDash partners run ads directly on Roku, and when consumers interact with shoppable ads, they receive promotions through text or email and are led back to DoorDash storefronts, reducing friction in the process. Wendy's is the first restaurant brand to test the offering as part of its investment in digital acceleration. 

“At Wendy’s, we’re consistently meeting our customers however they choose to engage with us. With increased preferences for mobile ordering and delivery, whenever that craving for a hamburger made with fresh beef or Hot & Crispy Fries hits, we’re at our fans’ doorstep, meeting and exceeding expectations for quality and convenience," said Carl Loredo, U.S. CMO for Wendy's, in the press release.

Press materials stress that the deal has come together in time for the Super Bowl, a day when consumers are likely to be watching TV and in the mood to order delivery. In a similar tie-up, Instacart and Michelob Ultra partnered to create shoppable TV commercials that coincide with the beer brand's Super Bowl ad and also suggest snack pairings from Frito-Lay.