Amazon and Roku kick off Cannes Lions with DSP tie-up 

The integration lets advertisers access an estimated 80 million authenticated U.S. CTV households via a unified shared identifier across Roku and Fire TV platforms, including premium publishers and apps such as Prime Video and The Roku Channel.

The partnership leverages a custom identity resolution service that lets Amazon DSP exclusively recognize logged-in viewers deterministically across Roku OS devices. According to the duo, this enables marketers to better control aspects of their campaign management, such as frequency capping, and attribute advertising exposure to consumer purchases. 

“By combining our technologies, advertisers can now drive full-funnel campaign outcomes — from awareness through conversion — while eliminating media waste across Amazon and Roku streaming audiences,” said Paul Kotas, svp, Amazon Ads, in a statement. 

Roku inventory is still available via rival DSPs, and the streaming giant’s ad inventory can also be purchased via direct sales.

Charlie Collier, president, Roku Media, added, “For years, Roku has been committed to delivering performance-driven, open and interoperable solutions that provide visibility and accountability for advertisers. Our partnership with Amazon strengthens this mission, as Amazon DSP exemplifies these principles.”

The integration is currently undergoing testing – the pair claim some participants using this new solution reached 40% more unique viewers with the same budget – and will be available to all U.S.-based advertisers using Amazon DSP by Q4 2025.

The announcement represents Amazon DSP’s opening salvo at this week’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, the flagship conference for the advertising industry, where its representatives will attempt to woo advertisers and further erode the market share of market leader Google.  

In particular, Amazon DSP has made cost-effectiveness its USP, with several Digiday sources noting that its platform fees are significantly less compared to those of rival offerings, such as The Trade Desk, in recent weeks. 

However, sources have also highlighted Amazon DSP’s perceived disorganization, technical shortcomings, and lack of customer support — these aspects have long been considered a cornerstone of The Trade Desk’s rise on Madison Avenue, although there is a growing cognizance of this within Amazon, according to sources.

During a recent town hall hosted by Digiday, participants discussed the respective offerings of the leading DSPs. While many welcome the current ascension of Amazon, many are wary of how it could soon emulate the less popular aspects of Google’s offering.  

“Amazon is not on our side,” observed one source. “They’re only in it for themselves, and they absolutely will squeeze everyone out as much as they possibly can eventually, when the time is right.”