Exclusive: Tracee Ellis Ross touts Roku's tech for brand promotion as "industry changing"
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Charlie Collier (L) and Tracee Ellis Ross (R) speak at Axios Media Trends Live.
Tracee Ellis Ross may be traveling solo — but she chose to partner with Roku Originals for her viral travel show because its technology allowed her to pair business with entertainment, the award-winning actress said Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: In a crowded entertainment landscape, every streaming company is jockeying for talent and original content as they compete to be major players in this era's dominant source of television consumption.
Driving the news: The founder of Pattern Beauty, Ross mixed work and play on her travels, leveraging Roku's interface to promote her beauty brand: At certain points on the show, she'd look at the camera and instruct viewers to use their Roku remote to shop the products.
- "That was actually one of the main reasons I said yes" to Roku, she told Axios' Kerry Flynn. "It was the original idea, but one didn't know that it could happen."
- Ross said "Roku has the technology that no one else has that allows you to actually purchase from your remote."
Context: Ross has traveled to Morocco, Mexico and Spain for her Roku Original show, "Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross," which was recently renewed for a second season.
- The show quickly took flight, becoming the most-watched unscripted Roku Original within its first two weeks of launch in terms of unique viewers, the streaming platform said last month.
Zoom in: Roku Media President Charlie Collier said that the personal element of Ross' unscripted story makes the break of the "fourth wall" feel natural.
- "It doesn't feel like a commercial," Ross said, later describing the model as "industry changing."
Catch up quick: In 2021, Roku announced a slate of 30 "Roku Originals" making their Roku Channel debut, featuring stars like Kevin Hart and Anna Kendrick. Since then, it's grown with titles like the Emmy-winning "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story," and Ross' travel hit.
- He said there's no "theoretical minimum or maximum" to spend on Roku Originals, adding, "What we're trying to do is actually super-serve these passionate viewers."
- In August, the company launched Howdy, a low-cost subscription video service with no ads.
- "It's not meant to replace Netflix or Disney by a long shot," Collier said Thursday. "They have great value, but there are a lot of people across the country who ... $2.99 ad-free is a phenomenal opportunity."
What's next: While Ross said they're narrowing down where she'll jet off to next, she told Axios surfing in Perth, Australia, is one idea making waves.
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