Sophie Blake
Roblox has unveiled video ads that will now be available to all advertisers on the platform, marking a significant expansion of its advertising offerings, providing brands with a new way to reach its community of users, ages 13 and up, across the platform.
With over 71.5 million daily active users, more than half of whom are Gen Z consumers, Roblox represents a valuable opportunity for brands to connect with this demographic.
Stephanie Latham, vice president of global brand partnerships at Roblox, highlighted the appeal of advertising on the platform, stating, “By advertising on Roblox, brands can create deeper connections and engage tens of millions of Gen Z users who represent our top-spending demographic.” The new video ads format offers simplicity and scalability, allowing brands to drive global awareness and consideration without the need for custom-built 3D content.
These video ads are available through Roblox’s self-serve Ads Manager and will soon be accessible via programmatic media buying. Advertisers will have access to expanded controls and features, including genre targeting, brand suitability, and an audience estimator. Later this year, completed views will also be available for purchase, offering advertisers a proven format that has been beta-tested in Ads Manager.
Video ads join Roblox’s suite of Immersive Ads offerings, which already includes portal and image ad formats, providing brands with additional options to drive traffic and increase awareness among users.
Video ads on Roblox were initially introduced in November 2023 and have since undergone testing with brands such as e.l.f. Beauty, HUGO, Walmart, and Warner Bros. Pictures. A brand lift study conducted by Roblox in collaboration with Latitude revealed positive user reception of video ads, with the majority of respondents indicating that they were more likely to notice brands advertised on Roblox compared to other platforms.
Enrico D’Angelo, vice president of economy at Roblox, emphasized the platform’s focus on creating immersive, native advertising experiences that enhance user engagement. “We are focused on building powerful, native to Roblox solutions like video ads that bring advertisers inside 3D immersive experiences,” D’Angelo stated. “We are also leveraging and building upon industry standard advertising goals like completed views, evolving them to ensure more authenticity for our users.”
To provide advertisers with measurement solutions, Roblox has also announced partnerships with Integral Ad Science (IAS) and Kantar. IAS will offer 3D in-experience Viewability and Invalid Traffic (IVT) measurement, allowing advertisers to verify engagement with real users. Kantar’s Context Lab will provide a Brand Lift Solution for eligible video ads campaigns on Roblox, offering interim brand lift studies utilizing forced-exposure methodology.
“IAS is dedicated to supporting advertisers wherever they are, and that includes providing unique, effective ad measurement solutions across emerging mediums such as immersive 3D environments,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO, IAS. “Our partnership with Roblox makes us the first measurement provider to bring enhanced visibility and transparency to the world of 3D immersive experiences on Roblox, giving advertisers the assurance they need that their ads are driving engagement and reaching real users.”
Looking ahead, Roblox plans to offer full integrations with multiple brand lift partners for industry-standard passive measurement of ad campaigns. Last month, the company announced a partnership with PubMatic to facilitate the rollout of new video ads.
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