Maker's Mark will sponsor a bourbon-infused talk show on Roku, representing the latest connected TV brand deal to go beyond the traditional 30-second spot. 

"The Show Next Door" will see actor Randall Park sit down each week for conversation, games and, of course, a cocktail of the Beam Suntory-made 90 proof, with a rotating cast of celebrities that includes former NFL great Terrell Owens, “Arrested Development” star Tony Hale, singer Jason Mraz and more. 

The first two 15-minute episodes of “The Show Next Door”—developed in part by Maker’s Mark’s media agency Starcom USA—are dropping today on the Roku Channel, with subsequent installments appearing on the ad-supported video-on-demand platform once a week after that for a total of six episodes. 

“The Show Next Door” is the latest creation to emerge from the Roku Brand Studio, which the streaming giant launched in March as a way to facilitate the needs of marketers looking to shift beyond traditional TV spots, offering everything from sponsor-commissioned TV shows to branded content.

“It’s really emblematic of what we’re trying to do in the Brand Studio from a content perspective,” Brian Toombs, head of content at the Roku Brand Studio, says of the new series. “We’re trying to create entertainment with brands for the streaming environment, and Maker’s was really the perfect brand for this particular show.”

In this way, Roku is advocating for the coming together of content and advertising. “It’s been bifurcated; you have your shows, and you have your ads,” Toombs says. “What we are advocating for is more of that mix of entertainment first.”

Since its debut earlier this year, Roku's studio has developed a number of brand-backed creative elements, though Toombs stresses that this particular project is exceptionally large in scale and “not everything is going to be a six-episode, 12-guest talk show.”

Existing partnerships to roll out of the Roku Brand Studio include smaller deals with Pringles and Twix, and weekly entertainment news show “Roku Recommends” that was launched in conjunction with Walmart.

“We feel that traditional ads are still an important part of conveying our message, but ultimately, we can only tell consumers so many times,” says Josh Clark, senior brand manager, Maker’s Mark. He emphasizes the importance of selecting Randall Park, known for his role in "Fresh Off the Boat," for the host role as someone who genuinely enjoys spirits, keeping the show’s vibe more authentic.

While developing a sponsored series with Roku is a unique step in the world of branded content, it is a natural progression for Maker’s Mark’s media strategy, which has previously enlisted well-known personalities to advertise on streaming platforms.

Late last year, the bourbon brand teamed up with Hulu—which launched a branded content studio of its own, Greenhouse, in 2019—to develop a series of cocktail-making vignettes starring Andrew Rea of “Binging With Babish” fame. That campaign was similarly developed by Starcom USA and tied in with several of Hulu’s original titles.

“As consumers get more savvy, they’re not looking to be talked at, they’re looking to be engaged,” adds Clark, who says the new talk show “feels more intentional” than a standard 30-second ad.

For Toombs, who joined the Roku Brand Studio at its launch after nearly a decade at Funny or Die, “The Show Next Door” represents a “win-win” situation for brands: consumers get entertaining content, and advertisers get reach that can function among even the hardest-to-reach audiences, such as those using subscription-supported, ad-free streaming services, he says. 

And as audiences continue to “shift at a rapid pace from linear television to streaming,” he believes the role of and demand for content studios like Roku’s will only increase, not necessarily as a replacement for traditional ads but as a targeted complement to them for inaccessible viewers.

In a show of the growing demand in streaming, Roku announced that it closed its upfront dealmaking earlier this week, striking deals with all seven major holding companies and bringing in twice as many total advertiser commitments versus last year.

“In this upfront, we are buying TV like we watch TV, and as consumer viewing behaviors shift from traditional to streaming, we are following the eyeballs,” says Brad Stockton, senior VP of U.S. national video innovation at Dentsu. 

“Roku’s recently acquired creative assets and studio with the Roku Brand Studio and their first-party deterministic data allows for high fidelity for targeting and holistic measurement to understand the impact in this upfront,” he says.

At least 42% of advertisers who made commitments for 2022 didn’t buy Roku last year, the streaming platform confirms.