20th Century Fox makes mass Twitter appeal, bypassing targeted approach
Film studio 20th Century Fox is among the first marketers to test run a new video ad offering from Twitter that promises broad reach by guaranteeing advertisers the top ad slot in timelines for 24 hours.
While much is made of mobile advertising?s strength in targeting advertising to make it more efficient and effective, sometimes marketers want to get their message in front of as many people as possible. Recognizing that video is a standout performer on mobile, Twitter hopes to capitalize on the trend by providing television advertisers a way to broadcast content to a broad swath of users.
?Given Twitter's stock has experienced a noticeable decline year over year, it's important for them to prove they can make money,? said Andrew Panos, social media researcher at Essence. ?A quick way to accomplish this is by ensuring advertisers are willing to spend, user experience be damned.?
Broad strokes
Film studio 20th Century Fox is using First View to widely distribute a trailer for its upcoming release Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. The strategy is meant to generate buzz and social conversation for the film, pointing to crucial role that word-of-mouth plays for movies and how social platforms such as Twitter are key for driving the conversation, especially among younger consumers.
With Twitter?s stock value down significantly over the past year due to concerns about its reach as well as a broader slowdown in tech-related stocks, the new ad offering comes at a pivotal time for the company, which is scheduled to release its latest financial results later today.
The new ad offering could also help Twitter address concerns about its slowing user growth and overall reach by enabling marketers to reach all active users in a 24-hour period.
Global expansion
With First View, Twitter is giving marketers a way to reach the platform?s engaged users using a broader stroke than its Promoted Trends and Promoted Moments, which are targeted based on contextual relevance.
Twitter has 320 million monthly active users, with 80 percent active on mobile.
First View enables marketers to exclusively own the top ad slot in users? timelines for a 24-hour period and deliver a Promoted Video.
First View is being rolled out to clients in the United States, with a global expansion planned for the near future.
While video advertising is a great way to capture attention, savvy marketers should not overlook the importance of influencers on social media.
?Working in social analytics, I don't see first hand how much clients spend on Twitter advertising, but I can see the value they place on influencers, and that interest is certainly rising,? Mr. Panos said. ?As much as having the top spot on a timeline can help a brand, having three or four influencers throughout a timeline can land better.?