What Happened
Twitter continues to ramp up its live content as the company announced a partnership with Bloomberg on Wednesday to simulcast the three upcoming presidential debates and the vice presidential debate on its platform. The livestream will be presented in a similar format as the one it designed for the NFL game broadcast last Thursday. The two companies will share revenue from ads aired during the pre- and post-debate coverage, similar to the deal they reached in July for Twitter to stream three daily news programs from Bloomberg TV.
What Brands Should Do
As Twitter continues to build out its live-streaming capabilities, it is also actively courting media owners to cover high-profile media events to attract an audience and monetize through ads. And its ad-friendly approach toward live streaming presents a viable channel to connect with an online audience that can be hard to reach via traditional media buys.
Moreover, some early-adopting brands have found some success in capitalizing on Twitter’s push into livestreaming by hosting their own live events. Earlier this month, Wendy’s scored 300,000 views on Twitter’s Periscope with a live event where social influencer Cody Johns made its “baconator” burgers. As more and more mobile users become familiarized with livestreaming, brands should consider partnering with influencers to effectively leverage live video to connect with consumers in real time.
Source: Re/Code
