Twitter Launches Retargeting

Twitter has entered the digital ad sphere full-force in 2013, launching its Amplify TV platform, and now they’ve launched cookies-based retargeting for brands, allowing them to use their e-mail lists and cookie IDs to serve users applicable ads.  This is standard practice for other online services, but has come with some concerns over privacy.  Twitter’s senior director of product, Kevin Weil, assures the public that all information is non-identifiable and there will be the option to opt-out of the promotions within Twitter’s interface, or via Do Not Track.

Second Screen TV Competition Expands At Cannes

At the Cannes Lions conference, Twitter made the case for its Amplify program, that generates buzz around big TV shows by introducing its latest recruit: Viacom. The pilot program for the partnership will be the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25th, which was one of the first events to generate an authentically trending social media presence. Brands working with Twitter Amplify now include ESPN, Turner Sports, and the NBA, as well as specific campaigns by Ford, AT&T and Coca-Cola. Also pitching at Cannes was Shazam, who announced the “Shazam Engagement Rate,” which is a proprietary metric to judge the effectiveness of TV ads driving people to tag using the app. It will combine data from Nielsen with its own stats, with the goal of showing which ads are most effective at persuading viewers to interact. 

Twitter Debuts Amplify

Twitter today took to the stage to announce that a new advertising and marketing service called Amplify will be launching. Amplify allows media brands to promote television clips on Twitter; examples include a key play in a basketball game, a short weather forecast, or a short spot for a car. Twitter debuted this product for ESPN and the NBA, which partnered with Turner Broadcasting to make the product effective. Additional media partners now include A&E, BBC America, Conde Nast, Discovery, Fox, Major League Baseball, and WWE. Twitter also announced plans to start working on a TV ad targeting dashboard, which will help advertisers target Promoted Tweets to people who have seen their ads on TV.