Twitter’s Latest Product Puts Branded Video Content To The Front

Twitter Australia has launched a feature called ‘First View’ which puts video advertising smack bang at the top of Twitter’s timeline both within the mobile app and on desktop. Angus Keene, sales lead Twitter Australia, discusses First View, its advantages and why video is so damn important for the platform.

Video is becoming more and more important for the platform. According to Sam Duboff, product marketing lead at Twitter, video views on Twitter grew by 220X from the end of 2014 to the end of 2015.

To capitalise on the video surge on Twitter, the platform has launched First View which gives brands the top spot on desktop and second place on the app. “It’s really simple, when a user opens a Twitter app or they go to desktop the first thing they will see is a video ad from the advertiser using the First View product over a 24 hour period…It’s a product that ensures brands are reaching the greatest possible audience using a really innovative new product.”

At this stage First View rolls out to everyone nationally, however the creative can be refreshed with different versions of the video throughout the day. “The ability to refresh creative over a 24 hour period is really powerful. Recency drives generally higher engagements and higher video views on the platform.

“So you could have different ads based on the different time periods during the day. A brand might want to say a different message to their audience in the morning versus the people who come to Twitter the first time during lunch.”

Top spot on Twitter for 24-hours could appeal to a wide range of brands; product launches, movie releases, premiers, sporting events and brand sponsorship aligning to big events etc.

The first brand to jump on as partner of First View is Samsung Australia. “It was a really natural fit for them to reach a mass audience with that premium placement with their launch of Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones. What’s fantastic is we’ve achieved really positive results with them.”

The wait is over! Meet the newest member of the family. The #GalaxyS7 is on sale now! https://t.co/f6TuT746di https://t.co/STM0h4Y9kb
— Samsung Australia (@SamsungAU) March 10, 2016

The wait is over! #GalaxyS7 and #GalaxyS7edge are on sale now.https://t.co/dFdOj6FU7I
— Samsung Australia (@SamsungAU) March 10, 2016

According to Twitter, First View Samsung achieved 39 per cent more video views compared to running a standalone video views campaign. Also First View Samsung saw a 30 per cent lower cost per view (CPV) vs. running a standalone video views campaign.

Philip Newton, corporate vice president and CMO at Samsung Electronics Australia said in a media announcement: “Word of mouth is more important than ever. Twitter’s First View gives Samsung the opportunity to reach a wide audience to generate buzz and conversation about our new #GalaxyS7 and #GalaxyS7edge smartphones. We are able to hit a broad audience with great video content to help drive social momentum.”

First View joins a long line of new features on the platform, it is the sixth announcement this month. Twitter’s latest changes include adjusting the timeline algorithm, rolling out a GIF library, easier customer service with direct messaging to brands and more direct customer feedback, as well as the new lightning bolt tab Twitter Moments.

Commenting on all the changes at Twitter globally, Keene added it’s all a part of a master plan: “I think with Jack (Twitter’s CEO) is really focused on re-structuring the business for agility and a real focus on what we’re best at. So we have a focus on video, First View is a video product, we’ve had a lot of success in the video space…It makes sense that we’d continue to evolve in that space.”

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