Dive Brief:

• At the #Twitter4News event in Dubai this week, Twitter pitched a new full-screen vertical video format that will appear in Twitter Moments, the curated collection of tweets that users and brands can create, according to a report on Mashable. 
• The new format is similar to the 10-second interstitials originally introduced by Snapchat and now also found on Instagram Stories. 
• The news comes as Twitter ramps up its live video partnerships and looks to boost ad revenues, which dropped 11% during Q1. 

Dive Insight:

Despite Twitter’s Q1 drop in ad revenue, the company added users and video viewers during the period. The talk of vertical video ads seems tailor made to capitalize on these positive developments with a format that brands have already embraced on Snapchat and Instagram. The news also ties in nicely to Twitter’s big push this week into live broadcasting with the announcement of a number of deals across sports, news and entertainment. 

While vertical video ads require brands to create unique content instead of having to repurpose TV spots, many have already made the adjustment in an attempt to get their messaging in front of young, mobile-savvy consumers. The bigger challenge seems to be getting consumers to watch the ads. On Snapchat, users can easily tap past the ads and research suggests many do, with the average view lasting less than three seconds. 

Despite these challenges, vertical video ads appear prepped for a wider role on Twitter as well as on Snapchat, which is expanding its self-serve ad platform to all brands. Additionally, Virool recently launched a programmatic marketplace for vertical video.