Dive Brief:
- Twitter announced Thursday it opened up a new pre-roll video ads option as part of its Amplify ad unit that will allow publishers to turn video content into a source of revenue.
- Previously marketers had to deal with publishers to buy ads tied to their videos, but the new service will streamline and automate the process of buying pre-roll ads for marketers.
- The microblogging platform is also going to begin testing “Promoted Moments” as another way for marketers to grab users’ attention in the new Moments feature.
Today, we're opening up video monetization on Twitter! It's never been easier. http://t.co/RcWvoZRaZr
— Twitter Amplify (@TwitterAmplify) October 8, 2015
Dive Insight:
Marketers looking to buy pre-roll video ads and publishers seeking to earn money from video content now have an option that makes the process much easier for both groups. Twitter Amplify, the year-old ad marketplace, opened up pre-roll ads to automate the process of buying these ad units.
Previously marketers had to deal directly with publishers to buy ads tied to video content. That option is still available for publishers that don’t want to opt into Twitter Amplify in order to retain more control over what ads are associated with their content. For publishers that do join the Twitter Amplify market, the process of including pre-roll ads to video content will be automated.
Marketers can target ads based on criteria, such as the type of video the ad runs with and specific user types that will see the ads. Several publishers have joined the beta test of the Twitter Amplify marketplace, including BuzzFeed, Vox Media, AOL, Fox, MTV, Time, Mashable, Funny or Die and Univision.
