Dive Brief:
- Twitter announced in a blog post Thursday the release of new automation tools for pre-roll video ads that support Video Ad Serving Templates (VAST) through select Twitter API partners. The move allows marketers to serve pre-roll ads of any length in front of premium mobile videos.
- Last October, Twitter released a beta version of pre-roll that let advertisers tap into premium videos from Twitter Amplify publishers such as FOX Sports, Dick Clark Productions, and MTV with pre-roll video ads.
- Right now marketers can only choose from four Twitter Ads API partners – AdParlor, Amobee, TubeMogul, and Visible Measures – to begin running campaigns in beta.
Dive Insight:
The new capability gives marketers an easier way to get ads in front of premium video content on the platform, a move that should be welcomed. The announcement comes at a time when Twitter needs good news to share as Bloomberg recently reported that Snapchat surpassed Twitter in daily users.
As Marketing Land points out, given Instagram's success using a similar tactic, letting brands buy pre-roll video ads could help boost adoption for Twitter. It could also prove a big revenue driver for the social network, which has come under pressure from investors to find ways to both pull in more ad dollars, as well as make the platform more palatable for new users.
"Twitter has become a go-to destination for marketers looking to reach highly engaged and diverse audiences," Keith Eadie, chief marketing and strategy officer for TubeMogul, said in a Twitter blog post. "As one of the first video advertising platforms to join Twitter’s pre-roll ads program, we are thrilled to help marketers further increase their reach and apply the effectiveness and efficiency of software to one of the most premium advertising environments."
