Dive Brief:

• Twitter announced on its developer blog that, starting Feb. 1, 2017, it will no longer be possible to create lead generation campaigns although marketers will still be able to view, edit and delete these campaigns. 
• On the same day, Twitter will also remove the ability to create or edit lead generation cards. It will be possible to view lead generation cards through March 1. Campaign analytics will still be available, the company said. 
• “We are always experimenting with the best ways to help advertisers effectively connect with consumers,” Twitter said in a statement provided to Marketing Dive. “At this time, we intend to focus our efforts on building and improving other performance offerings that will help us drive the best performance for advertisers."

Dive Insight:

Twitter developed lead generation ads to help marketers create direct response campaigns. Lead generation cards are embedded in the ads to enable users to share contact information with marketers whose products or services they are interested in learning more about.  

In general, the expectation has been that lead generation would be a good match for mobile as response mechanisms like initiating a text or call is built in. Twitter hoped to take advantage of this perceived benefit by enabling users to respond to marketers without having to leave the platform.

While this basic premise hasn’t changed, the quick growth in chatbots and voice-enabled interfaces this year now makes more indirect ads seem cumbersome and old-fashioned.

Twitter recently beefed up its chatbots offerings and this could be the “other performance offerings” it is referring to. In early November, Twitter said it is rolling out new chatbot features such as automated welcome messages and prompts for quick replies. With chatbots expected to be an important interface going forward, other platforms like Facebook Messenger are also boosting their capabilities, meaning Twitter would be wise to focus its efforts here as it struggles to maintain its foothold.