Dive Brief:
- Twitter signed an upfront Amplify video ad deal with CW and Ford, marking one of its largest video ad buys according to CNBC.
- The deal will involve CW providing original video content such as weekly recaps, highlights told through tweets, and sneak peeks for highly tweeted shows with Ford ads included in the content.
- Mike Park, director of content partnerships and the Twitter Amplify program at Twitter, told CNBC that video was Twitter’s number one ad product, and that Twitter Amplify was the only social pre-roll video product available.
Dive Insight:
The deal is significant for Twitter for a number of reasons. It bolsters Amplify’s goal of tying TV to video advertising on the platform, and it’s going to generate strong video ad revenue which should make Twitter an even more attractive takeover target. Right now Google, Salesforce and Disney have all expressed strong interest in acquiring the microblogging platform.
The deal also helps validate the already strong case that video advertising on social media is becoming a go-to format, especially given the amount of video watched on mobile devices, the most common way people engage with social media as a second screen while also watching linear TV.
"We know that today's viewer has many choices when it comes to how they consume content, and we've seen how the trend of using a second screen during TV viewing continues to grow," Susan Venen-Bock, national media manager for Ford, told CNBC in an email. "Platforms like Twitter are the perfect place for people to engage in real-time conversation about their favorite show and programs such as The CW Social Convergence target this young, multi-platform consumer."