Brands react with interest to Twitter ad opportunities

UK brands and agencies are exploring opportunities on Twitter after it unveiled its ad model this week, but have expressed caution over its impact on their bottom line.

On Monday Twitter announced brands could pay to post ’Promoted Tweets’ – updates that will feature in search results as well as in the brand’s feeds – to reach a wider audience than just their followers.

The micro-blogging site said the first set of advertisers includes Best Buy, Bravo, Red Bull, Sony Pictures, Starbucks and Virgin America.

UK brands and agencies said Twitter was right to wait to introduce an ad model, as the platform has now grown to a size where its inclusion on a media plan is justified.

Gabby Hegerty, head of digital at Samsung UK, who joined this week from Telegraph Media Group, said, “I’ll look into all possible digital channels and I want to make sure we’re expanding across Twitter, so it will be on my radar. We have to make sure we’re using social media channels in the best possible way.”

Adam Field, head of social media at Media Contacts, said, “Our clients will get involved in advertising on Twitter if the opportunity is right for the particular brand, but we’ll need to know more about the type of audience that’s likely to interact with ads on Twitter.”

But Ifan Jenkins, senior brand manager at Carlsberg, said although the brand was using Twitter more, paid ads weren’t an option yet.
“We’re using Twitter and we’ll be stepping up this activity as we head towards the World Cup, but paid advertising isn’t something we’re looking into yet,” he said.

This story first appeared on www.nma.co.uk