Twitter launches TV ad targeting

Twitter has announced that it will be making TV ad targeting available on the social networking site in the US, in an effort to make it easier for advertisers to extend and enhance TV ad campaigns.

The new feature will enable marketers to engage directly with people on Twitter that have been exposed to their adverts on TV.

By synchronising Twitter and TV ad campaigns, brand messages are expected to become more engaging, interactive and measurable, while making it easier for marketers to run ‘always-on’ Twitter campaigns that help to amplify TV creative.

In 2012, 32 million people in the US tweeted about TV programming, with 24 million tweets generated about the Super Bowl alone.

TV ad targeting works by using video fingerprinting technology that automatically detects when and where a brand’s ads are running on TV, without requiring any manual tracking. Twitter will then identify users who tweeted about the programme where the ad aired.

“As brands look to find better ways to coordinate their marketing activities, Twitter provides the perfect bridge between TV, digital and mobile,” said Michael Fleishman, project manager, revenue for Twitter.

“64% of mobile centric users on Twitter use it in front of the TV at home,” Fleishman added. “Twitter lets brands continue the conversations they start with their TV advertising by building on the awareness they generate through TV with the interactivity and engagement of Twitter’s social/mobile DNA.”

Twitter is currently the fastest growing social network in the world, with its user base increasing by 40% between Q2 2012 and Q1 2013.