Twitter’s new video bidding platform only charges for completed viewings

Aug 22, 2019 | Ads, Content marketing, Mobile, Social, Social media, Video

Twitter has introduced a new way to buy video ads that gives advertisers the option to pay only for completed views.

This week, Twitter announced the new method of bidding on ads, which lets advertisers set a goal of getting viewers to watch for at least 6 seconds. If a viewer scrolls away from the promoted video before the 6 seconds are up, the advertiser doesn’t pay.

This makes it technically Twitter’s first ad offering that charges only for completed views, because advertisers can create 6-second ads, an increasingly popular format especially on social platforms.

In a statement, Twitter said: “With mobile video consumption at an all-time high, studies show brand impact happens almost instantaneously (within seconds) with video ads. A recent Twitter-sponsored study by EyeSee determined short-form (under six seconds), sound-off videos with clear branding drive significantly better ad recall and message association on mobile than linear TVC style videos. Optimal video creative and viewing experiences drive brand lift and sales.”

Brands can apply the 6-second minimum to videos that are up to 15 seconds in duration. If videos are longer than 15 seconds, the brand has to rely on a lower viewability standard.

Commenting on Twitter’s new bidding platform, Hayley Coleby, Senior Social Media Director at London agency The PHA Group said: “Twitter’s move to 6-second video ad bidding will give advertisers a lot more flexibility in terms of how they’re charged for video view campaigns.

“By setting a campaign to charge at the new 6 second option, advertisers can guarantee a more efficient spend of their advertising budget, ensuring that they’re only charged when a user has watched their short-form video far past the industry-accepted optimum point for brand recall (3 seconds).

“Interestingly, it looks as though Twitter will soon allow advertisers to retarget users that have completed the 6 second view, allowing brands to target pre-engaged audiences with further advertising, pushing them further down the funnel to conversion.”

In one example cited by Twitter, Dell recently worked with Twitter and VMLY&R Miami to bring a 6-second video ad to Brazil, which was paired to increase view rate by over 22%.


View the official Twitter blog announcement here

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