Twitter just announced that they will be launching a new ad platform and you may be wondering if it’s right for your business. This is a point of view from the Wieden + Kennedy digital strategy team.

A point of view from the W+K strategy team.

Twitter just announced that they will be launching a new ad platform and you may be wondering if it’s right for your business.  Before we get to that, first let’s talk about how the new model works.

First and foremost, Twitter’s system isn’t all that different from Google AdWords, which is a system for placing ads alongside search results based on the keywords the searcher used.  Twitter advertisers place CPL (cost-per-thousand views) bids on keywords and their tweets are displayed in the search results based on their bid and quality score, which will likely be calculated based on how people respond to the tweet, i.e. retweets, @replies generated by the tweet and new followers.  The higher your quality score, the lower your CPM.

The benefit to advertisers according to Twitter is your tweets will be displayed “above the noise” of ever-changing search results, which gives brands the power to respond to discussions in real-time and not be buried by rapidly changing Twitter search results.  Eventually, promoted tweets will find their way into Twitter streams and desktop/mobile Twitter clients like TweetDeck and Tweetie, but Twitter has not yet announced how this will be executed, but it will likely be related to the topics users tweet about.  The ads will initially look like this:

 
Now, are sponsored tweets right for your business?  If you have something to say that’s relevant in real-time, then yes.  If you want to use it to promote a static message the same way you would with Google AdWords or banners, sponsored tweets are probably not right for you.

The Starbucks example above is a great illustration of an effective use of this technology.  It’s related to a one-day promotion and would be shown to users expressing interest in the brand.  It would also make sense for them to use more general keywords relating to coffee.  However, keywords relating to free stuff and deals would attract less qualified users.

Initally, this system is being tested by Starbucks, Virgin America and Bravo, however, it will soon be opened up to other brands. 

Neal Arthur has been promoted to managing director of W+K New York . Arthur replaces longtime managing director Buz Sawyer, who left the agency last month, and will partner with executive creative director Kevin Proudfoot to lead the office.

In a move that now sees people named Neil or Neal running two of Wieden + Kennedy's seven offices, Neal Arthur has been promoted to managing director of W+K
New York . Arthur replaces longtime managing
director Buz Sawyer, who left the agency last month, and will partner with
executive creative director Kevin Proudfoot to lead the office.

 “The interest in this job
has been intense, both within the W+K network and outside the agency. But at
the end of the day, the best solution was right here in the New York office. I couldn’t
be more excited to announce that, effective today, Neal Arthur will be our MD
in New York,” commented Dave Luhr, W+K global chief
operating officer. “In my mind, Neal represents what
future leaders in this industry will look like. He is dead smart, hugely
connected, multifunctional and full of action.”   

Arthur joined
W+K NY in 2005 as the director of strategic planning, where he’s applied his
impressive range of experiences to develop new business opportunities and
engage clients within the agency.  

“There is an exceptional
amount of talent and energy within W+K NY. I’m incredibly excited to help
this office become more progressive, more dynamic and build a stronger presence
within New York’s creative
community,”
said Arthur.

Prior     to W+K NY, Arthur was a senior
brand strategist for the brand and innovation consultancy Redscout. There he
was responsible for stewarding product development from concept to distribution
for brands within the Diageo and Pepsi-Cola families. Before
Redscout, Arthur worked at Fallon where he experimented with ways to bridge the worlds of
entertainment, advertising and interactive to create breakthrough marketing
approaches that transcend traditional media channels. 

Arthur has
worked on innovative film initiatives for BMW and Amazon.com in addition to
brand work for Lee Jeans, Earl Jean, Holiday Inn, Orville Redenbacher’s,
Timberland and Sports Illustrated.

Previously,
Arthur was a planning consultant for W+K’s Portland office, where he worked on
a variety of consumer brands, as well as for The Curious Company, a strategy
and research studio focused on investigating consumer behavior and cultural
trends.

Neal's shoes, recently.