Twitter Snags the Last of the Major Networks, ABC, for Amplify
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A giant Oscar statue waits to be transported to Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Dolby Theater on Feb. 26, 2014 in Hollywood, California, during the preparations for the upcoming 86th Academy Awards on March 2.
Image: Joe Klamar
Twitter has signed up ABC, the last of the four major U.S. TV networks, for its video- and photo-sharing Amplify program.
ABC will employ Amplify for its broadcast of the 86th Academy Awards on March 2. The Disney-owned network will share 10 photos from celebs taken backstage at a "Twitter Mirror" — a Samsung tablet set up so you can tweet from it.
Karin Gilford, SVP of digital media at ABC, says the videos will be part of an ad buy from Samsung and will be branded as such. "It allows these photos to reach a larger audience," Gilford says. "It gets that great content in the hands of more Oscar viewers."
Twitter introduced Amplify last May. The product promotes live television content in real time by letting media brands and their ad partners disseminate 5- to 10-second clips or photos from the programs they're airing. The following tweet, from ESPN (an ABC sibling network) and the NBA ran shortly after Twitter announced the program.
Glenn Brown, Twitter's director of promoted content and sponsorships, says Amplify now has 61 partners, most of which are media brands. Brown says Twitter is working on further expanding Amplify internationally.
Twitter also announced a deal this week with National CineMedia for a one-minute weekly show that will look at the top trending movie and entertainment content on Twitter and Vine. NCM and Twitter plan to launch the program in movie theaters this summer and promote it on Twitter via Amplify.
At the moment, Amplify is a key differentiator for Twitter for advertisers. Though Facebook has been playing catchup to Twitter in providing ad opportunities for second-screen events, Twitter is still regarded as the standard-bearer.
George Manas, director of client strategy and development at Resolution Media, a media buying firm, says his clients have been very happy with Amplify because it has provided high engagement rates. Manas says he thinks it might make sense for Facebook to try a similar program.
"I think they could duplicate the concept and I wouldn't be surprised to see them heading in that direction," Manas says. However, the private nature of Facebook's system — only 30% or so of posts are public — will make that a challenge. "Twitter by its very nature doesn't have that problem," he says.
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Topics: 86th Academy Awards, ABC, Advertising, Business, Marketing, Television, Twitter
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