Twitter today announced First View, an initiative aimed at helping marketers to bring their video adverts to the attention of a much higher number of the social media site’s users.
How will it work? Basically, an advertiser who pays for a First View placing will land what Deepak Rao, Twitter’s Revenue Product Manager, has called his company’s “most valuable advertising real estate” for a 24-hour slot. During that period, users logging into Twitter through the website or app will see that marketer’s video ad before any other in their timelines.
A Twitter spokesperson has told TechCrunch that the company is considering expanding First View to tweet types beside video ads in the future. The First View ads will get their initial roll out in the US and select US-managed clients, with a wider international roll out intended for the near future.
First View has particularly obvious appeal for TV and film companies, as video ads can much more effectively preview an upcoming screen production than static ads. Marc Weinstock, President of Domestic Theatrical Marketing at 20th Century Fox, called First View “a great opportunity to widely distribute our trailer for Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates while generating buzz and social conversation.”