Twitter, the online feed through which some users share the most mundane aspects of their existence, 140 characters at a time, has been regarded by some as a sign of end times. But as a marketing tool, it's proven invaluable.

So when 12seconds.tv became Twitter’s go-to video application, ad agencies immediately came calling. The end result: 12omercials, a new, fully interactive advertising medium that could forever change how brands reach consumers.

Buzz & Banter - FREE 14 Day Trial

• STOCKS
• RELATED ARTICLES
• ALSO BY...

SEARCH:

Microsoft Talks Cars
Ford Unlikely To Accelerate To Profitability
Sales Surge At Best Buy
Wholesale: Not the Whole Picture

Why TV’s Best Pitchmen Today Are Funny Women
Sex, Drugs, and the Rocky Economy: Junk Food
Ten Ways to Get Drunk with Celebrities
The Wide World of NFL Merchandise
Peripherals Controlling Video Game Market

 

Since its launch in August, 12seconds.tv has partnered with Kodak (EK), General Motors (GM), and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox. With each video tweet capped at 12 seconds, these brands use the application to create unique Twitter video content. The 12omercial provides web links and analytics to help users gauge the effectiveness of their ads.

The first 12omercials promoted everything from an Ohio Kia dealership to an iPhone (AAPL) app developer to countless small-time websites. LG, the company’s first corporate sponsor, has since helped 12seconds establish a revenue model - something that has so far eluded Twitter itself.

“15% of active users on twitter are exposed to 12seconds content,” says company co-founder and CEO Sol Lipman. “We realized we were a nice bridge into Twitter for these brands. That was the genesis for 12omercials.”

That, yes - along with the desire to coin the truly alarming neologism -- 12alicious -- seen in the brand's homepage copy.



Rather than simply upload its own 12-second commercials, LG encouraged users (through low-cost prize incentives, such as a trip to Las Vegas) to create their very own “Versa Vice” videos, in which they explained the more insidious uses for their LG Versa phone to the Twittering public.

“We see this as the first tweetable commercial,” says Lipman. “I believe Twitter is the future of social networking and the future [of marketing] is user-generated advertising. We’re creating a great platform for that.”

With a new 12omercial campaign for the Microsoft Outlook email application Xobni, and many others on the way, Lipman is working to fully monetize his ad medium. But he isn't too worried about the shrinking human attention span.

“People say it’s sad,” he says. “I don’t think it’s sad. I think it’s a more effective use of time.”