Cart (0)
business newsNew Ads Capture the Twelve-Second Attention Span
Low-cost, high-impact commercials draw big-name brands.
PRINT
 |
|
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.
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.”
The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.
Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
