Twitter signs deal with Viacom to boost social ad potential

Graeme Parton +

Twitter announced this week that it has signed a deal with Viacom that will see it deliver social video content around the**more** mass media firm’s biggest programmes.

In the announcement, it was revealed that the two companies would work together to put the ads out on major networks such as Comedy Central, VH1, MTV and Nickelodeon.

The first of the ads will be broadcast during MTV’s Video Music Awards, which takes place at the end of August. During the event, MTV will publish a series of Tweets commenting on the ceremony’s highlights. Twitter users will also be given access to backstage footage and interviews, all while taking in the integrated advertisements. Talking about the move, Adam Bain, the head of global revenue at Twitter, said in a statement:

“As events happen in life, we continue to see Twitter as the place people share those moments, especially when those events happen on TV. [The collaboration] will allow Viacom to connect people across screens, and tap into the social conversation on Twitter with complementary TV video clips across all devices.”

Rumours of a deal have been circulating since April, when Bloomberg reported that talks were taking place. The collaboration is also just the latest in a line of agreements made by Twitter in an attempt to improve on its advertising scope. Earlier this month, the company announced that it will also work with ESPN, the NBA and the NCAA, with each partnership designed to give Twitter users access to richer promotional content, while giving marketing agencies new ways of getting their messages out.

While the microblogging site’s fanbase has continued to swell steadily – it now has more than 200m active users – the majority of the company’s recent activity has been focused on strengthening its advertising platform. Twitter has also worked hard towards ensuring its users have a consistent experience of the site’s advertising features across desktops, tablets and smartphones.