Twitter Strengthens Ad Reach Through App-Install Ads

Twitter is strengthening its advertising business by offering mobile ads that ask people to install apps on its social platform as well as through MoPub, the mobile-advertising network it acquired last year.

ClickZ recently reported that Twitter was planning to roll out 15 new types of ads over the next six months – including this ad product, which mimics Facebook’s strategy of encouraging users to download apps through the platform, to boost revenue and attract new advertisers.

According to Twitter, the offering gives marketers “unparalleled scale across the mobile ecosystem.” That’s because the MoPub Marketplace reaches more than 1 billion unique devices and handles more than 130 billion ad requests on Android and iOS applications every 30 days.

Twitter acquired MoPub in September 2013 to expand its reach in native advertising and real-time bidding for mobile ads.

Thanks to its new mobile app promotion suite, advertisers can set up campaigns directly on ads.twitter.com to run across the Twitter Publisher Network, which are then translated into programmatic bids on the MoPub exchange on a level playing field with MoPub’s existing DSP partners, Twitter says.

Combined with the targeting and measurement features in the suite, this gives advertisers the ability to run on-Twitter app promotion via Promoted Tweets, while simultaneously running off-Twitter advertising via the MoPub Marketplace, the platform says.

Twitter also says this means marketers can benefit from a rich, native ad unit that combines the best of Twitter Cards and Promoted Tweets and that allows Twitter users to easily install apps from their timelines.

The social network says it has developed a suite of targeting, creative, and measurement tools – which are in private beta tests in the U.S. – to allow advertisers to promote their mobile apps.

Beta partners include digital music service Spotify, last-minute hotel deal app Hotel Tonight, multiplayer social game company Kabam, on-demand music site Deezer, ticket search engine SeatGeek, mobile game developer Gree, and consumer taxi app GetTaxi.

“We are excited to offer new ways for marketers and developers to drive mobile app installs and app engagements, using Twitter Cards and Promoted Tweets on Twitter, and leveraging the scale of MoPub and the Twitter Publisher Network across the rest of the mobile ecosystem,” writes Kelton Lynn, Twitter’s product manager of revenue, in a blog post.

“This is the first of many opportunities to join Twitter and MoPub to create a large-scale, rich, and well-targeted advertising platform – one that provides high ROI for marketers, and a great experience for users.”