Social Media Marketing Magazine | News, Tips, Insights & Thought Leadership

Twitter's Pre-Roll Periscope Fail [RANT]

Written by Steven Berridge | Jan 16, 2023 6:00:00 AM
Is Twitter being run entirely by digital marketing newbies? Because it sure as shinola looks that way. 

The network announced this week that it will soon begin allowing publishers to monetize their Periscope content with pre-roll ads.

Here's how it works according to Twitter: 

Pre-roll ads on Periscope video enable brands to marry their message with specific broadcasts from creators and publishers. The same control that brands have to design their campaigns through the Amplify program will be extended to the new opportunities created with these ads. The experience will mirror how ads currently appear on all Twitter video: when consumers scroll through their timelines or search for content from a specific publishers or creators, Periscope videos - live and replay - can start with a short ad.
To be honest, how many of you know that Periscope was even a part of Twitter? 

The pre-roll capability is a true lose-lose situation for everyone. Not only will users be forced to sit through (likely untargeted) ads for live streams they don't watch now, but brands are going to be forced into shelling out more of their precious ad dollars for a format that has been shown time and time again not to perform. 

Whoever came up with this idea should literally have a hole punched in their Internet card. But perhaps I am being too critical? Are you advertising on Twitter right now? Are you using video ads to reach your audience? Does this sound like a good idea to anyone outside of Twitter and their big brand cronies?