Twitter Revamps Its Brand Strategy Team as Twitter Next

Twitter’s brand strategy team is now Twitter Next, with new functions and services added to the mix. Head of Twitter Next Alex Josephson, previously head of global brand strategy, said in a blog post, “As the industry has shifted, so have the needs of marketers who want to break through the clutter and drive conversations about their campaigns, products and messages. That’s why today, we are evolving Twitter’s brand strategy team and reorienting our offerings around a single mission: to create human-centric ideas worth talking about.” He continued, “Introducing Twitter Next, which includes campaign and content strategy services, brand voice consultations and a newly formed lab of technologists, program managers and designers. The expanded team—now in 20-plus markets worldwide—also includes specialists in engineering and data science.” [kickout id="1"] Josephson said Twitter Next’s new lab is made up of technologists, producers and designers who are tasked with testing new ideas in partnership with clients—not only on-platform, but also experiential marketing. KFC and BET are among brands that have taken advantage of the lab’s data-driven experimentation to create custom campaigns. KFC brand engagement manager Josh Benge said in the blog post, "As this was a first for us, we really appreciated the strategic and technical support from the Twitter Next team. They helped us plan all of the content and walked us through the setup, ensuring that the campaign ran as smoothly as possible at launch. We're very appreciative for the expertise and support the team gave us." [kickout id="2"] BET vice president of digital video and social content Ken Gibbs added, “The tool made it amazingly easy to set up a brand reminder campaign for the BET Awards. The results—tens of thousands of people who opted in to receive a reminder the day of the event—exceeded our expectations. We’re excited to use this again for future launches and events.” [kickout id="3"] Twitter said in its blog post that research conducted with IPG found that the cultural involvement of a brand accounts for 23% of consumers’ purchase decisions, adding that Twitter Next “is constantly analyzing audience behavior and conversational patterns on Twitter to inform campaign and product launch strategies for brands.” The social network cited a recent campaign by Samsung Spain in which the company wanted to leverage its partnership with HBO drama Game of Thrones to market its new line of QLED television sets. The electronics maker and Twitter Next reamed up on an experience allowing fans to vote for their favorite Game of Thrones characters in a tournament-style format, and the social network said that during the five-day campaign, Samsung’s #BatallaQLED hashtag had four times more mentions than the official #GameOfThrones hashtag in Spain. Samsung Spain chief marketing officer Alfonso Fernandez said in the blog post, “I'm not sure we've ever seen one of our campaign messages—in this case, #BatallaQLED—more talked about on Twitter. I think of Twitter as more than just a media platform. The team at Twitter Next are truly creative partners for us.” Brand voice consultations and workshops are also one of Twitter Next’s offerings, and No Name Brands, a Canadian line of generic grocery and household products, took advantage of knowledge provided ty the social network when it established its presence on Twitter for the first time earlier this year. Twitter said in a blog post that No Name Brands generated 23,000 new followers in the first two months of its campaign, along with double the mentions of Canadian icon Celine Dion during that time period. Uwe Stueckmann, senior vp of marketing for No Name Brands parent Loblaw, said in the blog post, “Our new @nonamebrands Twitter account is bringing the No Name brand to life in a fresh way. This brand is rooted in simple and direct communication with our customers, and we felt that Twitter was the perfect avenue to expand this conversation.” [kickout id="4"] [kickout id="5"] Twitter said in its blog post that its strategic SWAT team for advertisers includes “interesting and diverse people” such as: a software engineer and prototype developer who worked for NASA; a brand strategist specializing in ad tech and programmatic who also serves as a pregame and postgame announcer for KNBR’s coverage of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants; and an insights specialist who is also a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The social network also noted that the Twitter Next team was behind The Participation Playbook, which Twitter and intelligence provider Contagious released at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June. Josephson concluded, “At Twitter Next, we learn from the past, live in the moment and focus on what can be.”