In a press release this morning, it was announced that Twitter has signed a global strategic partnership with WPP, the world’s largest advertising agency, for an undisclosed amount in a deal potentially worth hundreds of millions. The contract gives WPP access to substantial data on Twitter users which they can then use to target and pedal products based on analytics.
The deal with WPP is the second in a matter of months for Twitter, who signed an equally lucrative deal with Publicis’s Starcom MediaVest Group back in April (SMG clients include Procter & Gamble, Walmart, Microsoft and Coca-Cola). That deal will look to take advantage of the skyrocketing relationship between Twitter engagement and television viewers. A recent Nielsen study confirmed the strong correlation between increases in Twitter volume and TV ratings. TV shows love pulling followers’ tweets to make their spots more engaging to those watching and those following live updates on the microblogging platform. The relationship is boundless, which makes the relationship between TV and Twitter a lush one.
Per the press release the deal with “WPP companies from a variety of disciplines will increasingly leverage Twitter data across a number of important initiatives to deliver more effective campaigns, enhanced targeting and more real-time insight to clients.”
“The partnership will see the launch of new data products and services, the integration of Twitter data into key WPP media and analytics platforms, training for staff in the application of these new capabilities and a partnership approach to key clients and markets.”
What’s important to understand for avid Twitter users is that, between all of the fluff and buzzwords, WPP is saying it plans to use the data Twitter has collected from million of followers worldwide to tailor advertising towards specific users based on things like what they tweet and retweet, handles and groups they follow, and likely more though its not detailed in the release. Twitter has grown to become one of the premiere social media sites in the entire world, rich with data and statistics related to how people interact with brands and products–an advertiser’s dream. Access to those stats will make WPP salivate.
Another thing to consider, floated by AllThingsD, is “this is the kind of pact that’s very nice to have as you prepare to go public.” A Twitter IPO would certainly pique the interest of investors as recent moves by Twitter have led many to speculate whether the company was gearing up for a public offering. An estimate by the Daily Herald claims that one Twitter investor valued the company worth an astounding $10 billion. Twitter has yet to comment on intentions of going public, and likely won’t after the Facebook IPO had many feeling optimistic going into it and left many deflated as stock prices have systematically decreased since. But be sure to stay tuned to BostInno for the latest.
