Starcom MediaVest, Twitter Reach Upfront TV Data Deal

The upfront concept continues to expand. With the NewFronts moving into year two, Twitter has reached a first upfront deal with Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), which covers both inventory and data access.

SMG gains preferred opportunities with Twitter ad products, such as Promoted Tweets, accounts and trends (and possibly others in development).

Just as prominent is the opportunity to tap into proprietary Twitter data to analyze how TV and Twitter impact one another and forces driving an ecosystem of paid, earned and owned media.

Lisa Weinstein, SMG president in global digital and analytics, referred to the deal as “inventory-plus.”

Unlike most TV upfront arrangements, the agreement covers multiple years. SMG has had a lengthy relationship with Twitter and is on path to become the social media network’s first “certified” agency.

The two will work together to create a “Social TV Lab” that will deliver insight into how TV viewing might impact Twitter activity and vice versa. It’s clear the two have a reciprocal relationship, but Weinstein said: “We want to be able to better quantify what that is.”

Insight gained there could have broader implications for SMG’s efforts to better allocate dollars toward paid, earned and owned media channels. The group calls the concept “convergence modeling.”

Certainly, Twitter can provide unending data that can allow marketers to shift strategies and budgets in near real-time. “We’re collaborating on how we better quantify the overall value of this 24/7 world,” Weinstein said.

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