At its first TwitterFronts event for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Twitter unveiled over 16 premium video content collaborations across sports, entertainment and news. The microblogging platform reminded that this provides advertisers more opportunities with premium video on Twitter to connect with the most valuable audiences when they’re the most receptive.
“Across the world, we find that Twitter’s audience leans in to our partners’ premium real time video and our advertisers appreciate aligning with our brand safe inventory; whether via global-firsts originating from MENA which include custom productions which position brands as viable distribution partners, or by accessing original programs and video highlight clips. This event is a great way to celebrate that momentum with our partners,” said Twitter Head of Content Partnerships, EMEA, Theo Luke.
Twitter also shared research, conducted by consumer insights company Toluna. The research examined user preferences for content and their interactions within the online video landscape on Twitter among its users in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Kuwait. It revealed that majority of Twitter users — 72 percent in KSA and UAE and 62 percent in Egypt — consider Twitter as one of their main sources for online video content and also that 64% have previously watched live streamed content on the platform.
“We’re excited to bring premium content partnerships to these audiences and look forward to seeing continued success by advertisers as they launch new products and services when partnering with such content,” said Benjamin Ampen, Managing Director, MENA, Twitter.
The original and video highlights programming include both new and expanded deals.
In TV networks, the new deals include MBC Group and AMS, Abu Dhabi Media and Dubai Media Inc. The expanded deals include Rotana Group. The research showed that entertainment, fashion, cooking and travel are among the top five popular video content genres by Twitter users in MENA. The most viewed videos around entertainment include humorous clips (47%), highlights from TV shows (29%), celebrity interviews (26%) and highlights from TV series (24%).
The research also indicated that in sports, football, wrestling, tennis and motorsports are among the top six enjoyed video content by Twitter users in MENA. The new deals in this segment includes football clubs such as Al Ahli and Al Ittihad Saudi football clubs that include behind the scenes with the teams, training sessions, team travel, interviews, fan moments and team archives. The expanded deals is with beIN Sports, Goal Arabia and Formula 1.
Ramadan continues to be a big focus for the platforms. Several new and live original productions will take place exclusively on Twitter during Ramadan. These include Sayidaty Group’s ‘Your Ramadan Morning with Sayidaty’, an all-female morning show by and about women, online network UTURN Entertainment’s ‘Who’s Turn is it?’, a live program that showcases stand-up comedians, Hia magazine’s #VimtoCreations, a program that has already secured sponsorship, that showcases top celebrities while they discuss a variety of lifestyle topics, and men’s lifestyle magazine Arrajol’s #WhenMenKnow, a show that covers Ramadan cultural topics. Lifestyle publication Layalina will launch a sponsored Ramadan TV Direct Message experience on Twitter.
The digital publishers include the likes of Sabq and UTURN-Diwanee Group. New partnerships around lifestyle content additionally include collaborations with Hellooha, Aram and Augustus. In addition, a partnership with automotive news publisher Almuraba.net is also in place.
