Twitter Adds Purchase-Based Targeting Feature

Twitter has announced a new ad feature that gives marketers access to more than 1,000 audiences defined by big data partners Acxiom and Datalogix.

Advertisers can now serve Promoted Tweets to Twitter users who have signaled purchase intent in specific categories off Twitter, with the new “Partner Audiences” ad feature. The new functionality is an extension of Twitter’s relationships with Acxiom and Datalogix, and will allow brands to target ads based on past user purchases or demographic data such as household income. Additionally, it will help advertisers to extend campaigns to Twitter users with similar characteristics.

“With partner audiences, you can now target Twitter Ads to users who have shown powerful signals of intent off of Twitter – helping you drive the highest possible ROI with your advertising campaigns,” wrote Kyle Boston, a Twitter product manager for revenue. “For example, by using a partner to provide the desired audience, an auto brand can connect with audiences that are in-market for a new car. A CPG company can reach customers that have previously purchased products in their category. And luxury brands can limit campaigns to shoppers who earn a household income above a certain threshold.”

Facebook launched a similar program two years ago with the same partners, along with Epsilon. Just like that offering, the Twitter system will match its users with people in partner databases using hashed or de-identified email addresses and other data associated with their Twitter accounts.

Twitter says that brands that have been testing the new feature over the past few months have experienced positive results. One example is Nestle’s Butterfinger, as it was introducing a new product, Butterfinger Cup Minis. The brand was able to target Twitter users who frequently purchase peanut butter candy at grocery stores, convenience stores and other in-store destinations. Twitter says that this targeting lifted engagement for Nestle by 52 percent in comparison to the brand’s overall performance in 2014.

Twitter users can choose to opt-out from the program by unchecking the box in their privacy settings that is labeled “Tailor ads based on information shared by ad partners.”

For auto dealers, having the ability to target consumers that are in the market for a new car could certainly increase the ROI on their marketing campaigns. Considering the fact that Acxiom and Datalogix are dominant players in the big data industry, tracking and analyzing consumer behavior across brick and mortar and online businesses, Twitter’s new ad feature could prove to be valuable for many advertisers.

Twitter has been releasing a large number of products over the past few months, both on its ad and consumer side. Even though its user growth has stalled, the company’s ad business has been growing. Last quarter, its revenue hit $432 million, a 97 percent uptick. However, even with this success, Twitter is likely feeling the heat from its larger peer, Facebook. Bloomberg recently reported that Facebook is planning the development of a mobile-ad exchange that would compete with Twitter’s MoPub.

Twitter’s new feature is available now for advertisers running campaigns in the United States, and can be accessed in the Twitter ads dashboard from the “Behaviors” section of the campaign creation page.