Twitter to launch automated ad solution as Google exec claims display ads impressions to drop 25% by 2015

Social networking giant Twitter has said it may launch an advertising initiative for small businesses later this year that will automate ad buying in an attempt to drive up revenue and expand its advertising clout to SMEs.

But the report comes as Google vice president of display advertising Neal Mohan said during a presentation at the Interactive Advertising Bureau that the number of display ad impressions will fall by 25% per person by 2015, but ads will become much more tailored to personal profiles.

Mohan made a number of bets during the conference, saying that people will begin to connect and respond to display advertisements in different ways. Not only will the number of display ad impressions drop by 25%, but engagement rates across all display ads will increase by 50%.

“As ads become less cluttered, more relevant, more engaging and more attractive, we’ll see the rate at which people interact with display ads (such as watching videos or playing games) increase dramatically.”

“I believe the trend will be for people to ultimately see fewer, but better ads,” he said.

Mohan also predicts businesses will start producing much more interactive advertisements, saying they will have a direct say in one quarter of all the ads they see online, whether they be in video ads or other types of displays.

“Whether by choosing to watch – or not watch – video ads, updating their ads preferences to customise the ads they see or actively subscribing to or choosing to receive particular ads, users will be more in control of when and how they see ads online.”

Mohan also predicts 35% of campaigns will begin using metrics that are not just “clicks and conversions”, saying marketers will start measuring their ads with tools such as engagement, and their subsequent impact on offline behaviour.

“We see a longer-term future where these become the primary metrics used to measure the success of a campaign, meaning marketers will be able to deliver the ads that potential customers say they like the most.”

Forrester Research senior analyst Steven Noble says there is definitely a trend towards measuring the customer, rather than the channel through which they view ads.

“That’s definitely the trend, and once you focus your measurement on the customer, then inherently you are collecting data that goes through channels. But so far organisations are struggling do this, and they face many barriers in getting there.”

Nevertheless, Mohan continues making predictions, saying more people will start thinking of display ads as their favourite content, as companies start making more interesting ads that can be customised and individualised.

“We see a longer-term future where these become the primary metrics used to measure the success of a campaign, meaning marketers will be able to deliver the ads that potential customers say they like the most.”

Meanwhile, Twitter president of global revenue Adam Bain has told Forbes that the company will be looking at releasing its turnkey ad solution “later this year”.

Twitter has been struggling to gain revenue several years after launching, and has been attempting to boost its ad business – but the wide array of third-party clients, through which ads are diluted, make it hard for the company to earn money.

However, it has been controlling more of its ecosystem lately. The company recently acquired TweetDeck, a popular third-party client. Streaming SME ads through such networks could see a substantial increase in revenue.