It's a busy time for Twitter, as the now-publically traded company seeks to build investor confidence by taking steps to enhance revenue growth.
In addition to a recent round of executive shake-ups, Twitter is now in acquisition mode, seeking companies that can provide immediate advertising sales returns.
In that spirit, Twitter will acquire mobile behavioral company TapCommerce; according to a Twitter blog posting, Tap Commerce is "a leader in mobile retargeting and re-engagement advertising. Together with the TapCommerce team, Twitter will be able to offer mobile app marketers more robust capabilities for app re-engagement, tools and managed service solutions for real-time programmatic buying and better measurement capabilities."
The TapCommerce acquisition is a nod to the reality that re-activating existing and previous app users can, in Twitter's words, can provide just as attractive a return on investment as acquiring new users. TapCommerce will enable real-time mobile ad buying across multiple exchanges reaching over 50,000 apps. The company will continue to offer cross-exchange buying access, partner support and API availability.
Twitter also acquired MoPub, a mobile-focused advertising exchange, in September 2013. The company claims that they intend to make advertising on Twitter work better for marketers, app developers and users. The company also acquired Namo Media to help bring native ads to mobile app publishers.
TapCommerce CEO and co-founder Brian Long talked about the benefits of the acquisition to Twitter and TapCommerce customers and to Twitter users, focusing on a win-win scenario for all involved.
"Our focus on creating engaging brand experiences for mobile consumers aligns perfectly with Twitter's product and core values, making TapCommerce a natural fit in Twitter's expanding mobile advertising stack. In addition to numerous other exchanges and networks, the TapCommerce platform is already deeply integrated with MoPub, Twitter's mobile-focused RTB ad exchange. For our existing customers, your TapCommerce experience will not change. Being a part of the Twitter team will allow us to dedicate more resources to developing our product and expanding our service. We look forward to growing our role as an integral part of the Twitter Publisher Network," said Long.
In a related move, Twitter also announced that their mobile app promotion program was moving out of beta stage and will now be available to all customers.
"Earlier this year, we announced a new way for selected advertisers to drive mobile app installs and engagements on Twitter. After seeing strong results in beta, we're excited to offer mobile app promotion to all advertisers globally, starting today," wrote Twitter Product Manager Kelton Lynn, in a blog post.
