Twitter Launches Agency Engagement Programme #TweetToTheTop

The world is witnessing an increasing integration of social and digital into everyday lives. It therefore becomes imperative for media agencies and professional in the field to navigate this dynamic and complex landscape and cater to the client’s creative appetite.

In order to keep the young guns well informed and get more media agencies to adopt its platform, Twitter kicked off its new media agency programme #TweetToTheTop in in five countries in Asia Pacific --- India, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia. The first year-long agency engagement programme, dedicated to media executives in APAC region is company’s bid to up skill individuals and at the same time optimize Twitter’s global associations.

#TweetToTheTop aims to attract hundreds of young media planners and executives to showcase their best work using Twitter solutions. The year long program entails three major phases, activating across 6 cities in five markets in the APAC region. 11 agencies from global media and advertising networks including Dentsu, GroupM, IPG and Omnicom will be participating in this initiative.

“The idea behind #TweetToTheTop initially was to help media agencies use our platform better, not just from a business perspective, but also a personal perspective. The first phase is more about personal brand and educating individuals regarding using twitter. It is more about networking and using twitter for you own creative and business perspective. The second phase includes data analytics. As we move towards the third phase, it would begin to evolve more towards mentorship,” explains Simon Brockman, Head of Global Agencies Asia Pacific, Twitter, to BW Businessworld as kickstarted the first phase in Mumbai.

At each phase of the program, hands-on training sessions will be offered by Twitter marketing executives to selected young media buying professionals. The participants will work in groups on three separate challenge briefs on hot social and business issues over the upcoming months. Apart from getting exclusive access to Twitter’s solutions and global advertising tech leaders including Jayanta Jenkins, Twitter's Global Creative Director, and Stacy Minero, Twitter's Global Head of Planning & Creative Agency Development, the top 5 participants per country will face off for the chance to represent their agency at Cannes 2018.

The program is first of its kind being initiated by Twitter from APAC region. The diversity in the APAC region led the company to kickstart the program at this particular time which would eventually be expanded to other regions, Mr Brockman highlighted.

“We will always try to do something different in various regions. We have an incredible diversity with different cultures and makes sense to start from APAC region and then eventually get to the other markets with a less diversity like US or UK,” says Mr Brockman who adds on to mention that post the feedback of the program’s success in the region, the company will first expand in the APAC region itself and later explore other markets.

The program is marked as Twitter’s biggest single market investment made for agencies in 2017, apart from the usual training, education and content strategy it conducts for its agency partner. Apart from this latest program, the agencies and brand marketers always had access to Twitter Flight School, Twitter’s free online education resource, to help them understand the platform and leverage it to maximize campaign results and digital strategies.

Mr Brockman believes that both the programs have their own unique set of offerings with #TweetToTheTop being more about creating innovative solutions for clients, educating the professionals and at the same time recognising and rewarding the best of the best talents.

“TweetToTheTop is phase five whereas twitter flight program is phase one in terms of market environment and person’s understanding to use the platform. Flight school is more self-served with the dashboard. It is the first learning step for an individual when they go to a digital department within an agency. Tweet to the top is more about best to the best and more about creating innovative solutions for client’s problems and needs,” mentions Mr Brockman.

As the social media dynamics evolve every second, they are accompanied with host of challenges in this highly complex and competitive environment, specific to media agencies.

“It is an incredibly complex space. Agencies have to be on the cutting edge all the time. They are working with a lot of clients and there is enormous pressure and enormous competition. They say that 2017-18 will be the year of the pitch again,” adds Mr Brockman who also mentions that ‘Brand Safety’ would erupt as one of the biggest challenges in future.

“Clients would need to ensure that their assets are placed in an environment which is not associated with negativities like terrorism and other,” according to Mr Brockman.

As the first workshop floats, Mr Brockman gives the young guns one golden advice, “Have an opinion and a voice. If you fundamentally believe in you client’s product then do not be afraid to give an opinion in a sensible manner.”