Twitter extends 280 character limit to everyone, says it drives more engagement
Twitter has rolled out its extended 280 character tweets to all users, because it says engagement with longer tweets increased during its test. The major shift was trialled with a number of users back in September. It met with differing views with some seeing it as undermining Twitter's point of difference, and others welcoming the extra space. For brands, it means they will enable to fit more ndmation into tweets.Twitter says the expansion makes it easier to tweet in a language where 140 characters mean users had to ‘cram’ the words in and the test found users with the additional characters tweeted more, got more likes, retweets and @mentions, more followers and spent more time on the platform. Twitter addressed the concerns around “maintaining its brevity” in the blog post that went up overnight, but said during the test just 5% of Tweets sent were longer than 140 characters and only 2% were over 190 characters. It doesn’t expect the timeline experience to change much, but did say that a raft of “novelty” uses of the expanded space, such as posting one character per line, will occur to begin with, then drop off as it becomes the norm.
John Lewis gives a glimpse of its 2017 Christmas ad
The John Lewis spot from adam&eveDDB is almost the most highly anticipated of the year—not surprisingly, since it was this client/agency team that started the whole trend of blockbuster Christmas ads in 2011 with “The Long Wait.” We haven’t heard much about the upcoming 2017 John Lewis ad, but we do finally have a few teasers. A new Twitter account, @UnderTheBed2017, has popped up that’s believed to be related to the John Lewis spot. And judging by two short videos uploaded yesterday and today, we’re looking at a “monster under the bed” theme for this year’s big commercial:
#UnderTheBed 👀 pic.twitter.com/uLiUvOP9fI
— UnderTheBed (@UnderTheBed2017) November 6, 2017
#UnderTheBed 👀 pic.twitter.com/Q03Phex3bx
— UnderTheBed (@UnderTheBed2017) November 7, 2017
Hulsbosch celebrates 35 years
Brand agency Hulsbosch is celebrating 35 years of working with iconic brands in Australia. Executive creative director Hans Hulsbosch launched the agency in 1982 and it was one of the pioneers of brand design. It has been responsible for rebranding projects such as Qantas, Woolworths, MLC, Perpetual, Rebel, Taronga Zoo, A-League, Tatts Group, Supercars, Virgin Australia and more. Hulsbosch says: “Branding has come a long way in Australia and being at the forefront of its integration and shaping that history is a rare privilege.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.