London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights is to welcome Twitter for the first time. The social platform will make its debut on the legendary advertising corner, with a campaign that displays ‘big cultural moments in real time.’ The exclusive digital out of home (DOOH) will run intermittently from now, through to the New Year, and it will show real-time ads that are triggered by cultural moments. The campaign begins today (29 October) – just over a year since the lights were switched back on after its digital screen makeover – and it will open with a sequence that features user-focused brand images. Making use of the large-scale screen, the campaign will use gigantic hashtags, spectacular visuals and creative films. The sequence will be followed by the first big 'cultural moment' - the anticipated final season of challenged House of Cards. The series will return to Netflix screens from November 2, with Robin Wright taking the lead from the disgraced Kevin Spacey. The campaign was created and planned by Twitter in association with Ocean which operates the Piccadilly Lights on behalf of Landsec. This recent marketing venture is in tune with Twitter’s strive to cement itself as the home of breaking news. To remove any ambiguity over what the platform is actually used for, back in 2016 Twitter showcased its news and real-time credentials with a #thishappened campaign that shone a light on the ‘moments and memories that defined 2016.’ The campaign ran on the platform and invited fans to share their own experiences of 2016. Before this, Twitter's chief marketing officer revealed Twitter's 'See What's Happening' campaign, which saw the microblogging site unveil a series of videos and digital ads with a heavy focus on breaking news, sports and live events. Talking about its latest Piccadilly Lights venture, Twitter UK's senior marketing manager, Viv Bowdler said: "Twitter really is what's happening and over the next few months we'll be showcasing the biggest cultural moments that are setting Twitter alight in real time. "Piccadilly Lights is a truly iconic location and we've worked hard to come up with a campaign that does it justice." Christine Baldwin, head of portfolio management at Landsec said: “Last week marked one year since we switched Piccadilly Lights back on following its digital screen makeover – and what better way to celebrate than with a brand that has sharing creative, digital content at its heart.”
Twitter has started running real-time advertisements at Piccadilly Circus in London via the large video advertising corner, known as Piccadilly Lights. The social media company’s campaign will run ads linked to cultural moments through to early 2019. It will combine creative films with eye-catching visuals and hashtags. The first featured cultural event was the 2 November return of Netflix series House of Cards. Twitter has worked with Piccadilly Lights operator Ocean on the project.