Here’s another sign that Twitter doesn’t consider video merely a niche. Today the company announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Niche, a startup that provides video creators with analytic tracking software and, most importantly, connects them with brands willing to pay for their creativity.
Niche, founded in 2013, has built a community of more than 6,000 “comedic personalities, aesthetic photographers, visual artists, foodies and fashionistas” who have attracted large fan bases on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter-owned Vine and other visual social mediums. Niche helps make the connections with brands who want to take advantage of video creators’ popularity. It’s a lucrative business; Buzzfeed reported in October that on average clients are spending $100,000 to $500,000 on campaigns.
Niche has been working closely with Twitter for the last year; Twitter referring brands interested in hiring video talent to Niche. Now those referrals will be in-house.
Twitter director of product management Baljeet Singh explained in a blog post:
As more users and creators use different products as a way to share what’s happening in their world, brands are also looking to partner with those individuals in hopes of generating moments that resonate with the people they are trying to reach. The talent and creativity across the entire media landscape is incredible, and we hope this acquisition continues to inspire people to create great content. Niche has been a key partner to both Twitter and Vine over the last year. The company has helped fuel the creator economy by developing leading technology, consisting of free, cross-platform analytics, as well as connecting the creative community directly with the world’s biggest brands.
Here’s one example of a Niche-brokered deal, a Hewlett-Packard campaign on Vine that was also turned into a television commercial:
Bringing Niche aboard gives Twitter a closer relationship with such video creators. And considering the company last month gave users the ability to upload video to the Twitter platform, it’s a smart time to cultivate that community.
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