Twitter started testing a new "lead-generation" ad product today, and it looks a lot like a Groupon-style daily deal product.
The ad unit comes in one of Twitter's Cards, the expandable display unit that allows users to show a photo.
Advertisers can offer Twitter users discounts or deals in the unit, and anyone who wants to claim it can do so with the click of a button. The unit automatically forwards the user's Twitter ID and email to the advertiser, who then fulfills the deal.
Here's what its going to look like:
Twitter has tested the unit with New Relic (@newrelic), Full Sail (@fullsail) and Priceline (@priceline), and now plans to roll the thing out to small and medium sized businesses. "Marketers regularly talk to us about their goals, and for many it boils down to one major theme: generating leads, and ultimately driving purchases," said Mitali Pattnaik Twitter's product manager/revenue in a blog post.
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