Twitter looks to convert brand recognition into new users
Twitter has launched an outdoor ad campaign on New York City streets and subway platforms. The "what's happening" campaign follows a July survey that showed potential users recognised the brand but weren't sure why they should use the social media platform. The ads feature question marks and exclamation marks over the familiar bird logo. Twitter's Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland said: "Questions and answers, statements and trends - it's happening right now on Twitter all around the world." 

Twitter launched an outdoor campaign in New York City Monday.

The creative -- question marks and exclamation points -- is apparently a nod to Twitter's focus on "now," "live," and "what's happening."

"Questions and answers, statements and trends - it’s happening right now on Twitter all around the world," Twitter Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland wrote(opens in a new tab) in a blog post about the campaign.

The ads can be found on subway platforms and on the streets, Watts Street and Canal Street, 36th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue and more, according to the blog post.

Twitter reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 27. It's been a tough year for Twitter, whose investors tire of its lackluster user growth. But Twitter is investing in marketing its own value.

In July, Twitter announced(opens in a new tab) a study where ninety percent of people recognized the Twitter brand. Those people also said one of the main issues with the platform was that they did not know why to use it. Hence, the "what's happening" campaign to attract users on the cusp of joining the social network.

“It remains to be seen if outdoor advertising is the right way to acquire those users, but experimenting with multiple media is a sensible acquisition strategy to try and break through their user ceiling," Ben Foster, SVP Global Strategy and Innovation at public relations and marketing agency Ketchum Digital, wrote in an email to Mashable.

Twitter isn't the first big social media company to turn to good-ole real-life display ads. Snap Inc., the company formerly known as Snapchat, is a fan of outdoor ad campaigns. Most recently, it teased the launch of its first hardware product Spectacles, but it's also run outdoor ads for filters(opens in a new tab) and just of the logo itself.

Snapchat recently overpassed Twitter's daily active user numbers.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey used "live" as a rallying cry in an internal staff memo, obtained by (opens in a new tab)Bloomberg(opens in a new tab). "We're only limited by our sense of urgency. Life is short. Every day matters. And the people who use Twitter every day deserve our best," Dorsey wrote within the 408-word update.

Even as Twitter reaches new milestones, the company fails to impress investors. Sunday night's presidential debate was the most-tweeted debate in history, garnering 17 million related tweets.

Republican nominee Donald Trump gave his own endorsement of the service during the debate when Hillary Clinton cited his 3 a.m. tweets as a reason he was unfit for the presidency.

"Tweeting happens to be a modern-day form of communication. I mean, you can like it or not like it. I have, between Facebook and Twitter, I have almost 25 million people. It’s a very effective way of communication. So you can put it down, but it is a very effective form of communication. I’m not unproud of it, to be honest with you," Trump said.

Yet, Twitter's stock closed below $18, down 12 percent on Monday. The list of possible buyers for Twitter has reportedly diminished. Google, Salesforce and Disney were interested in a bid, but now only Salesforce has not dropped interest -- to the displeasure of its shareholders.

For Salesforce, the power is in the data and its connection to brands. “It’s a huge customer-service platform," Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff told the (opens in a new tab)New York Times(opens in a new tab). "It’s not a reason to buy it, but it’s a reason to look at it. I’m not saying I’m buying it, but I’m not saying I’m not buying it."