Highlights from Twitter's #ThisHappened2020 Event

Last year's Twitter roundup event happened live and in-person event at the Courtyard Playhouse in Dubai and leveraged the power of theatrics to tell stories. This year, Twitter leveraged on virtual technology to tell the story. While it's unfortunate that an in-person event was not possible, the virtual event definitely managed to create a sense of suspense and intrigue from the comfort of one's couch.

The event was structured as an interactive virtual journey with guests from Twitter narrating the key moments of 2020 on the platform and what to expect in 2021.

Carla El Maalouli, Head of Business Marketing, Twitter MENA said, “While we were physically distanced this year, Twitter kept us informed, entertained and connected through the power of conversation. Our #ThisHappened2020 event showcases what happened in the world, which happened on Twitter. We wanted the event to be a playful and interactive journey through the year, from the comfort of people’s homes. The immersive virtual experience allows guests to explore what happened in 2020 on Twitter, and what’s coming next year. We simply want people to enjoy the ride!”

Once you exit from the train, visitors can venture around the Twitter Observatory before the main event begins. The observatory comprised of a variety of content ranging from; the brands that lead Twitter in 2020, to tweeting history that uncovered stats and behaviors that emerged through the lockdown, to how brands connected during key moments, etc.

The main stage opened with a keynote introduction from Sarah Personette, VP of Global Client Solutions.

This year more people turned to Twitter to be part of what’s happening than ever before. In Q3 we reported a +29% year-over-year increase in global mDAUs driven by the conversation around current events and ongoing product improvements, marking nine consecutive quarters of user growth.

Benjamin Ampen, Managing Director of Twitter MENA took the stage next to give a short introduction on what all happened on Twitter in 2020

Ramadan, Saudi National Day, and White Friday have seen significant ad investment in the region. At Twitter, we’ve seen that businesses have not only made a real difference in their communities, they’ve also taken actions to strengthen their relevance over both the short and long term.
MENA is also a fast-growing region for small to medium businesses globally. We have seen significant growth in new and active advertisers in the past year, delivering impressive revenue growth.
Our customer success strategy has been at the heart of fueling that demand and ensuring SMB advertisers are achieving their marketing goals with Twitter.

Other members of the Twitter MENA team -Elias Elkoussa, Client Partner at Twitter MENA, Laila Al Omran, Client Partner at Twitter MENA and Sam Billingham, Head of video at Twitter MENA went on to discuss the following -

Twitter's two new advertisers solutions that were introduced - Twitter Amplify Pre-roll and Amplify Sponsorships, which enable brands to curate their media environment.
With Amplify Pre-Roll, ads run before video clips from 200+ brand-safe partners across 15 content categories with the option to add handle and category-level exclusions.
Amplify Sponsorships allows even greater control with the ability to target specific tentpole events or occasions through a premium sponsorship partner.
Twitter’s audience is receptive. People are more likely to respond to ads they see on Twitter. Twitter’s research shows that in the two weeks after seeing an ad on Twitter, people are two times more likely than other leading platform users to click on links related to the advertiser.
Twitter’s audience is influential. They not only engage with Twitter ads for longer, they tell people about them. Eight in 10 people on Twitter are nearly twice as likely to pass on new product recommendations to their network compared to non-Twitter users.
The H1 2020 Twitter Brand Survey reveals brand performance has increased through the funnel vs. 2019.