Twitter Rolls Out Custom Applause Hearts For Brands On Periscope

Hearts on Periscope, which viewers can send to broadcasters via a simple tap of their screens, and which serve as a means of free virtual applause, can now be customized by brands, the Twitter-owned livestreaming platform announced today.

Custom Hearts, as the new feature will be called, enables brands to integrate their digital campaigns directly within live and recorded streams . Custom Hearts are activated by utilizing a hashtag in the title of a broadcast, and appear alongside the standard multi-colored hearts that users dole out during broadcasts. Brands must work with Twitter to create the customized graphics, Techcrunch reports, and marketers can purchase Custom Hearts alone or in combination with pre-roll ads.

NBCUniversal was the first brand to utilize the new feature in order to promote The Fate Of The Furious. In a broadcast, available here, the company integrated a special ‘F8’  graphic — via the #F8 hashtag.

Late last month, Twitter began rolling out pre-roll ads on Periscope, though these campaigns — at least for now — are only available for streams from premium publishers, including sports matches, awards shows, and other high-profile events. Publishers will reportedly take a 70% cut of any ad revenues from Periscope pre-rolls, while Twitter will pocket the remaining 30%.