U.S. @earlybird or @DisneyPictures followers can get a special 2-for-1 deal on tickets for a limited time. A free movie ticket ($12 value, at least at my local cineplex) is a pretty sweet deal and it's also a great test case for Twitter's new @earlybird program.
On its blog, Twitter says that it has a great lineup of deals from partners like Groupon and Gilt Groupe, plus its own advertising partners.
Twitter clearly wants to promote itself, as Facebook has, as an avenue that advertisers and brands can use to build momentum and brand recognition through coupons and promotions. This first @earlybird concept isn't dissimilar to what some of Twitter's Promoted Tweets partners, like Virgin America, are already doing.
While brands and advertisers frequently do their own promotions via Twitter, the advantage of using @earlybird is that the follower base may not only be larger in some cases (although we will note, as of right now @DisneyPictures has a larger following base than @earlybird), but the type of follower may be more broad and varied. Simply put, advertisers may have the ability to target users who wouldn't generally follow their individual brand.