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Not all advertisers are yet sold on Elon Musk’s “hardcore” version of Twitter.
As we reported earlier this month, advertising companies including IPG, Havas, and Omnicom were quick to recommend clients pause their ads on the platform after Musk took over, with IPG citing an “unpredictable and chaotic” environment. WPP media agency GroupM has reportedly told clients that ad buys on the platform are “high-risk,” according to Digiday and Platformer.
When Musk took over, some users took advantage of Musk’s new (but since paused) Twitter Blue verification to impersonate brands like the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, which apologized to those who had seen a “misleading message from a fake Lilly account.”
Meanwhile, Semafor and Ad Age have put together running lists of which brands have confirmed they’re pausing their Twitter ad spend.They include Volkswagen, General Mills, Pfizer, GM, Mondelez International, United Airlines, Chipotle, Eli Lilly (lol), and Macy’s, which has paused its ads on Twitter ahead of its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Conversely, NBCUniversal’s Linda Yaccarino, who is chairman of the company’s global advertising sales partnerships, told Ad Age that “there is no surrogate for Twitter” and that it is NBCU’s “single, No. 1 biggest content partner, content distribution partner.”
“He understands safety and transparency…He can learn advertising,” she said.
FWIW: Advertising accounted for 92% of Twitter’s revenue last quarter.
What’s next: Some advertisers are moving money that would’ve gone to Twitter to other platforms. A CPG company is reportedly shifting “roughly $10 million” to TikTok, Google, and streamers, according to the Wall Street Journal. And an agency exec told Digiday that advertisers might put more dollars toward TikTok, for instance, “where the community is much more welcoming and it’s a fun place for brands.”—RB