While Twitter’s presence at Cannes this week may not have been as prominent as in previous years, the company is actively working on regaining advertiser trust. This comes as Twitter navigates new ad policies and content strategies under the ownership of Elon Musk.
The appointment of long-time ad industry leader Linda Yaccarino as CEO demonstrates Twitter’s commitment to rebuilding relationships with advertisers. This move comes despite Musk’s personal aversion to ads and indicates that his initial efforts to reduce Twitter’s dependence on ad revenue have not gone as planned.
Although Twitter’s subscription programs are generating new revenue streams, they account for only a fraction of the income generated by ads. As a result, Twitter is refocusing its efforts on ad partners by offering assurances and insights to prove that the platform remains a safe promotional environment.
Enhancing Brand Safety and Suitability
Twitter is expanding its partnerships with brand safety and suitability providers to offer advertisers more control and independent assurance. The company is currently exploring new services from Zefr, Integral Ad Science, DoubleVerify, and Unitary.
By collaborating with Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify on ad measurement, Twitter has achieved a 99% success rate in placing ads adjacent to content deemed safe by the GARM brand safety floor. This third-party analysis should instill confidence in advertisers considering Twitter campaigns.
Increasing Advertiser Engagement
More than 75% of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers have resumed their campaigns, which is a significant improvement from earlier this year when 50% of these advertisers had halted ad spending due to safety concerns.
However, with ad revenue down 59% year-over-year in April, Twitter must continue to address the cautious approach many advertisers are taking with their campaigns. This includes addressing Musk’s impulsive implementation of new ad rules, which could potentially impact legitimate tweet strategies.
Addressing Hate Speech Concerns
Twitter claims that hate speech on the platform has decreased significantly since Musk’s acquisition. However, experts have disputed these numbers, and Musk himself has revised his estimates, stating that hate speech visibility has declined by 30% rather than the initially claimed 50%.
The inconsistent nature of these figures highlights the importance of third-party verification and standardized measurement approaches. As CEO, Yaccarino will need to align Twitter’s internal reporting with industry standards to strengthen the platform’s credibility with brand partners.
Building Trust Through Transparency and Consistency
Twitter’s continuous improvement efforts must focus on providing reliable, transparent data and maintaining consistent stances on key metrics. By collaborating with third-party verification providers and ensuring alignment with industry standards, Twitter can create a more trustworthy environment for advertisers. However, in the UK it has been repeatedly reflected upon that at a time when it was felt that UK democracy was being put to the test by the Ex-Prime minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnsons’ resignation and subsequent censure by a Parliamentary Committee, tweets supporting him – many of whom were expressing false statements and extreme ‘whataboutery’, an extremely high percentage were displaying the new (non-legacy Verification program), presumably in an attempt to justify their derogation of the committees’ findings, repeating Johnsons’ original accusations of a “witch-hunt” or a “kangaroo court”, despite Johnsons toning down his comments after the announcement. This type of behaviour is typical of populist Politicians, seeking to circumvent any type of rigorous questioning or clarifications. This approach continues to degrade trust in the platform.
Ultimately, by addressing brand safety, advertiser engagement, and hate speech concerns, Twitter is attempting to regain advertiser trust and foster long-term partnerships for a more sustainable ad revenue model.
