Twitter Keeps Missing Its Advertising Targets as Woes Mount

The World Cup has historically been a boon for Twitterbringing in record traffic and a stream of advertising cash.

But this time around, with the global soccer tournament kicking off on November 20, Twitter’s ad revenue in the US was 80% below internal expectations for that week, three people familiar with the numbers said.

At the same time, Twitter was quick to cut its revenue forecasts. The company had previously forecast that it would generate $1.4 billion in the final three months of the year, down from $1.6 billion a year ago due to the global recession. But as Twitter continued to miss its weekly advertising targets, that number dropped to $1.3 billion, then $1.1 billion, the two said.

Elon MuskTwitter’s new owner, has warning many times that his social media company was facing a difficult financial situation. Interviews with seven former employees and internal documents seen by The New York Times paint a more complete picture of Twitter’s financial difficulties.

Many corporate troubles can be traced back to Mr. Musk took over at the end of October. Since then, advertisers – which make up 90% of Twitter’s revenue – have halted some spending on the platform, citing concerns about how Mr. Musk might change the service. Billionaire, a self-described “tyranny of free speech,” restored banned accounts and dropped at least one misinformation policy. Hate speech on Twitter has skyrocketed in recent weeks, the researchers found.

At the same time, Mr. Musk has alternated between attracting advertisers and letting them down. Last month, he threatened a “fusion name & shame” of brands that have stopped spending on Twitter. This week, he quickly picked up a fight with Apple, which is on track to spend more than $180 million on Twitter ads this year, three people said.

Twitter’s advertising business has gotten so tough that it has started offering brands additional incentives. Some brands only commit to promotions for events, such as the Super Bowl, with steep discounts or terms that allow them to back out for any reason, according to internal documents and three people. familiar with these efforts. Automakers are among the most concerned advertisers, with General Motors raising questions about whether Twitter data was shared with Musk’s car company, Tesla, the three people said.

“We don’t have any level of trust in Twitter, especially with the whip we get,” said Ellie Bamford, head of global communications at R/GA, a creative agency. I’ve been through the past four weeks. Last month, IPG, the parent company of R/GA and one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, recommended its clients pause their ads on Twitter.

Mr Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Even before he completed his deal for Twitter, advertisers began to express their doubts. Twitter has 3,980 advertisers in May, next month Mr. Musk agreed to buy the company, according to MediaRadar, an advertising intelligence company. By October, it had 2,315 advertisers, the least of any month up until that point.

Advertisers’ confidence in Twitter was further shaken when their sales and advertising teams were laid off following Musk’s rise to power. Leslie Berland and JP Maheu, who are responsible for maintaining key relationships with several leading brands, left last month. Robin Wheeler, a US advertising executive who briefly resigned before moving on, was later fired after Mr. Musk asked her to cut staff from the sales team and she was fired. refused, the two said.

Dara Nasr, who oversees Twitter’s advertising operations in the UK, also left side last month. The company’s ad sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell more than 50% in the week of November 21 from the previous week, two people familiar with the numbers said. Newsletter Platformer previously reported Twitter metrics for the region.

Musk also made good on his threat to urge advertisers to pause their spending. On Monday, he posted some thorny tweets about Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook, noted that the iPhone maker had pulled back its ads on Twitter. Three people said Apple, which doesn’t advertise on Instagram or Facebook, has committed to spending more than $150 million on Twitter ads by 2022 and has exceeded that number with more than $180 million in ad spend. fox.

But Apple paused that later Shooting kills 5 people at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs on November 19, the two said. Big brands tend to return to advertising when there is a shooting or disaster so that their ad doesn’t appear next to news or tweets about the tragedy.

Musk believes that Apple’s reduction of ads will lead to censorship on Twitter. “Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter,” he wrote on Twitter. “Do they hate freedom of speech in America?”

On Wednesday, Mr. Cook and Mr. Musk meet at Apple’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. Mr Musk later tweeted that they had cleared up a “misunderstanding”. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

Ms Bamford said Mr Musk’s behavior was unacceptable. “There is no way to embarrass someone by advertising in a controversial and dangerous environment,” she said. “Screaming at people is not a plan.”

Other advertisers are concerned that their Twitter advertising data could be shared with other Musk companies. GM, The first brand to announce The two said they paused Twitter ads at the end of October, seeking assurances that their data would not be shared with Tesla. They also asked for a way to keep their information separate from the systems Tesla engineers had access to, they said, because Musk took Tesla employees to Twitter to navigate the change of ownership. .

“It is important to us to ensure that our strategies and advertising data can be securely managed by a competitor-owned platform,” said a GM spokesperson.

Twitter recently offered some brands additional incentives to place ads on the service, according to an ad agency that received a proposal from the company. The larger the amount spent on the platform, the more Twitter will amplify those ads, according to a proposal seen by The Times.

Morning Brew, a business newsletter website, report before about incentives.

Twitter’s ad sales teams are currently trying to confirm commitments for the Super Bowl in February. PepsiCo, the advertising agency has recommended customer pause ads on the platform, looking for the ability to opt out of ads at any time, said a person familiar with the negotiations. Pepsi did not respond to a request for comment.