2.5 C
Washington

Twitter advertiser exodus deepens as Volkswagen, Pfizer and General Mills pause ad spending

Date:

Share:



Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker, joined Pfizer Inc. and General Mills Inc. in temporarily pausing advertising on Twitter as brands rethink their presence on the platform now that Elon Musk has taken over and is making his mark on the social media company.

Volkswagen said Friday that it had advised all of its brands to pause spending on the platform “until further notice” while it monitors how Twitter evolves. 

Brands are concerned that Twitter could host more-objectionable content as Musk rethinks his approach to content moderation, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter it didn’t name. Others are stepping back amid uncertainty at the top of the company, including the departure of some key executives. General Motors Co. said last week that it was suspending advertising on Twitter.

“We have paused advertising on Twitter,” said Kelsey Roemhildt, a spokesperson for General Mills. “As always, we will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend.”

A spokesman for Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.

Advertising mogul Martin Sorrell, chairman of S4 Capital Plc, said his firm is advising clients to adopt a “wait-and-see” approach to the platform. Rivals such as agency holding company Interpublic Group of Cos. have advised pausing Twitter marketing, Variety reported earlier this week.

“Clients don’t want conflict, they don’t want controversy,” Sorrell said in a Bloomberg TV interview at the Web Summit in Lisbon on Thursday. “They want a stable environment, and what we’ve seen in the last week or so is too much inconsistency.” Play Video

Twitter only accounts for about 1% of global digital media, Sorrell said. But Twitter relies on advertising for the bulk of its revenue. Last week Musk tweeted an open letter to marketers in which he said he wants to make Twitter “the most respected advertising platform in the world.”

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.





Source link

Subscribe to our magazine

━ more like this

How I Used Self-Help to Justify a Toxic Relationship and What I Now Know – Tiny Buddha

“You can ignore reality, but you can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” ~Ayn Rand The first person who introduced me to personal development...

Larry Summers, a ‘friend of China,’ warns Beijing that its actions are making it hard for people like him to push for stronger ties

This bipartisan sentiment makes it challenging for those trying to argue for a more cautious, less aggressive approach to the world’s second-largest economy,...

Developers at Elon Musk’s X test NSFW content and communities features

X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, is testing a feature that lets users create or join communities focused on “adult content”...

Want to raise confident, happy kids? Do these 4 things, a parenting expert says

Confidence and self-esteem may be among the most admirable qualities someone can hold. But if we aren’t taught how to be confident in...

Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura joins forces with bakery to launch his own brand of THC edibles

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has announced he is entering the cannabis market as a seller, as the state still figures out retail sales of...