Twitter Keeps Missing Its Advertising Targets as Woes Mount

The World Cup has historically been a boon for Twitter, bringing successful grounds postulation and an influx of advertizing dollars.

But this time, erstwhile the planetary shot tourney started connected Nov. 20, Twitter’s U.S. advertisement gross was moving astatine 80 percent beneath interior expectations for that week, 3 radical with cognition of the figures said.

In tandem, Twitter was rapidly cutting its gross projections. The institution antecedently forecast that it would make $1.4 cardinal successful the past 3 months of the year, down from $1.6 cardinal a twelvemonth agone due to the fact that of the planetary economical downturn. But arsenic Twitter kept missing its play advertizing targets, that fig slid to $1.3 billion, past to $1.1 billion, 2 radical said.

Elon Musk, Twitter’s caller owner, has warned repeatedly that his societal media institution faces dire fiscal straits. Interviews with 7 erstwhile employees and interior documents seen by The New York Times overgarment a fuller representation of Twitter’s fiscal woes.

Many of the company’s troubles tin beryllium traced to Mr. Musk’s takeover successful precocious October. Since then, advertisers — which supply 90 percent of Twitter’s gross — person paused immoderate spending connected the platform, citing concerns astir however Mr. Musk mightiness alteration the service. The billionaire, a self-described “free code absolutist,” has reinstated banned accounts and dropped astatine slightest 1 misinformation policy. Hate code connected Twitter has soared successful caller weeks, researchers found.

At the aforesaid time, Mr. Musk has alternated betwixt wooing advertisers and blasting them. Last month, helium threatened a “thermonuclear sanction & shame” of brands that halted their spending connected Twitter. This week, helium concisely picked a combat with Apple, which was connected way to walk much than $180 cardinal connected Twitter ads this year, 3 radical said.

Twitter’s advertizing concern has go truthful fraught that it has started offering brands further incentives. Some brands are committing lone to promotions for events, similar the Super Bowl, with dense discounts oregon clauses that let them to backmost retired for immoderate reason, according to interior documents and 3 radical acquainted with the efforts. Automakers are among the astir acrophobic advertisers, with General Motors raising questions astir whether Twitter’s information would beryllium shared with Mr. Musk’s car company, Tesla, 3 radical said.

“There hasn’t been immoderate level of spot from america with Twitter, particularly with the whiplash we’ve experienced implicit the past 4 weeks,” said Ellie Bamford, the caput of planetary media astatine R/GA, a originative agency. Last month, IPG, R/GA’s genitor and 1 of the world’s largest advertizing companies, recommended that its clients pause their advertising connected Twitter.

Mr. Musk did not respond to a petition for comment.

Even earlier helium completed his woody for Twitter, advertisers began expressing their doubts. Twitter had 3,980 advertisers successful May, the period aft Mr. Musk agreed to bargain the company, according to MediaRadar, an advertizing quality company. By October, it had 2,315 advertisers, the fewest of immoderate period until that point.

Advertisers’ assurance successful Twitter was shaken further erstwhile its income and advertizing squad turned implicit aft Mr. Musk took charge. Leslie Berland and J.P. Maheu, who were liable for maintaining cardinal relationships with immoderate apical brands, near past month. Robin Wheeler, a U.S. advertisement enforcement who concisely resigned earlier staying on, was past fired aft Mr. Musk asked her to chopped employees from the income squad and she refused, 2 radical said.

Dara Nasr, who oversaw Twitter’s European advertisement operations, besides left past month. The company’s advertisement income successful Europe, the Middle East and Africa were down much than 50 percent the week of Nov. 21 from the anterior week, 2 radical acquainted with the numbers said. The Platformer newsletter antecedently reported Twitter’s figures for the region.

Mr. Musk besides made bully connected his menace to telephone retired advertisers that paused their spending. On Monday, helium posted several barbed tweets astir Apple and its main executive, Tim Cook, noting that the iPhone shaper had pulled backmost its advertizing connected Twitter. Apple, which does not advertise connected Instagram oregon Facebook, had committed much than $150 cardinal connected Twitter ads successful 2022 and had exceeded that with much than $180 cardinal successful advertizing spending, 3 radical said.

But Apple temporarily paused that aft a shooting near 5 radical dead astatine an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub successful Colorado Springs connected Nov. 19, 2 radical said. Major brands thin to dial backmost advertizing erstwhile determination are shootings oregon disasters truthful their promotions bash not look adjacent to quality oregon tweets astir the tragedies.

Mr. Musk suggested that Apple’s reduced advertizing would pb to censorship connected Twitter. “Apple has mostly stopped advertizing connected Twitter,” helium tweeted. “Do they hatred escaped code successful America?”

On Wednesday, Mr. Cook and Mr. Musk met astatine Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters. Mr. Musk aboriginal tweeted that they had cleared up a “misunderstanding.” Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms. Bamford said Mr. Musk’s behaviour was beyond the pale. “There is nary mode to shame idiosyncratic into advertizing successful an situation that is arguable and dangerous,” she said. “Yelling astatine radical is not a plan.”

Other advertisers are acrophobic that their Twitter advertizing information mightiness beryllium shared with Mr. Musk’s different companies. G.M., the archetypal marque to announce that it had paused its Twitter advertizing successful precocious October, sought assurances that its information would not beryllium shared with Tesla, 2 radical said. It besides asked for a mode to support its accusation abstracted from systems that Tesla’s engineers had entree to, they said, fixed that Mr. Musk had brought Tesla employees into Twitter to navigate the ownership change.

“It’s important for america to guarantee our advertizing strategies and information tin beryllium safely managed by a level owned by a competitor,” a G.M. spokesperson said successful a statement.

Twitter has precocious offered immoderate brands further incentives to spot ads connected the service, according to an advertisement bureau that received a connection from the company. The larger the magnitude of wealth spent connected the platform, the much Twitter volition amplify those ads, according to the proposal, which was viewed by The Times.

Morning Brew, a concern newsletter site, reported earlier connected the incentives.

Twitter’s advertisement income teams are present trying to corroborate commitments for the Super Bowl successful February. PepsiCo, whose advertisement bureau has recommended that clients intermission advertizing connected the platform, sought the quality to opt retired of advertizing astatine immoderate point, 1 idiosyncratic acquainted with the negotiations said. Pepsi did not respond to a petition for comment.