Before July, there were more than 1,000 new advertisers on the platform each month, as Musk’s feud with Twitter intensified and the number of new advertisers dropped to 200.
In September, there were 668 new advertisers, MediaRadar discovered. Factors such as economic conditions likely played a role in the exodus, as well as uncertainty about Twitter’s ownership and content moderation policies, MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman said in a statement.
“Clearly, this acquisition is a test of advertisers’ confidence,” said Mr. Krizelman. He added that Mr. Musk’s plans to seek revenue sources beyond advertising could limit the damage caused by Madison Avenue.
Following Mr. Musk’s tweet, a coalition of civil rights and activist groups convened a press conference to push for a global advertising boycott of Twitter.
Understand Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover
“We are witnessing the real-time destruction of one of the world’s most powerful communications platforms,” Nicole Gill, the executive director of the nonprofit group Accountable Tech, said during the call. “Unless and until Musk can vigorously enforce Twitter’s existing community standards, the platform is not safe for users or advertisers.”
Angelo Carusone, the chief executive of the progressive nonprofit Media Matters for America, said he has worked on several attempts to use advertiser boycotts to pressure social media companies to clean up their platforms. Usually, he said, some of the advertisers he speaks to will decline his requests, saying reaching potential customers is a higher priority than making a point to Silicon Valley.
But after the activist coalition contacted Twitter’s top 20 advertisers this week, including Anheuser-Busch, Disney and Procter & Gamble, Mr. Carusone said all the companies he’s interacted with said they’re either considering a spending break. or perform one.
