It is yet another round of Elon Musk versus advertisers/marketers over X economics. Reports have it that many advertisers plan to pull back from X in 2025. This follows concerns over being associated with extreme content.
According to a global survey of industry executives carried out by analytics group Kantar, a net 26% of marketers intended to cut their advertising expenditures on X in the next year. This is the largest recorded reduction from any major global advertising platform.
Since Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter (now known as X) in 2022, many major brands have been exiting X. They have cited Musk’s decision to loosen content moderation in accordance with his commitment to free speech. This withdrawal of involvement has resulted in a decrease in revenue.
According to the Kantar survey, advertisers’ confidence in the platform has declined significantly over the past year. Only 4% of marketers reported that advertisements on X were “brand safe,” whereas the result was at 39% for Google in the same category.
However, an X spokesperson pointed out:
Advertisers know that X now offers stronger brand safety, performance, and analytics capabilities than ever before while seeing all-time-high levels of usage.
X spokesperson
The spokesperson also adds that the brand is “on average 99 percent as validated by DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science, which is reflected by the fact that the majority of advertisers are increasing their investment in X”.
Elon Musk vs advertisers
The Kantar study stems from interviews with 18,000 consumers in 27 markets and 1,000 senior marketers worldwide.
The report’s findings will likely worsen the existing tensions between Elon Musk and the advertising industry. This follows Elon Musk’s announcement last month that he would file a lawsuit against a marketing trade body and advertisers such as Mars and Unilever for an alleged “illegal boycott” of the platform.
Elon Musk has a frequently disagreeable relationship with the advertising sector. Disney, IBM, and Apple were among the companies that left the platform last year, prompting Elon Musk to advise boycotting advertisers to “go f*ck” themselves during an interview.
Kantar additionally found that trust in X advertising was decreasing under Musk’s leadership. TikTok is regarded as the marketers’ most innovative advertising platform, while YouTube was the most trusted and preferred advertising network in 2024.
