Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino is preparing to unveil latest safety features in the approaching weeks to handle advertiser’s concerns about hate speech, On The Money has learned – but her boss Elon Musk hasn’t been making things easy.
The brand new features – Yaccarino’s key focus since her surprise move to Twitter from NBCUniversal last month, in accordance with sources – will give advertisers advanced controls to make a decision what sorts of content their ads appear next to, sources said.
The so-called “adjacency controls”, which beef up Twitter’s Brand Safety and Suitability Capabilities, also will enable advertisers to sift through a list of content and choose what they find best suited, in accordance with the sources. These people add that not one of the controls being introduced existed before Yaccarino joined, and that Twitter is hoping they’ll be more practical than humans.
Nevertheless, some advertisers remain rattled as Musk – who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October – has did not curb his notoriously unpredictable tweeting habits of late.
One top marketer pointed to a recent tweet wherein Elon Musk suggested he and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have a “d–k measuring contest.”
“CMO’s are sick of the hate speech and are frankly getting sick of Elon,” the source said. “Tweets like Elon’s post about his d–k don’t encourage confidence that there’s anyone aside from a frat-boy on the helm.”
Word of the brand new safety tools also comes just days after Elon Musk acknowledged the corporate’s promoting revenue has plummeted 50%.
“It’s like he’s just taunting advertisers,” the source added.
Insiders say Yaccarino is presenting the brand new tools to promoting holding firms like WPP, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic, and Dentsu. Ad agencies are seen as gatekeepers within the industry since they advise corporations on marketing plans and where to allocate their ad dollars.
Executives at the businesses have been speaking with Twitter’s management about what sorts of changes they wish to see on the platform with a view to bring their ad dollars back – Yaccarino has sought to handle those concerns with the most recent tools, a source ads.
After Musk bought Twitter, he axed 80% of employees – a lot of whom were focused on monitoring hate speech. Last month, head of trust and safety Ella Irwin left the corporate.
Now, sources said Twitter is hoping it may well employ latest digital tools to do the work of content moderation.
While Yaccarino was brought on to rebuild relationships with advertisers, she has also explored other revenue streams like adding commerce to videos and bringing more creators to the platform.
One source with knowledge told On The Money Musk has encouraged and supported Yaccarino’s efforts, some within the ad industry imagine he is a component of the issue.
“Twitter has two things going for it – Linda and ads that get a reasonably decent ROI,” a source added.
