Ad and image problems continue at X

Falling monthly ad revenue, critical Community Notes and a hankering after the old Twitter name all add up to continuing problems at the social media platform.

What’s happening now?

• CEO Linda Yaccarino recently claimed that 90% of the top 100 advertisers were back on X and that the platform would be in profit early next year, but that’s not necessarily where the available evidence is pointing.
  
• Monthly US ad revenue at the platform “has declined at least 55% year-over-year each month” since Elon Musk bought it, according to figures from analytics firm Guideline, reported by Reuters.
• A surge in the use of Community Notes to critique advertising claims is being cited as another reason for caution when brands are considering advertising on the platform. 
• Three-quarters of Brits, including those who don’t even use the platform, prefer the Twitter name to X, and nine in ten users wouldn’t pay to post or view posts, according to research from YouGov Surveys.

Why brand names matter

There’s a long and inglorious history of companies renaming or rebranding and shooting themselves in the foot in the process. The UK data suggests that Musk’s July rebrand may never achieve the acceptance he would wish, although that’s unlikely to persuade him to switch back to the old name or choose a different one. But in a cash-strapped business, at least he didn’t spend millions of dollars with a brand consultancy. 

Sourced from Reuters, Wall Street Journal, YouGov Surveys