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Twitter reopened shop for its political advertising business nearly two months ago after banning political ads back in 2019, stating concerns over the impact political speech could have on a democratic ecosystem, according to then-CEO Jack Dorsey.
While Republican ad buyers have begun campaign planning for the 2024 election cycle with some excitement, including creating ads to reach supporters for primary campaigns, list building, and fundraising initiatives, Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s politically polarizing influence is not exactly inspiring confidence amongst Democratic ad buyers, four sources told Adweek.
“There’s a lot of excitement around Twitter, particularly with advocacy and cause-based ads,” said Justin Hacker, associate vp at digital of Republican ad firm Majority Strategies. In response to an Adweek enquiry, Twitter shared information on its U.S. political campaigning ads. According to the document, it appears that only Republican advertisers are running ads on the platform as of today. The spends go up to $288.77 per ad.
Based on estimates from ad buyers interviewed for this article, Republican ad buyers allocate nearly 25% of their media budget to Twitter, and the range for Democratic advertisers is between 1%-5%. But Twitter is lower on the priority list for political advertisers due to being less effective for direct response messages than Google and Facebook. In 2020, of the $700 million invested in political digital ads, $388 million went to Google and Facebook, while $309 million was spent on connected TV (CTV), according to Statista.
Given the off-election year, the current state of political advertising on Twitter is nonexistent. Digital campaigns are expected to pick up in the fall this year, but most clients at Majority Strategies are optimistic about the platform and are expected to test small campaigns before mass adoption, according to Hacker.
Musk’s tumultuous Twitter takeover last year led to a decline in ad spend on the platform. But, the reinstating of Twitter’s political advertising operations could open a new revenue stream for the platform. However, Musk’s mercurial tweets, like taking a dig at Democrats and his decision to reinstate previously banned right-wing accounts, have buyers questioning his stewardship.
Twitter’s place for political ad buyers
For both Republican and Democratic ad buyers, Twitter hasn’t been a platform for direct response to persuade voters. But it’s a useful avenue to fundraise and reach influencers within the media and activist class.