Twitter’s Small First Step in Quelling Ad Buyers’ Brand Safety Concerns

Twitter is taking advertiser concerns about brand safety more seriously.

Beyond the Twitter thread from head of sales Chris Riedy at Cannes Lions, the platform has initiated a request for proposal process to evaluate brand safety solutions from its tech vendors Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify, as well as Zefr and Unitary, to offer advertisers increased control and transparency over the context in which their ads are displayed on Twitter, according to the platform.

The RFP process will take place for the next few weeks.

The news comes nearly nine months after Elon Musk’s tumultuous Twitter takeover, which triggered an exodus of advertisers from the platform. But some ad buyers, who had called for more clarity on Twitter’s content moderation policies and adjacency controls, are still asking for more.

“It is a good step, but it’s only one step in that direction,” said Avi Ben-Zvi, general manager of North America at mobile ad platform Winclap. “A lot of the narrative with Elon taking over was he’s going to allow some bad actors back on the platform. With Linda [Yaccarino] stepping up as CEO, they need to continue to address that and can’t just say, ‘We’re going to work with these third parties and make sure your ad isn’t alongside other bad content.’”

Since Musk became involved, marketers have had limited communication with Twitter and have been primarily focused on the platform’s commitment to maintaining a safe community. However, this recent announcement comes as a tangible step forward, providing some clarity into its brand safety steps.

Despite the platform’s policies and measures, incidents of false or misleading information and hateful content continue to arise. This week alone, ads from major brands like Disney, Microsoft and The Telegraph newspaper appeared alongside neo-Nazi propaganda on the platform.

Marketers remain skeptical

Meanwhile, ad spend on Twitter increased by more than 40% in the last year across CPG, media & entertainment, financial services, tech/telco and health brands, according to Joe Benarroch, a former senior executive at NBCU now leading business operations at Twitter. He wouldn’t share specifics.

The Twitter thread claimed that 99.99% of its content is free from hate speech. And over 99% of measured ad impressions were found to be placed adjacent to content considered safe based on the GARM brand safety floor.

They’re nice PR stats, but the question is, does the platform favor controversial content?

Avi Ben-Zvi, GM of North America, Winclap

Still, reports indicate that Twitter’s ad sales plunged 59%, totaling $88 million, during the five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May, compared to the previous year.

“They’re nice PR stats, but the question is, does the platform favor controversial content?” said Ben-Zvi. “For the other 0.1%, what is the virality behind that content?”

Benarroch emphasized that Twitter’s enforcement policy is centered on minimizing the reach of hateful content. While acknowledging the presence of hate speech on the platform, Twitter aims to limit its reach and visibility. According to Benarroch, Twitter’s tracking data indicates that impressions of hate are trending at 0.01% of total impressions.

“What this means is that the visibility of this content is significantly lower compared to other non-hateful, non-toxic content,” he said.

Meanwhile, the platform introduced its first iteration of Adjacency Controls on Dec. 16, 2022 to give advertisers some control over ad placements. It has reported a 99% efficacy rate in diverting ads from undesirable content. The platform said more than 1,500 advertisers are utilizing these controls to safeguard their brands on the platform.

However, according to Ben-Zvi, Adjacency Controls still have room for improvement, such as adding more visibility and acknowledging instances where ads have been withheld from appearing alongside incorrect or potentially hateful speech.

“Showcasing that to advertisers is going to be important because it will reinvigorate their confidence in the platform,” he added.