Twitter pursues a skeptical audience in the Digital Content NewFeronts when it pitches its upcoming premium video content slate to anxious advertisers who are concerned about the future of the social network's "brand-safe" platform under Elon Musk's era.

(Photo : LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)
This photograph taken on October 26, 2020 shows the logo of US social network Twitter displayed on the screen of a smartphone and a tablet in Toulouse, southern France.

Anxious Advertisers

The company had already pitched some of its projects in NewFront in the previous years, however, this time was a more challenging one after the emergence of reports that Twitter advertisers were already planning to stop their spending on Twitter once Musk took over.

In fact, several activist organizations have released a letter containing "non-negotiable" standards  that Twitter advertisers must commit to since they are worried that  Musk's acquisition might turn the platform into a "megaphone of extremists."

Musk has openly declared that he is a free speech absolutist, and it may not sit well with some of the advertisers, given the current political climate. If Musk's takeover deters the existing content moderation controls of Twitter to address misinformation and abusive speech, it may not align with the interests of these advertisers.

For example, in 2020, big-name brands like Verizon, Unilever, Boeing, Microsoft, Levi Strauss, Adidas, HP, Pfizer, and many more joined in an advertising boycott to Facebook due to their content moderation policies and called the platform to increase its combat against hate speech.

However, Twitter has assured advertisers that the social network would remain a safe place for them in the future and making sure that their ads will not be aligned with any harmful content but the social network has also noted in an SEC filing that the loss of ad revenue is one of the risk factors brought by the takeover. 

Read Also: Twitter's 'Circle' Feature Lets You Tweet to Close Friends Only 

Pitching Time

Twitter did more than just pitching their content but they also had to face the challenge of convincing advertisers that they have a promising project to guarantee their partnerships.

The company had to emphasize in their presentation that their content would operate in a brand-safe zone on Twitter because of its upcoming premium video partnerships.

"I hope that you see that we are going to continue to invest in the parts of our business that bring scroll-stopping content to the timeline," Twitter's Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personette said during the presentation, reported by TechCrunch.

"We're committed to growing our audience. We are committed to investing in our product innovation, and we are committing to increasing the velocity with which we ship products. We're committed to deepening the relationships with the top rights holders and premium content publishers in the world and also across this country.," Personette added.

She also highlighted how this project is "extremely important" to the social network because she claimed that it matters to the advertisers in connecting their brands to people "that matter" to them.

Twitter's content line-up for this year will release video and audio deals, courtesy of Twitter spaces.

Related Article: 25+ Organizations Urge Twitter Advertisers to Prevent Musk's Free Speech for All 

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla