Company X’s advertising woes are set to get even worse, according to a new report from Kantar, detailed by Advanced Television: Market research firm Kantar found that 26 percent of marketers plan to cut spending with Company X next year, and that advertisers’ trust in Company X is “historically low.”
Kantar’s report, based on interviews with 18,000 consumers and 1,000 marketers around the world, highlights how X’s advertising business has declined since Elon Musk bought the company. Over the past year and a half, many big-name advertisers have stopped or cut spending on the platform over concerns about hate speech and other harmful content.
Musk has also antagonized major advertisers, saying that brands who worry about hate speech should “fuck off.” He has also accused advertisers of “intimidation” and recently sued an industry group and several global companies for “illegal boycotts” of the platform. Notably, Kantar research found that only 4% of marketers consider X safe for brands.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company told the Financial Times that “advertisers know that X offers stronger brand safety, performance and analytics capabilities than ever before and is seeing usage at an all-time high.”