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Historically, X (formerly Twitter) has grappled with subpar ad products. That, coupled with the lack of a closely aligned sales team, could find the platform missing out on one of its highest revenue-driving periods, the Super Bowl.
X’s former ability to drive real-time conversations with moments such as Brand Bowl winners—which highlighted the best-performing brands during the Big Game and emphasized the impact of brand commercials driving conversations—was a significant component of brands’ media strategy and purchasing considerations until the most recent Super Bowl earlier this year.
“[2024] is expected to be different,” said Jon Morgenstern, executive vice president and head of investment at VaynerMedia. “Some of the brands that historically would have been active on X during this time may continue to stay dark.”
With the Big Game just months away, many brands have already solidified their media plans for the Super Bowl, which in recent years has brought in roughly $35 million in U.S. ad revenue for Twitter over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, some are still hesitating to commit their media budget to X. Although the allure of substantial discounts might sway brands to invest, they are reallocating ad spend to rival platforms, like TikTok, four sources said, while others are reconsidering their future deals with X for the upcoming year.
“X is hemorrhaging users, embroiled in yet another scandal just as advertisers are finalizing their Big Game plans, and they are down over 50% in ad revenue,” said Neil Sawhney, Pereira O’Dell’s director of connections. “The massive shift to TikTok that happened with last year’s Super Bowl, and continued investment in YouTube, is a trend that will continue.”
Up until 2023, brands continued to build media strategies that included both organic posts and paid media for preplanned content.
Data from MediaRadar found that 19 of the 76 brands advertising during Super Bowl LVII in 2023 collectively spent an estimated $4.7 million with X in January and February 2023, a significant 69% year-over-year decrease from the $15 million invested during the same period in 2022.
Brands such as CrowdStrike, M&M’s and General Motors chose not to advertise on X in 2023. Among the top advertisers on the platform during this timeframe were McDonald’s, The Farmer’s Dog and PopCorners, which accounted for a combined ad spend of $3.1 million on X, representing 67% of the total X ad spend.
