* This article is a paid service of Digiday[Japanese version]a media for next-generation leaders responsible for branding.DIGIDAY+This is a reprint from.
Linda Yaccarino will become Twitter’s new CEO after a decades-long TV career. It heralds the arrival of the “Twitter 2.0” era, which will try to bring back marketers.
Owner Elon Musk is now head of the social network, which could help rebuild Twitter’s relationship with marketers who have fled since Twitter’s controversial withdrawal of its previous content moderation policy. Whether or not Yaccarino will succeed will depend on whether he does.
Yaccarino supports free speech
Controversial Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted this on May 12, 2023, at the same time that Yaccarino stepped down from his position as global chair of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, where he had served for more than a decade. A veteran manager posted that he would be his successor.
A senior-level industry insider noted that Musk and Yaccarino were both present at WPP’s “Stream” conference in Napa, Calif., in early May. The Stream conference is hosted by advertising agency network WPP and features some of the biggest names in the industry.
Meanwhile, another source, who also requested anonymity, told Digiday that Yaccarino had been rumored to be Musk’s potential successor since the CES conference in January 2023.
Notably, Musk and Yaccarino took the stage together at the inaugural “Possible” conference in Miami, Fla., in April, voicing their discourse in front of a packed audience of advertisers. Freedom advocate Musk highlighted Twitter’s content adjacency tools.
Multiple attendees told Digiday that they didn’t think Musk had the full range of advertisers’ concerns. But the emergence of Yaccarino, who supports the mantra of “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach,” should do some good to dispel those concerns.
Is the new leader a game changer?
Amid much speculation about Twitter’s new leadership direction, Musk announced that Yaccarino would take over as CEO (around the same time as the important advertising conference, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity). Musk has announced that he will become chairman and chief technology officer (CTO).
Lori Hall, co-founder and head of creative at multicultural marketing agency Pop’N Creative, said Yaccarino has an “amazing reputation” and could take Twitter in new directions. A game changer” (Mr. Hall once said Turner Broadcasting[Turner Broadcasting]now Warner Media[WarnerMedia]I have experience working with Yaccarino in ).
Hall added, “If he (Musk) still wanted to have ultimate power, he wouldn’t have had Linda as CEO because she’s not a decoration… She’s the industry’s It’s a big name, and it should bring that kind of power to you,” he adds.
Stop advertisers from leaving Twitter
Marketers’ concerns mostly center around brand safety, which stems from Musk’s vocal defense of free speech. This stance is out of line with many marketers’ demands for content moderation on platforms that host user-generated content.
Dave Campanelli, chief investment officer at Horizon Media, told Digiday that “Jaccarino’s leadership will address some marketers’ concerns about Twitter as an advertising medium.” “Linda definitely understands how agency and client-sales relationships work, and that’s what Twitter lacks these days,” he continued.
“Many of the recent changes on Twitter have been unhappy with advertising, and if nothing changes in terms of content moderation and brand safety, what can she bring to Twitter?” It won’t help,” he added.
After Musk’s controversial acquisition of Twitter, big-name multinational brands like Coca-Cola, General Mills, General Motors, Microsoft, and Pfizer have taken to the platform. reduce or stop spending on
According to Pathmatics data, Twitter’s ad spend will drop from about $156.6 million in October 2022 to just $76.9 million in April 2023. 10.666 billion yen), and Insider Intelligence predicts that Twitter’s ad revenue in 2023 will fall 28% year-over-year to $2.98 billion. are doing.
What Mr. Yaccarino should do
IAB (Interactive Advertising Council) CEO David Cohen told Digiday that the new leadership team also has an opportunity to broaden its appeal to mid-to-long-tail advertisers. The team began exploring that route in April by forcing advertisers not meeting certain cost thresholds to pay an additional certification fee.
But Cohen said, “Yaccarino has a lot of work to do to restore the trust of[big]advertisers,” adding, “Rather than defending free speech at all costs, we’re going to reassess brand safety and suitability.” We need to be responsible,” he warned.
“Linda brings to Twitter a tremendous track record of partnership, innovation and results… building very deep relationships with marketers,” he said. “The IAB looks forward to collaborating with Linda.” .
A track record of change
Pop’n Creative’s Hall notes that from working with Yaccarino in the past, she has a track record of changing the status quo when needed. This is also the business that Yaccarino changed the method of measuring advertising effectiveness during his time at NBCUniversal and advocated breaking away from the upfront model of selling advertising space.
Hall added, “When the norm doesn’t work, she rewrites the rules so her brand wins. Anyone can be an ad sales executive, but there’s only one Linda Yaccarino, and her name is it.” It’s passed.”
Meanwhile, NBCUniversal has appointed Mark Marshall, the company’s current president of advertising sales, to replace Yaccarino on an interim basis. This is an important move given that the company plans to present its annual Upfront program on May 15th.
[original text]
(Text: Digiday Editors, Translation: Satomi Fujiwara/Galileo, Editing: Ryohei Shimada)
Source: BusinessInsider
Emma Warren is a well-known author and market analyst who writes for 24 news breaker. She is an expert in her field and her articles provide readers with insightful and informative analysis on the latest market trends and developments. With a keen understanding of the economy and a talent for explaining complex issues in an easy-to-understand manner, Emma’s writing is a must-read for anyone interested in staying up-to-date on the latest market news.