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Important stories about money and politics in the race for the White House
Elon Musk’s This is due to increased dependence on the Republican Party and the Trump campaign.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino told industry insiders last year that the company was aiming for $100 million a year in political ad revenue during the election year, according to people familiar with the forecast. The company is trying to offset revenue losses caused by big brands pulling spending from its platform.
However, data from Company X’s Political Advertising Transparency Library analyzed by the Financial Times shows that as of October 23, with less than two weeks left until the November 5 vote, the company’s revenue was below its target of 5. It’s less than one part.
The data also shows that X relies primarily on Republican campaigning. An FT analysis of the top 100 advertisers found that 42 Republican candidates or political action committees accounted for just over half of the spending, while only 13 were Democrats.
The largest expenditure was for Donald Trump’s campaign, and the billionaire owner of Mr.
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The @TeamTrump account spent $948,000 on 162 ads on the platform and received 410 million views. Many of the ads promote campaign products such as MAGA hats, but others focus on fundraising efforts and attacks on Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, Musk’s own pro-Trump group, America Pac, to which he has donated at least $75 million, has spent $225,000 on 73 ads, according to disclosures. Many of the group’s ads include large images of Musk and promote his rally in Pennsylvania in support of the campaign.
Other Republicans in the top 10 for ad spending include Trump’s daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Sen. Ted. They included Mr. Cruz, each spending between $500,000 and $600,000.
The Harris campaign has not run ads on X, but several Democrats have used the platform to get votes. Texas Sen. Colin Allred, Florida Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have each spent more than $300,000 on the platform. .
The Harris campaign has instead focused its digital spending on large platforms like Google and Meta, where it spent more than $280 million this year. The huge political spending on these platforms (already over $1.5 billion) is dwarfed by the political ad revenue on X.
Jenna Golden, who runs a sales consulting firm and previously served as head of political sales at Company “I felt a deep sense of distrust.”
“Meanwhile, many in the Republican political establishment felt that Elon Musk’s ownership gave them an incentive to try advertising again, given the company’s push in a radical free speech direction.”
The meager revenue is another blow to Yaccarino’s attempts to restore X’s financial health, as Musk’s relationship with advertisers, which accounted for the bulk of X’s revenue before the acquisition, remains strained.
Big brands including Disney, IBM and Apple froze spending on X last year over concerns about Mr. Musk’s hands-off approach to moderation, prompting the billionaire to say “no more.”
According to estimates from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower shared with the FT, total US ad spend for X’s top 100 advertisers (including both brand and political advertisers) in the first half of 2024 will be lower compared to the first half of 2024. decreased by 68%. 2022, before Musk buys the platform.
Experts say some brand advertisers may also cut spending on all platforms before and after the election to avoid the risk of their ads appearing next to controversial content. .
Last year, Musk overturned a ban on political advertising put in place by former CEO Jack Dorsey.
The company is increasing its investment in political advertising, hiring a team of 10 people and holding more than 400 meetings and calls with digital marketers, strategists, campaigns and political action groups, according to people familiar with the matter. and hosted an event in Washington. D.C.
The team will be led by Sten McGuire, who previously worked in political sales at Hulu and Walt Disney. Mr. Yaccarino’s son, Matthew Madrazo, is in charge of Republican relations, and media advertising veteran Jonathan Phelps is in charge of the Democratic group.
Skeptics believed the team lacked experience and that X’s goals were too high.
“The goal was wildly unrealistic from the beginning and was not based on any reasonable baseline or historical political ad spending on Twitter,” Golden said.
