Elon Musk, the CEO of X Corp, formerly known as Twitter, announced on May 6, 2022, that Linda Yaccarino, a long-time advertising executive, would take on the role of the new CEO. Yaccarino will be responsible for running the company’s business operations, while Musk will focus on product design and new technology. She will have the challenging task of wooing back advertisers who have abandoned the platform since Musk acquired it last year for $44 billion.
Yaccarino, who has worked as an advertising executive for decades, was most recently the chairman of advertising and client partnerships at NBCUniversal. Before that, she held various roles at Turner Broadcasting System Inc., including executive vice president and chief operating officer. According to the Wall Street Journal, Yaccarino’s hard-nosed negotiating style even earned her the nickname the “velvet hammer” in the advertising industry.
Yaccarino has pushed the advertising industry for change on several fronts, including advocating for relying less heavily on Nielsen ratings for measurement and introducing a digital platform called One Platform that makes it easier to buy ads across a variety of different media in an effort to better compete for ads against social media companies and traditional media companies. She has also been challenging Musk on issues of content moderation, hate speech, and extremism on Twitter.
During a discussion at a marketing convention in Miami Beach, Florida, Yaccarino asked Musk if he planned to reinstate the company’s “influence council,” a once-regular meeting with marketing executives from several of Twitter’s major advertisers, which he again demurred. Musk suggested Twitter should aim for a “sensible middle ground” that ensures the public “has a voice” while advertisers focus on improving sales and their brands’ perception.
Musk also revealed a plan to solve Twitter’s problems with objectionable tweets, calling it “freedom of speech but not freedom of reach.” However, Yaccarino pressed him on whether the policy would apply to his tweets, given his history of posting misinformation and occasionally offensive tweets. Musk acknowledged that it does apply to his tweets and that his tweets could also be tagged with “community notes” that provide context.
Yaccarino’s hard-nosed negotiating style and understanding of what advertisers need to see to get back on the platform from a brand safety perspective may help Twitter recover its lost advertisers.
SOURCE: Ref – euronews with AP
Images: Google Images.
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