X partners with IAS to provide pre-bid brand safety

Social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), is trying to get advertisers back, after losing more than half of its US ad revenue and over 500 top advertisers leaving, by introducing new brand safety features in collaboration with Integral Ad Science (IAS). IAS announced an exclusive partnership, giving advertisers access to its pre-bid brand safety and suitability tool on the platform. 

Marketers will gain more control and better optimization of their media investments through this product. IAS will also offer third-party confirmation that ads on platform X are being displayed in environments that align with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) framework for brand safety and suitability. 

After Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX CEO) acquired the platform, industry watchdog groups claim that hate speech and offensive content have thrived. Musk strongly disputes this claim and has taken legal action against the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate following a recent report.

Brand safety is a key priority for most of the advertisers,therefore, they are cautious and prefer to avoid the chance of their ads being shown next to offensive content. Ensuring brand safety and transparency has been a constant worry in marketing ever since the digital era started. This presents an opportunity for platform X to showcase its leadership in this aspect.

Just yesterday, Élyana Thierry, the current head of brand safety at X, introduced a range of new “brand safety” features. These enhancements are designed to collaborate and provide an increased level of protection against unwanted associations for advertisers on platform X.

“Balancing free expression and platform safety is our number one priority — and we are proving these two things are not at odds,” stated Linda Yaccarino the CEO of X. “Growing our partnership with IAS offers brands a new level of protection and transparency as they continue to grow on X.” 

Apart from the protections already in place, X is introducing Sensitivity Settings, which is an automated solution powered by machine learning.

Using this tool, which will be available in the coming weeks, advertisers can choose from guidelines labeled as “Conservative,” “Standard,” or “Relaxed” (coming soon). These settings ensure that advertisers’ messages on platform X are aligned with content that suits their specific requirements.

X has faced significant challenges since its acquisition by Musk. These challenges include requiring advertisers to have a verified checkmark or subscription, charging users for a blue verification checkmark, expanding character limit for only Blue subscribers, and implementing layoffs (followed by reversals of those layoffs). These actions, combined with worries about offensive content growth, have prompted certain advertisers to temporarily halt their ads on the platform. 

Since Musk took control, a number of companies, including General Mills Inc. and Pfizer Inc., have stopped running ads on Twitter. At the end of 2022, Apple has “fully resumed” advertising on then-named Twitter as well.

Moreover, this situation has given rise to various potential rivals, with Meta’s Threads being a prominent example. Threads has rapidly gained over 100 million users, making it a noteworthy competitor.