Macy’s pauses Twitter advertising ahead of Thanksgiving Day Parade

Macy’s is the latest brand to pause its advertising on Twitter. The retailer's halt comes just as it had been in the middle of big-spending campaigns heading into the holiday shopping season and Thanksgiving, a holiday it's closely tied to with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a moment typically shared on Twitter. Macy’s had been spending more lately on Twitter than in previous months, according to data from Pathmatics, a firm that tracks digital ad spend. So Macy's pulling out now represents a sizable blow to Twitter, which had already been seeing an exodus of brands. “At this time, we are pausing advertising on Twitter but will continue to monitor our account on the platform for customer service inquiries,” said a spokesman for the storied department store chain. Macy’s began the pause on Nov. 11 and it should have been completed by Nov. 14, he noted. Macy’s has historically been a big advertiser on Twitter, particularly during the critical holiday selling season. Last year, the retailer spent $983,300 on November ad buys on the platform, up from $113,300 in November 2020 during the first holiday season of the pandemic, according to Pathmatics.See Macy's 2022 holiday campaign The retailer's paid ads are currently gone, but Macy’s has not missed the opportunity to reply to chatter about its upcoming parade, which is expected to attract more than 25 million viewers and will include new attractions such as a float from Toys ‘R’ Us and a Bluey balloon. Like last year, the event will again be in-person after a TV-only experience in 2020. Macy’s was spending a lot on Twitter ads in the first two weeks of November, according to Pathmatics. Macy’s shot into the top 10 advertisers on Twitter, in fact, at a time when a lot of brands were pulling back, just after Elon Musk took over the company in late October. From Nov. 1 to Nov. 13, Macy’s spent $1.12 million on ads on Twitter, and that compares to spending $20,500 on Twitter ads in the first two weeks of September. We're just as excited as they are! ❤️ #MacysParade— Macy's (@Macys) November 15, 2022 Macy’s did not respond to an inquiry about Twitter plans for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Twitter did not immediately return a request for comment. Twitter has become more uncertain for advertisers in recent days, especially after a spate of fake brand accounts plagued the site last week. Nintendo, Pepsi, Eli Lilly and Company, and even Musk’s own Tesla brand were spoofed by trolls sending out misleading information. The fakes were able to trick people because of Musk’s new program to sell blue check marks to subscribers who paid $8 a month. There had been concerns going into that moneymaking plan that anyone with a blue check could then easily look like an official account, and some Twitter users obviously tested the concept. Musk took over ownership of Twitter after a months-long tussle with the company, where at first, he wanted to buy the platform, and then tried to back out of the $44 billion deal. But he finalized the purchase in the last week of October, and his stewardship has unnerved major advertisers. Marketers were mostly concerned that Musk could damage brand suitability controls with looser moderation policies, and the blue check fakers became a prime example of that. “The fiasco around the blue check mark is sort of a case study of what agencies and brands are concerned with,” said Ashwini Karandikar, executive VP of media, tech and data at 4A’s, the influential advertiser trade group. Ad Age Next: CMO Get your tickets for the Dec. 7 event in New York Register here 'It seems to be maybe better to wait and watch' Earlier this month, IPG’s Mediabrands became the first media holding company to officially advise its clients to pause spending on Twitter while the site works through any issues from its change in leadership. Advertisers have been worried about how major marketing leaders left the company, including Sarah Personette and JP Maheu. Musk in a public tweet even noted that advertiser spend has been down on the service. Musk has met with media partners and advertisers, members of Twitter’s so-called Influence Council, a group of highly active brands and publishers on the site. Last week, Linda Yaccarino, chairman, global advertising sales partnerships at NBCUniversal, said the ad industry should give Musk time, and said she would not bet against him turning the platform around. Yaccarino was speaking at the Ad Age Next: Streaming conference. NBCU is one of Twitter’s top media partners. However, Twitter has lost some confidence from previously loyal advertisers including Mondelēz, which was one of the first brands to plan to turn off advertising on the site, people familiar with its marketing strategy told Ad Age earlier this month. Last week, Omnicom Media Group sent a note to clients advising them to pause ads following the problem with blue check marks. Twitter did pause the sale of blue check marks while Musk tinkers with the system. Karandikar said that 4A’s does not typically advise members of the trade group where to spend their ad dollars but did advise caution with Twitter. “It’s up to the agency or the advertiser to choose what risk level is suitable and if they would like to participate,” Karandikar said, “but when asked specifically, for now it seems to be maybe better to wait and watch, and participate once either the agency or advertiser is absolutely sure that whatever brand safety filters they had in place, or they would like to have in place, can be implemented.” Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Macy’s pauses Twitter advertising ahead of Thanksgiving Day Parade

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