Rising tensions in an increasingly acrimonious trade dispute between the United States and China have failed to translate into diminished advertising ambitions at Twitter in the country, according to its chief financial officer.
Speaking to CNBC’s ‘Mad Money’ a bullish Ned Segal said he expected relations on the ground to endure as it seeks to grow its digital advertising business further – despite being banned in China.
Chinese companies have been increasingly targeting Twitter as a gateway to international markets, attracted by an estimated 134m montetisable daily active users.
Touting impressive annual growth of 20% over the past two decades in the digital advertising arena as proof of their success Segal said: “Advertisers want to be able to measure their success even more in a downturn than they do in an upturn. The secular shift toward digital advertising can continue in any economic environment.”
Over the first quarter, Twitter’s ad revenues increased to $679m, representing an 18% increase year on year as total ad engagements jumped 23% and the cost per engagement decreased by 4%. These trends have given Twitter the confidence to bank on advertising as the key to profitability.
Like others in the social media sphere, Twitter has been battling to restore confidence in political advertising by improving transparency around who is bankrolling specific campaigns and who they are targeting.