Report: X brings on Targeted Victory for comms support

X is working with Targeted Victory, a Republican-leaning digital marketing firm, according to a report from Wired. 

Targeted Victory is handling messaging about X’s ban in Brazil, Wired reported. The country disallowed the platform after X violated a court order from Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court requiring the company to remove certain accounts and content that the court said spread disinformation about the integrity of the country’s elections.

 A spokesperson for Targeted Victory was not available for comment.

When PRWeek reached out to X for comment via email, the automated reply said, “Busy now, please check back later.”

Targeted Victory is owned by Stagwell Group. In Q2, the holding company reported revenue growth of 6% year-over-year to $671 million. Organic net revenue growth declined significantly in Q2, however, increasing 1.2% versus 8% in the prior quarter. 

In June, X expanded the role of global government affairs head Nick Pickles to include directing global communications, the Financial Times reported. Pickles posted on X on Thursday that he is leaving the company.

Before him, Joe Benarroch handled comms for X. He left in June, according to the FT. Benarroch, X’s former head of business operations, joined the company last June and acted as an X spokesperson.

Yaccarino has been facing pressure from X owner Elon Musk to boost sales and cut costs, according to the Financial Times.

Musk decimated the comms team at X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after buying the social network for $44 billion in October 2022.

Before Benarroch joined X, one of the company’s last comms staffers after Musk eliminated nearly all of the department was Rebecca Hahn. She left her role as the social media network’s VP of global communications in January 2023 to join Tools for Humanity as chief communications officer.

In March 2023, [email protected] was set up to respond to queries with an automated reply that included nothing but a poop emoji. Now, when [email protected] is emailed for comment, it replies with, “Busy now, please check back later.”

In June, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, WPP chief executive Mark Read asked Musk about comments he made last November when he told advertisers to “go f*ck yourselves.” Musk stood by his comments, insisting he will “choose free speech rather than agreeing to be censored for money.”

A report published this week from U.K. market research firm Kantar found that 26% of marketers are planning to reduce their ad spend on X in 2025.