Elon Musks’ unexpected choice of Twitter rebranding into “X” and removing the known bird logo and “tweet” terminology resulted in a financial loss with an estimated impact of $4 20 billion, on brand value. As industry experts and branding agencies express their disapproval of this decision the platform now confronts the task of regaining its importance while embarking on objectives, under the “X” name.
In a surprising move, Elon Musk the owner of Twitter recently announced plans to change the platform’s product name to “X” effectively eliminating the well-known bird logo and associated terms like “tweet.” This decision made over a quiet summer weekend caused a substantial financial impact with estimations suggesting a loss of anywhere between $4 billion to $20 billion in brand equity.
The new black “X” logo designed by a fan during the weekend has already begun appearing on the site as the new Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino outlined a vision for X to become a multifunctional platform for audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking.
Many analysts and brand agencies consider the renaming a mistake as Twitter has become one of the most recognizable social media brands globally. It has even introduced verbs like “tweet” and “retweet” into modern culture regularly used to describe how celebrities and politicians communicate with the public.
By rebranding to “X” Twitter faces the challenge of rebuilding its cultural significance and linguistic recognition from scratch. However, this may be part of the motivation to shift the focus away from comparisons to its previous iteration after Musk’s takeover.
Other tech companies such as Google and Facebook have undergone renaming in recent years but they retained their product names to maintain familiarity. Twitter’s brand value estimated between $4 billion and $20 billion has already taken a significant hit since Musk’s acquisition leading to a decline in advertising revenue by more than 50% since October.
Some experts view Musk’s decision as irrational and ego-driven as it has led to the unwinding of Twitter’s business and brand at an unprecedented pace. Moreover, there are concerns about the risk to Musk’s future goals, particularly in building trust for banking and payment services under the new brand name “X.”
In conclusion, Elon Musk’s decision to rename Twitter to “X” has sparked significant controversy and financial repercussions. It remains to be seen how the platform will adapt and regain its previous standing in the face of this bold branding shift.
