X Marks the Spot: Twitter’s Rebrand to X

New Coke, Consignia, Meta – recent history is replete with questionable rebrands. The latest to spark conversation is Elon Musk’s controversial rebrand of Twitter to X, replacing the iconic blue bird logo that has been the symbol of the microblogging platform since its launch in 2006 – with a black X.

The Tesla CEO has used the letter “x” in his company branding before, with SpaceX using the letter in its branding, along with Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, but the recent renaming of Twitter to X has still taken the wider community by surprise.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino described the platform as “the future state of unlimited interactivity – centred in audio, video, messaging, payments and banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services and opportunities…[it] will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.” Amidst the controversy of this sudden rebrand, what benefits and drawbacks do these developments offer, and what opportunities and lessons does X present for brands and marketers?

Rebranding a large corporation, especially one as ubiquitous as Twitter, is never a decision that is made lightly. Musk clearly has big ambitions for the platform, and this rebrand could present new opportunities to reach and engage audiences using new services and technologies.

The goal seems to be creating an “all-in-one” platform that integrates new offerings and business avenues, such as proposed plans to launch payment and ecommerce services on the app. This presents a huge opportunity for businesses and brands, as does the renewed focus on audio and video content, opening up additional options for creating engaging content in mediums beyond text.

Additionally, with the recent launch of X’s ad revenue sharing program, which has been rolled out across 100 countries, the platform appears committed to enticing marketers and advertisers back.

While there is certainly a lot for brands and marketers to pay attention to, the drastic overall of Twitter to X has also come with its fair share of negative feedback, with the biggest concern being a feeling of disconnection from the identity Twitter’s users have become familiar with. This poses a potential problem for building a new audience, as well as maintaining an existing one, with some users regarding the platform with less trust and loyalty.

There has also been an undoubtedly significant impact on brand equity. The name “Twitter” and its iconic blue bird logo have been a fixture of the online lives of many for nearly two decades, while the concept of a “tweet” has become as ubiquitous in day-to-day speech as “google” has become for searching things up online. There has been much light-hearted debate on what users might call their tweets now the platform has rebranded, but more significantly, many people feel unsure what “X” stands for from a branding perspective.

With debate still swirling around Twitter’s rebrand to X, there are certainly some important lessons for marketers to ruminate on when it comes to the power of branding and brand identity. One of the biggest drawbacks of X seems to be a lack of clear communication around the benefits and offerings that the rebrand will bring to its users. A successful rebrand must pair its new image with tangible benefits if it is to be more readily accepted.

Similarly, brands must maintain an awareness of their existing audience and communities. A sudden change of brand that fails to take these communities into consideration can cause alienation and squander valuable mindshare amongst your audience.

It can be argued that a good rebrand is one which responds to shifting market and consumer needs. If there is no clear need for a rebrand that will respond to market trends, it can leave consumers feeling confused, resulting in decreased brand trust.