dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Social Links
  • zedreviews.com
  • citi.io
  • aster.cloud
  • liwaiwai.com
  • guzz.co.uk
  • atinatin.com
0 Likes
0 Followers
0 Subscribers
dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
  • People
  • Technology

Twitter’s Rebrand To X Shifts The Focus To Musk’s ‘Everything App’ Plans But Here’s Why He Might Have Moved Too Early

  • July 29, 2023
Twitter X
Image credits: Unsplash – BoliviaInteligente | Twitter X
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Jamie Marsden, University of Leeds

A succession of upheavals have characterised Elon Musk’s leadership of Twitter since he acquired the social media platform in November 2022 – from his U-turns on the acquisition, to firings and rehirings and a significant drop in advertising revenue. But his latest move is the most significant: abandoning the globally recognised Twitter brand and renaming the platform X.

Such drastic changes are usually accompanied by presentations delving into rebrand reasoning from company execs desperate to show how the new image aligns with organisational strategy and company vision.

But in keeping with Twitter’s disruptive nature of late, no in-depth explanation for the X rebrand was given to company outsiders, although Musk invited users to submit a logo design. In a widely reported-on internal memo, chief executive Linda Yaccarino invited staff to “build X” with her and Musk, without giving details as to how and why.

From a brand identity perspective, the choice of the X symbol was unsurprising. Musk has used the letter for his engineering company SpaceX, tech startup xAI and now X Corp (he already made the legal change from Twitter Inc. to X Corp in March 2023).

As a symbol, the character is distinctive and expresses a sense of mystery. Its general use as a stand-in for pretty much anything also aligns with Musk’s plans for an “everything app” that offers much more than a way to communicate. But marketing research and the spotty history of major rebrands indicates Musk will need to do a lot more than change Twitter’s name and a logo to ensure that X really does become “everything” to its users.

Smartphone showing Elon Musk's X profile will the new logo for the platform.
The new X logo.
Tama2u/Shutterstock

Corporate makeovers

Companies typically change brands in response to structural, strategic and functional drivers. A structural reason might be a change in ownership, with a new logo signalling a new direction. Strategic reasons frequently include either a perception issue – negative associations – or to signal a shift in activities, or reflect a change in consumer preferences. A functional reason could be optimising logo appearance on new platforms such as mobile apps, or to emphasise a brand’s continued relevance.

A telephone box with the old style BT
BT’s logo was very different when it was only a phone company.
DSO Media/Shutterstock

Structural and strategic drivers often reflect a more significant change in the logo’s expression. Early brand logos, for example, frequently express core activities – think British Telecom’s piper logo. Tech brands such as Netflix (which included a film reel in its early logo designs) have also followed this format.

This makes it easier for people to understand what the company does, which is especially important in an organisation’s early years.

Close-up of a hand holding a smartphone showing an entirely blue screen with the Twitter bird logo in white.
The Twitter logo.
Top_CNX/Shutterstock

Indeed, the Twitter brand identity immediately captured the nature of the platform: the idea of chirping out short bursts of thought as part of a public exchange. This is evident in the bird logo, but also the name – the suggestion of speed in the distinctive consonant blending of “t” and “w” in the brand name and in the user’s ability to “tweet” a short message.

Being known for a specific activity, however, can become a weakness. As brands evolve, a company’s range of activities can expand and the brand message no longer captures the scope of its activities.

In Twitter’s case, the core activity currently remains unchanged, but the rebrand aligns with Musk’s intention to make the platform more than a communication app. He has often discussed idea of creating an “everything app” – like Tencent’s popular WeChat app in China, which provides communications (similar to WhatsApp) and payment functionality.

WeChat, which has more than 1.3 billion monthly active users, proves there is scope for combining communications (like Twitter) and online financial transactions (like a Paypal) into a promising future proposition: “the global town square for everything”. In other words, a platform that is so central to authorisation, communications and transactions that it becomes a single arena for all kinds of exchanges.

Too soon to signal a new direction?

But it could be premature to signal an aspiration that is currently inaccurate. Back in 2000, energy giant BP (formerly British Petroleum) rebranded to express a vision of cleaner energy-related activities. First, it shifted to the abbreviation BP and then it claimed that the initials BP stood for “Beyond Petroleum”. But BP’s claim was perceived as misleading by the public because the message preceded the activity by decades.

On the other hand, in the latter part of the 20th century, US company Philip Morris wanted to move away from a strong association with tobacco brands built up over decades of selling cigarettes including Marlboro, Chesterfield and Parliament. In the 1970s it started to acquire food and beverage companies including Kraft Inc., before rebranding to Altria in 2003 (it then spun off its Kraft Food subsidiary in 2007). At the time of the rebrand, this showed the company was becoming more “diversified”. Importantly, the action preceded the message.

By shifting to X.com without much explanation, Twitter could risk following in the footsteps of BP rather than Altria. It’s not clear if Twitter’s users will stick with the platform long term without knowing the underlying reasoning and how it will serve their loyalty – particularly with newer alternatives available such as Meta’s Threads.

On the other hand, by crowdsourcing X’s logo design (on Twitter, of course), Musk included users in the rebranding process. This is often a critical feature of successful corporate rebranding.

But of course, one of the biggest risks of changing a brand identity from one that has global recognition, recall and awareness, is that users may not like the change. By removing the Twitter brand there is an immediate loss of brand equity – the positive associations consumers have with the brand – which could ultimately encourage people to move to other platforms.

Musk and the rest of X’s leadership may hope that the recent publicity, as well as the established behaviour of using the app, might reduce some of the impact. But the importance of involving stakeholders in the process will need to extend beyond asking for help with a new logo design. Convincing users to remain loyal will require X to provide a more convenient and engaging future experience on the platform, whatever that may be.The Conversation

Jamie Marsden, Lecturer in Brand Communications, University of Leeds

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article (https://theconversation.com/twitters-rebrand-to-x-shifts-the-focus-to-musks-everything-app-plans-but-heres-why-he-might-have-moved-too-early-210393).

Total
0
Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • Branding
  • Elon Musk
  • Logs
  • Rebrand
  • Twitter
  • X
  • X.AI
majulah

Previous Article
Homework, Study and Laptop
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • People
  • Technology

ChatGPT Isn’t The Death Of Homework – Just An Opportunity For Schools To Do Things Differently

  • July 28, 2023
View Post
Next Article
japanese-zen-garden-jennifer-goolsby-d9hhl8JXySg-unsplash
  • Features
  • Op-Ed
  • Outsights
  • People

Overcome Laziness With These 7 Japanese Productivity Hacks 

  • August 4, 2023
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

Thoughts on America’s AI Action Plan

  • Dean Marc
  • July 24, 2025
View Post
  • Technology

ESWIN Computing launches the EBC77 Series Single Board Computer with Ubuntu

  • dotlah.com
  • July 17, 2025
View Post
  • Gears
  • Technology

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones

  • Dean Marc
  • July 9, 2025
View Post
  • Cities
  • Technology

Meralco PowerGen’s PacificLight starts up 100 MW fast-response plant in Singapore

  • dotlah.com
  • June 20, 2025
View Post
  • Technology

Apple services deliver powerful features and intelligent updates to users this autumn

  • Dean Marc
  • June 12, 2025
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Technology

Apple supercharges its tools and technologies for developers to foster creativity, innovation, and design

  • Dean Marc
  • June 11, 2025
View Post
  • Technology
  • Working Life

It’s time to stop debating whether AI is genuinely intelligent and focus on making it work for society

  • dotlah.com
  • June 8, 2025
View Post
  • People
  • Politics

Singapore PM Wong arrives in Malacañang

  • dotlah.com
  • June 4, 2025


Trending
  • cemetery cross 1
    • People
    How To Move On After Losing A Loved One
    • November 19, 2020
  • 2
    • Lah!
    • Society
    Grab Launches GrabAssist Plus, Expanding Its Suite Of Transport Services For Persons With Disabilities In Singapore
    • February 2, 2021
  • 3
    • People
    The World’s Population Is Ageing: The Number Of Elderly People Now Exceeds The Number Of Children
    • January 28, 2020
  • 4
    • Lah!
    • Science
    Top 10 Must-See Museums In Singapore
    • December 23, 2019
  • cycling bike 5
    • Cities
    • People
    Why Bicycle Accidents Can Be So Devastating
    • January 18, 2021
  • 6
    • Technology
    Championing Personal Data Protection For Trust And Loyalty
    • May 24, 2020
  • 7
    • Cities
    • Technology
    Autonomous Mobility: 3 Lessons For Success From Saudi Arabia
    • October 21, 2023
  • 8
    • Cities
    • Environment
    • People
    How Cities Shape Pandemics
    • March 12, 2020
  • 9
    • Technology
    Apple expands developer support and resources
    • June 7, 2024
  • 10
    • People
    • World Events
    How Has The Pandemic Changed The Movement Of People Around The World?
    • June 16, 2020
  • london-crowd-viktor-forgacs-6bMyJEvr-Cw-unsplash 11
    • Cities
    • Economy
    The World’s Next Megacities
    • January 20, 2023
  • 12
    • Technology
    IMDA Partners With SUTD To Deepen Data And AI Capabilities To Drive Continuous Innovation For Smart Estates
    • November 13, 2019
Trending
  • Scuba Diving 1
    Wetsuit or Drysuit? As always, it depends. This quick guide can help you choose.
    • August 2, 2025
  • 2
    Thoughts on America’s AI Action Plan
    • July 24, 2025
  • 3
    Introducing Surface Laptop 5G: Seamless connectivity, built for business
    • July 23, 2025
  • 4
    Press Start (Or Hit Enter)! Your Go-To Loadout for Streamers and Gamers.
    • July 19, 2025
  • 5
    ESWIN Computing launches the EBC77 Series Single Board Computer with Ubuntu
    • July 17, 2025
  • 6
    Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
    • July 9, 2025
  • Camping 7
    The Summer Adventures : Camping Essentials
    • June 28, 2025
  • 8
    Meralco PowerGen’s PacificLight starts up 100 MW fast-response plant in Singapore
    • June 20, 2025
  • 9
    A Father’s Day Gift for Every Pop and Papa
    • June 14, 2025
  • 10
    Apple services deliver powerful features and intelligent updates to users this autumn
    • June 12, 2025
Social Links
dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Connecting Dots Across Asia's Tech and Urban Landscape

Input your search keywords and press Enter.