{"id":42240,"date":"2023-07-30T09:04:31","date_gmt":"2023-07-30T13:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/investing\/musk-is-wiping-the-slate-clean-and-starting-over-why-twitters-rebranding-as-x-could-actually-work\/"},"modified":"2023-07-30T09:04:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-30T13:04:33","slug":"musk-is-wiping-the-slate-clean-and-starting-over-why-twitters-rebranding-as-x-could-actually-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=42240","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Musk is wiping the slate clean and starting over.\u2019 Why Twitter\u2019s rebranding as \u2018X\u2019 could actually work."},"content":{"rendered":"
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You\u2019ll find no shortage of people weighing in on Twitter\u2019s overnight rebranding to X, with many predicting that it will be a disastrous move. The common thread among the naysayers: Twitter has a strong identity, replete with its readily identifiable bird logo, and to give up that brand recognition is simply foolhardy.<\/p>\n

But a number of marketing and branding experts told MarketWatch just the opposite \u2014 and they cite several reasons why Twitter (er, X) owner Elon Musk might be ahead of the curve and why \u201cX\u201d indeed could mark the spot.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s cool,\u201d says Thomas Donohoe, author of \u201cThe CEO\u2019s Digital Marketing Playbook,\u201d\u00a0of the new branding.<\/p>\n

Donohoe isn\u2019t just saying that X works from a stylistic sensibility. Rather, he says it allows Musk to rethink Twitter as the \u201ceverything app\u201d company he envisions it becoming \u2014 instead of just being a company devoted to musings on a social-media platform.<\/p>\n

The X branding is both general and mysterious enough to play into that \u201ceverything\u201d idea, Donohoe argues. \u201cIt could apply to anything,\u201d he says. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeremy Knauff, founder of Spartan Media, a Tampa-based firm that specializes in public relations and branding, says the new name and logo also allow Musk to free himself from many of Twitter\u2019s past negative associations.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy rebranding, Musk is wiping the slate clean and starting over,\u201d Knauff says.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also something to be said for the fact that Musk has put Twitter\/X \u201cback in the media cycle all over again\u201d with the rebranding, Knauff argues.<\/p>\n

Which is not to say the buzz about the rebranding has all been positive. In fact, on the new X, the hashtag \u201c#Xcrement\u201d has been trending<\/a> in response to the change.<\/p>\n

Others just find the new name and logo a bit goofy, as evidenced by this tweet from the creators of a certain children\u2019s television show:<\/p>\n

One observer also pointed to the fact that \u201cX\u201d is a name that can\u2019t be protected from a trademark standpoint.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, the issue for many is that Twitter users may be hard-pressed to refer to the brand as something else. Think of how Chicagoans still call the iconic Willis Tower by its original name \u2014 the Sears Tower. Or how many New Yorkers refer to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge by its old monikers, the Queensboro Bridge or the 59th<\/sup> Street Bridge.<\/p>\n

So, Twitter will always be Twitter, says Laura Altimari, head of Fine Tastes, a New York-based marketing firm. And any attempt at rebranding is a recipe for failure, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cChanging\u00a0an identifiable logo and name to a single letter in the alphabet is leading the brand recognition into the abyss,\u201d Altimari observes.<\/p>\n

Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, said on the platform Sunday that the rebranding speaks to the company\u2019s future ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years, fans and critics alike have pushed Twitter to dream bigger, to innovate faster, and to fulfill our great potential. X will do that and more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

MarketWatch reached out to the company for any additional response, but didn\u2019t receive an immediate reply.<\/p>\n

Craig Agranoff, a Florida-based marketing executive and adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University, says it may just be a case of giving people time to adjust to the new X identity. And Musk is probably prepared to do that, he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cElon Musk doesn\u2019t think about today. He\u2019s thinking about years down the road. I hate to bet against him,\u201d Agranoff says.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n