When Elon Musk takes action, the world has learned to take notice. In some circles, the man behind Tesla isn’t as well known for his business sense as he is for his wild actions on social media and wanting to take the world to the next level and beyond. He is often ridiculed, his name is often used as click bate, and at times he is considered to be a genius.
As the richest man in the world, he can afford to pull off a few publicity stunts – like the time he took a sink into Twitter headquarters – but can he really take an established brand like Twitter and rebrand it to X without causing havoc to the business model?
Only time will tell for sure, but for now, we can focus on how the news is affecting markets and how CAPEX traders can use this knowledge to make more-informed trading decisions
Why Twitter is being rebranded to X
Out of all the 26 letters of the English alphabet, Musk’s favourite is obviously X. We don’t have a clear idea of why, but a quick look into his career and his personal life shows that the whole rebranding of Twitter to X is only his latest endeavor with the letter. From X.com, an online banking and financial services platform launched in 1999, to SpaceX, to Tesla Model X, to his artificial intelligence start-up called xAI, to the nickname of his son being X, Musk is marking out his very own territory in the world with a series of Xs.
He has been on a business mission with Twitter since he bought the social media platform for $44B last October. On this business venture he said, "Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app.”. He took it one step further by adding, "the Twitter name made sense when it was just 140-character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video. In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world".
Twitter is set to make a second big impression, according to the platform’s Chief Executive Officer Linda Yacarino.
X account of Linda Yacarino, July 23, 2023.
Rebranding Twitter and the backlash so far
When Musk announced that Twitter would officially be rebranded as X late on Saturday, July 22, news feeds were on fire. Partly because Twitter has become such a strong brand with its own lingo that has become a part of our society, and partly because many thought Musk was mad to make such a bold move. This move could potentially destroy the brand’s value that took almost 15 years to build - and, according to Time, analysts and brand agencies calculate that ‘Musk’s move wiped out anywhere between $4B and $20B in value.’
Elon Musk’s X account. July 24, 2023.
Is X trying to follow in the footsteps of Google and Facebook?
Brand names take years to build trust, but it does not take much time for them to come crashing down. After the social media platform, Facebook received criticism and a black mark for its data privacy scandals its owner, Mark Zuckerberg, placed Facebook under a new parent company named Meta. He didn’t go as far as to change the name of Facebook though.
Right now it is Meta that is seen to go head-to-head with Twitter, or rather X, with its recent release of its new social media platform named Threads. Threads has similarities to Musk’s platform and is the fastest growing app in history.
In 2015 Google went through a restructuring when it announced it would function under a new partner company called Alphabet. This move was meant to allow the company to diversify its operations. Again, the Google name still stands, and it is still very much a part of our everyday lingo.
With major players in the technology field bringing other names into play, could Musk be following this trend to make Twitter his own?
'X' logo installed on top of Twitter building in San Francisco. Source LMTonline.
The renaming and rebranding of other big names like Pepsi and Best Buy
Philip Morris (PM) – the tobacco company announced in 2001 that it would change the name of its parent company to Altria Group. This was because the company was trying to get away from the negativity of the lawsuits it faced.
British Petroleum (BP) - the petroleum company decided to buy the American oil company Amoo in 1998. Under its new name, BP Amoco, it became one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas in the US. It also began to position itself as an environmentally friendly company.
PepsiCo (PEP) – the well-known drink was originally called Brad’s Drink. Its name was taken from its creator, Caleb Davis Bradham in 1893. It was quickly rebranded in 1898 to “Pepsi-Cola” because he thought it would help with indigestion.
Best Buy Co. (BBY) - the original name of the American multinational consumer electronics retailer was “Sound of Music.” The story behind the rename is that in 1981 a tornado took the roof off the store and destroyed most of the stock. Just days after the founder, Richard Schulze, took what stock he had left into a parking lot and told customers they could get their best buys there. The two-day parking lot sale was a great success and two years later what was once “Sound of Music” became known as “Best Buy.”
Has X got what it takes to stand up to the most valuable brands like Amazon and Apple?
According to the annual report on the World’s Most Valuable and Strongest Brands - Global 500 2023 – released by Brand Finance, Twitter is not even on the list. According to the report ‘in 2021, Twitter had a reputation score of 6.5/10 in line with the likes of Facebook, MTV and just below Fox. However, in 2022 the reputation dropped nearly a full point and is currently 5.6/10. It will be very curious to see how this saga further develops and how it will be reflected in the research data in the next annual GBEM wave in 2023.’
This was before Musk killed the blue bird and put an X in its place and the study was completed even before Musk took over Twitter in October 2022.
Amazon and Apple are the winners of the World’s Top 25 Most Valuable Brands in 2023, according to Brand Finance, and can be seen below.
Global 500 2023 – The annual report on the World’s Most Valuable and Strongest Brands, January 2023
How other brands have taken the X and ran with it
Marketeers are always on the lookout for any bit of news they can use to sharpen the marketing of their own brands. The news of Twitter’s rebranding was used in very creative ways to help other brands ride the trending train.
British bakers Greggs went for comedy when it posted ‘#TwitterX walked so GreX could run’ together with an image of a sausage roll forming one half of an X logo.
Greggs X account, July 24, 2023.
McCann’s Germany team took a more serious approach when it created a post for WWF Germany highlighting the extinction of birds.
WWF Germany Twitter account, July 25, 2023
How to make top brands part of your portfolio
Follow the steps below to make any of the publicly traded value brands part of your portfolio.
1. Log in to your CAPEX account.
2. Be sure your account is already funded with our flexible payment options.
3. At the top right you can see the type of account you are in.
4. Go to the search icon at the top left of your WebTrader and enter the name of the company you are interested in.
5. Select the instrument.
6. Enter the amount you wish and select the asset of your choice.
7. That’s it! If your transaction was successful, you will be notified.
Summary
- Elon Musk announced the rebranding of Twitter to X.
- The rebranding is because the Twitter name does not represent the social media platform now.
- The platform’s Chief Executive Officer, Linda Yacarino, said the platform will make a second big impression.
- Many question if the name change is an effort to compete with Google and Facebook.
- Other brands like Pepsi and Best Buy also went through a rebranding and name change.
- Twitter is not on the list of the most valuable brands in 2023.
- Brands like Greggs and WWF Germany have used the news in their marketing efforts.
- Get an insight into how to trade with CAPEX.com.