Losing The Bird Was Dumb
When Elon Musk bought Twitter way back in October of 2022, I knew things were about to get interesting for the platform.
When he changed Twitter to X in July of 2023 and replaced the signature blue bird with a literal black X, I laughed out loud.
From a marketing and branding standpoint, that had to be one of the worst decisions I have ever seen.
Don’t believe me? Listen to these stats:
A full year after Musk bought the social media platform, the value of the company dipped by 55% dropping from $44 billion to $19 billion.
Axios has reported that the platform “has hemorrhaged users and advertisers in its first year” under Musk’s expertise and engagement metrics are down across the board with web traffic to the site down 14%.
Source: Data, Sensor Tower; Chart, Axios Visuals
The traffic to the ads.twitter.com portal for advertisers was also down 16.5% and Musk himself admitted that the company’s U.S. ad business was down 60%. As Axios put it:
“A decrease in engagement coupled with concerns around brand safety and misinformation has pushed advertisers away from X.”
Advertisers were, and still are, taking their business elsewhere.
And! Not only did everyone continue calling the company Twitter, but the branding is still the same on the company’s LinkedIn, it still has the same web handle as before, and the Apple store officially says “Formerly Twitter” if you want to download the app:
Source: Apple Store
The main takeaway? If you want to update your brand, update it, don’t destroy it.
A good rebranding example would be Dunkin' which changed it's branding in 2019 from Dunkin’ Donuts to just Dunkin’.
Source: Dunkin’ Newsroom
“By simplifying and modernizing our name, while still paying homage to our heritage, we have an opportunity to create an incredible new energy for Dunkin’, both in and outside our stores,” said Tony Weisman, Chief Marketing Officer, Dunkin’ U.S on their official Dunkin’ press release:
“We are bringing the iconic name Dunkin’ to the forefront in a bold way that brings to life how we refill optimism with each cup and bring fun, joy and delight to our customers each and every day.”
It’s simple, it’s iconic. It plays into their audience and still embraces the company's heritage by retaining the pink and orange color as well as its font. It’s clear that the marketing team did their research and it didn’t alienate customers or advertisers in the process.
If you need to rebrand, be like Dunkin’ not like X.
Sophia Randazzo is the CEO of Bumblebee Marketing Agency which loves to help small businesses thrive. Be sure to like, subscribe, and reach out to us if you need marketing assistance.