'X' replaces tweet in Musk's radical move, but will the rebranding click?

Companies that have changed even their logos in the past have had to deal with consumer criticism and confusion

Twitter as we know it is on its way out. In the past year, the social media giant has experienced major changes under Elon Musk, but none measures up to the latest overhaul that the Tesla founder has initiated.

Musk has shooed away Twitter’s iconic blue bird — staple of the company’s avian-themed brand narrative, and unchanged since 2012. Instead, he has unveiled a new white-on-black ‘X’ logo on the desktop version of the social network, through his profile picture. He has also said that the posts on the social media platform will no longer be called “Tweets”. Instead, they will be called “Xs”.

Moreover, when Musk bought Twitter last year, he had said the step was “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” similar to China’s WeChat, offering services including mobile payments and social media under one umbrella. Once the change goes through, Twitter as we know it will cease to exist, not only in its name and brand, but also in the very format of its services as it evolves into Musk’s so-far elusive dream of an “everything app”.

“This is not just a case of a logo change; it is also a name change. A brand’s name is the central and enduring element of the brand’s identity, which is rarely, if at all, changed by its owners,” says Samit Sinha, founder and managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting. “It is relatively more common, and less drastic, for brand owners to change, or at least refresh, the brand’s
logo,” he adds.

Also Read: Elon Musk explains why he is dumping Twitter's name and iconic bird logo

Changing logos is often done to signal a change or improvement in the brand’s offering to all its stakeholders, especially its customers. “In this instance, it looks like the harbinger of a brand new narrative,” adds Sinha.

Indeed, the magnitude of Twitter's rebranding is unprecedented. A look at the history of rebranding for major companies shows that even in the case of a mere logo change, it takes some time for the new look and brand narrative to gain traction among users.
 

For instance, Pepsi’s designers created a new logo in 2014 after five months of “hard” effort and $1 million in expenses. The new logo met with strong criticism. In an attempt to put a smile on people’s faces, the iconic Pepsi globe is now twisted to one side. The white portion of the emblem also varies in size, based on the type of product.

Also Read: Elon Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter as X could be complicated legally

Mastercard made the decision to work on enhancing its logo design in 2015, even though its corporate logo is among the most recognisable in history. In the past, the corporate name was positioned front and centre in the logo. After revamping, Mastercard completely removed its name from the logo. Customers found the new Mastercard logo confusing and in the end, the business developed a new logo, although corporate communications continued to use the 2015 version.

Other firms such as GAP, Microsoft, Animal Planet, etc have faced major resistance to their new logos. Google, meanwhile, pulled out of a rebranding move when it decided to create a new public holding company, Alphabet Inc, in 2015. Even as Alphabet was restructured to become the parent company of Google, the internet search giant stopped short of changing its logo and brand narrative, given the immense iconic value the name and logo of Google carries.

Gullu Sen, managing partner of ad agency Daiko FHO communications, believes Musk’s move cannot be studied from an advertising or marketing brand lens alone.

“Twitter has become a living entity and one of the most powerful tools in current times. Its geo-political influence is so deep that it has become not only a convenient voice piece for opinion-makers, but even an extension of their persona,” he points out.

Musk has not officially announced a restructuring of the app’s core functions, so it is unclear what lies ahead on the road to Twitter’s X-ification. The introduction of new protocols and policies is an immediate possibility.

Also Read: 'Unlimited interactivity': With X, Twitter aims to foray into new fields

Symbol-ic change
 
* Nokia: The logo has seen several changes, but the last three iterations have primarily been variations on the now popular blue-lettered name
* Pepsi: The new tweaking of the Pepsi logo still hasn’t caught the kind of public imagination its older logo had
* Mastercard: It completely removed its name from a new formulation of its iconic logo
* Apple: It used to have Isaac Newton on its logo in the late 1970s. This was changed to what is now its iconic logo
* Hershey’s: It made the decision to rebrand in 2009 and ultimately came up with a logo that might resemble a smoking poop, not something you want to see on your bar of chocolate