'Musk is wiping the slate clean and starting over.' Why Twitter's rebranding as 'X' could actually work.

By Charles Passy

The new name will help Elon Musk reshape the popular social-media platform into a larger entity, experts say

You'll find no shortage of people weighing in on Twitter's 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.

But a number of marketing and branding experts told MarketWatch just the opposite -- and they cite several reasons why Twitter (er, X) owner Elon Musk might be ahead of the curve and why "X" indeed could mark the spot.

"It's cool," says Thomas Donohoe, author of "The CEO's Digital Marketing Playbook," of the new branding.

Donohoe isn't just saying that X works from a stylistic sensibility. Rather, he says it allows Musk to rethink Twitter as the "everything app" company he envisions it becoming -- instead of just being a company devoted to musings on a social-media platform.

The X branding is both general and mysterious enough to play into that "everything" idea, Donohoe argues. "It could apply to anything," he says.

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's past negative associations.

"By rebranding, Musk is wiping the slate clean and starting over," Knauff says.

There's also something to be said for the fact that Musk has put Twitter/X "back in the media cycle all over again" with the rebranding, Knauff argues.

Which is not to say the buzz about the rebranding has all been positive. In fact, on the new X, the hashtag "#Xcrement" has been trending in response to the change.

Others just find the new name and logo a bit goofy, as evidenced by this tweet from the creators of a certain children's television show:

One observer also pointed to the fact that "X" is a name that can't be protected from a trademark standpoint.

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 -- the Sears Tower. Or how many New Yorkers refer to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge by its old monikers, the Queensboro Bridge or the 59 Street Bridge.

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.

"Changing an identifiable logo and name to a single letter in the alphabet is leading the brand recognition into the abyss," Altimari observes.

Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, said on the platform Sunday that the rebranding speaks to the company's future ambitions.

"For 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," she said.

MarketWatch reached out to the company for any additional response, but didn't receive an immediate reply.

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.

"Elon Musk doesn't think about today. He's thinking about years down the road. I hate to bet against him," Agranoff says.

-Charles Passy

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-25-23 1107ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.