Why rebranding of TWITTER to "X" is a BAD MOVE (Analysis)
Beware the "X" Factor: Why Twitter's Rebranding is a Step in the Wrong Direction! Share this article and please subscribe to our newsletter for more researched content. It encourages us to do better!
When new users start to try out an app, they observe its features, UI/UX, convenience, and various aspects related to its usage.
After they turn into hardcore users, they start to perceive an app entirely differently. They focus on the mission and vision of the organization, the value it provides in their day-to-day lives, the impact they can make with the product, and more.
The bond they have with the app goes beyond merely comparing the platform's incremental feature differentiation with its competition. It's about the emotional triggers associated with seeing the Twitter logo, the meaning behind the brand name, and many other factors that keep them coming back to the platform that strengthens their connection with it.
Nevertheless, with the bird finally shedding its feathers, everything they cherished may now change.
Welcome Twitter X
Elon Musk wants to build a app that is far greater than a “digital town square” for free speech.
He wants to build an “super app” like WeChat that’s available in China.
A super app is like a digital mall. An all-in-one mobile application where you will be able to perform multiple programs.
Examples: Paytm, Gojek, Alipay etc.
However building a super app, with a direct focus on multiple solutions in the initial phase will become a big jump.
If you take WeChat into consideration, they started as a messaging platform, and slowly with its “success”, they started to grow itself into a social media platform. After which, they brought in payments and so-on.
Twitter is surely not in a good spot right now. They are “struggling”, and with the announcement of rebranding Twitter and turning this into a super app right now is a “marketing suicide” rather than a platform success.
Let me explain this in detail.
The Problem with Rebranding
Lets take a instance of a unsuccessful rebranding as an example.
On January 2001, Royal mail (which is the primary postal service in the UK) rebranded itself into “Consignia”. They didn’t want to be associated with postal service anymore because they were also into logistics and customer call centre operations at that time. So the new name wanted to be reflective of their ambitious growth plans!
What happened after that?
The introduction of the new name itself costed them 1.5Bn Euros, because they were changing the company’s five-hundred-year tradition. After its failure, they re-rebranded back to “Royal Mail”.
So what caused this?
Ignoring the public’s support to the historic name in the decision-making process
Lack of Communication plan
New name that didn’t resonate with the public
Given all of this, is it advisable to change Twitter into X? Of course not!!!
Twitter is already chaotic with Elon at its helm, facing competition from Threads, coping with massive layoffs, balancing free speech, rate limiting, API pricing changes, and many more challenges!
So, this is just adding more fuel to the fire.
Why is “X” a bad move
“A brand is more than a trademark. It is a Trustmark. A brand is a covenant between the company and the consumer. A trusted brand is a genuine asset.” L. Light, US brand consultant
#1 Blue bird logo effect
The Twitter bird logo has been a major force to reckon with in the social media platform for over a decade but with the rebrand, Musk is saying goodbye to “all the birds”, and they replaced its blue bird logo with a fan-made “𝕏” logo.
Unlocking logo success lies in how it plays out with user’s perception. Beyond visual appeal, it must resonate with the audience on a subconscious level. A meaningful, relevant design is key to influence consumers' minds and hearts.
So we have to ask the question, what does the new logo “X” tell us about the future of the company?
Something that might come to our innocent minds are: solve for X? treasure spot? something mysterious? something that signifies what’s to come?
Well we also say it could be Elon’s fascination with the letter X, since he has a company called ‘SpaceX’ and a car called ‘Tesla Model X’. Or maybe he just thinks the letter sounds cool.
Twitter takes a bold leap with this risky rebranding. Will it be a soaring success, marking a new era, or a mere blip in its decline? Only time will tell.
#2 The name itself, Twitter
Do you know what Twitter means? Wikipedia defines it to be a ‘a short burst of inconsequential information’.
Now what comes to your mind when you think of the company name X? Umm, sometimes a lot of things and sometimes just nothing. Since we don’t have an official mission and vision of ‘X’, we can assume it to be on lines with this tweet shared by the CEO of Twitter, Linda Yaccarino:
If this is the vision of the new app, then its amazing because it has great potential. However Elon Musk could have created a new app with the $44Bn he spent on purchasing Twitter, instead of using it as its foundation.
This announcement has split users into welcoming the change and disliking it. So there are high chances for users to move to Threads, if Meta utilizes this opportunity properly to create a better product!
#3 User Personas don’t match
As per Forbes, Elon Musk wants his app “to become the biggest financial institution in the world”
From Psychology Today we can understand that Twitter aims primarily at social needs, like those for belonging, love, and affection. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community or religious groups. Clearly, feeling connected to people via Twitter helps to fulfill some of this need to belong and feel cared about.
The user personas for creating a financial institution like super app and a social media company don’t match.
Lets create a sample user persona for Twitter.
Meet Tess. She is a software developer and uses Twitter for personal development, following her favorite celebrities, getting instant news updates from journalists, and leaders. She also wants to share new initiatives in the NGO where she is a part of.
Now, let's ask a simple question!
Why would someone like Tess want a super app? She simply won't, because that is not what she signed up for.
Psychologically speaking, we can expect users to take a decision of whether they should stay in “X” or whether they should move to Threads (since its the best Twitter alternative right now).
#4 ‘X’ might struggle to get market
We have to ask this question first: Is there a market need?
Because that’s a major driver for a startup to fail. Even though Twitter was a giant and has all the infrastructure, having a market need is still a crucial factor for the success of any organization.
Lets see what this means wrt few of the features that the new rebranded twitter will have as per the new CEO Linda Yaccarino and the current market players in that segment:
Centered around audio and video content (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube)
Integration with food ordering apps, cab booking apps (Zomato, Swiggy, Uber eats, Uber, Lyft, Ola)
E-commerce platform or an online marketplace (Amazon, Flipkart)
A UPI-like payment and banking system (Paytm, PhonePe, Revolut)
A dating platform (Tinder, Bumble)
So from the customer’s perspective, they already have their needs fulfilled by these apps, with no pain point of users requiring it to be in a single app. Almost all of them are big giants in itself, and people love using them.
Even if we consider the possibility of people using X over all the other apps, there is a big problem with super apps.
If you take hick’s law into consideration, the more options you give to a user, the more time it takes for them to make a decision. So basically, a super app increases the user’s cognitive load. This could be counter productive for X.
Also, let’s face reality. Life is much more simpler when the app has a clear purpose.
Ending the article with this
Twitter was a master of one, but X is trying to become the jack of all trades. Only time will tell where this leads
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