It’s been five days since Elon Musk tweeted his decision to replace the Twitter bird logo, and we have some thoughts.
On July 22nd, Musk tweeted, “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” We’re unsure of the personal vendetta he has against all the birds, but we do know that the iconic bird logo will now be (and has been) replaced by an X.
As of today, we haven’t noticed any changes to the mobile app logo or mobile app platform on our phones. However, we did notice that the desktop version of Twitter showcases the new X logo and X favicon instead of the bird. The new logo colors are black and white, replacing the popular blue and white colors previously associated with Twitter.
It may come as no surprise to social media users that Twitter’s rebrand is associated with the letter X.
Many of Musk’s companies and corporate entities incorporate the letter, including X Holdings, SpaceX, and xAI. He even co-founded an online bank in 1999 named X.com (which now redirects to twitter.com). X.com was later merged with Confinity to eventually become PayPal.
As a digital marketing agency, it also comes as no surprise to us that Twitter is launching a drastic change to its branding.
The launch of Meta’s Threads earlier this month proved its capability of being a direct competitor to the text-based Twitter giant. Over 100 million users signed up for Threads less than a week after its launch. Although Meta now faces the challenge of retaining these users, the skyrocketed number of signups and Twitter’s declining user usage have proven that Threads has the potential to be a concerning competitor.
So what do we think about Twitter’s rebrand so far?
It’s risky and could potentially cause legal issues, but we’re still interested to see if it’ll have a major effect on overall Twitter usage.
It seems as if one of the main issues with the new logo is the letter X itself. Not only has Meta previously trademarked a slightly different X logo, but the simplicity of the letter could also cause disputes. In a July 24th article from Reuters, a trademark attorney was quoted saying,
“Given the difficulty in protecting a single letter, especially one as popular commercially as ‘X’, Twitter’s protection is likely to be confined to very similar graphics to their X logo,” said Douglas Masters, a trademark attorney at law firm Loeb & Loeb.
“The logo does not have much distinctive about it, so the protection will be very narrow.”
The rebrand also poses a risk to the way Twitter is used as a whole. Along with a new logo, Musk hopes to transition X into an ‘everything app.’ Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer, Linda Yaccarino, referred to X as a place for unlimited interactivity centered in audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking. The app will also be powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which isn’t a new concept to Twitter as it works to continually improve user experience.
It almost sounds like the new Twitter won’t be anything like the Twitter we’ve come to know over the last 17 years. In fact, some experts say that the rebrand could cost the company billions of dollars in brand value. Could Musk be using an already established user base to launch a whole new app under the guise of a rebrand?
We asked our Social Media Specialist her thoughts on the new branding.
“While rebranding has its advantages, such as revitalizing the platform by attracting new users and reengaging existing ones, it may also indicate a shift in the company’s vision or offerings. Nevertheless, there is a potential downside, as long-time users who are familiar with the Twitter brand might feel alienated. The ultimate success of this change hinges on how well the new name connects with the platform’s community and aligns with its core values.”
We agree that Twitter needed a major change, but we’re not sure if this is the right move.
However, Twitter isn’t the only major brand to recently go through a brand change. HBO Max recently dropped the ‘HBO’ and transitioned to ‘Max.’ According to the Max Help Center, Max is different from HBO Max in the way that
“Max brings all the programming that you love from HBO Max together with favorites from Discovery TV brands: HGTV, the Food Network, TLC, Magnolia Network, and more – all for the same great price… Max will have something for everyone—popular series like Friends, the HBO Original series Game of Thrones, 90 Day Fiancé, Rick and Morty, The Big Bang Theory, Deadliest Catch, and Fixer Upper.”
Both of these companies are replacing major parts of their brand association, and that seems risky. It took years to make Twitter and HBO household names. Other major companies have gone through major rebranding initiatives, but most have kept either part of their name or logo that had been previously established with their loyal customer base.
As X continues to launch new initiatives, only time will tell how users react to the change.
Interested in sharing your thoughts with us on the Twitter/X rebrand? Head to one of our social media accounts to join in on the conversation!
