Asking for a friend: Does a fish really rot from the head down?
Like many in the digital marketing community, I’ve kept up with the constantly unfolding daily drama surrounding Elon Musk’s attempt to purchase Twitter and the subsequent fallout of vocal opposition, cautionary op-ed’s, and public deactivations. Just as swiftly as the deal unfolded, Musk’s ownership of Twitter polarized opinions about the platform. As they already were about Elon Musk, one of its most popular and consistent users.
A volatile and unconventional presence in every company with which he’s been involved, Elon Musk is the rare CEO who thrives on pure impulse. “Flying by the seat of his pants” is an established tenet of Musk’s personal brand. Who else would launch a bid to buy Twitter without a plan to either finance or manage the social media company? Or casually suggest at a press event the “quite high” probability people would die on SpaceX’s first trip to Mars? Or announce his brain-interface company Neuralink may be able to cure tinnitus within five years?
The new owner’s impulsiveness or unconventionality is not what’s suddenly tarnished Twitter’s brand or provoked many users into chucking the (little blue) bird. No, it’s worry that the Elon Musk taking over Twitter won’t be the visionary behind major advances in solar power and electric car technology, but the Elon Musk who fires off the petty memes and self-indulgent, often loathsome tweets. That Elon Musk’s initial vague declaration of “more free speech and less moderations” shook Twitter users and employees by threatening a return to its troubles of 2016-2018, when violence, harassment, and misinformation on the service went unchecked.
As “on brand” as ever, Musk couldn’t resist kicking the hornet’s nest hiding in the tree he cut down.
Which brings me back to the original question about the rotting fish. Musk and trouble are never too far away from each other. Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink - Musk is CEO to all three - are embroiled in scandals ranging from lawsuits over a racist work culture and deaths caused while testing an autonomous driving system on public streets to lurid accusations of horrific experiments being conducted on animals (and folks, that’s the short list).
But those scandals haven't stopped Teslas from selling or halted SpaceX’s projects. Why then the specific outrage over Twitter? My gut tells me that unlike Tesla or SpaceX - brands Musk was involved in from their inception and always been the public face of - Twitter is a familiar, even popular brand being bent to fit Musk’s singular will. Imagine Paul McCartney purchasing McDonald’s and declaring its entire menu will be vegetarian because well, that’s the way he wants it. Don’t like it? Eat somewhere else, carnivore.
…and here’s where Musk’s personal brand really can cause our metaphoric fish to go south.
The volatility that’s a key component of Musk’s personal brand is becoming part of the Twitter brand. In just under a month, Musk’s given the Twitterverse a brief preview of life with him in the Big Chair - the termination and departure of top employees, market-shaking tweets of questionable legality, removing lifetime bans and reinstating suspended accounts (you know who). Under Musk, the little blue bird could potentially poop like a city pigeon. Musk’s repeated plans to relax content policies and reinstate certain users have marketers - digital advertising being responsible for 90% of Twitter’s revenue - seriously considering not parking their brands under Musk’s tree. And with good reason. I wouldn’t want any brand I work with running the risk of being retweeted by Alex Jones. If Madison Avenue moves its money to a nicer neighborhood, who do you think Musk will be looking at to make up the lost revenue?
Elon Musk and his brand might thrive under chaos and instability, but it hasn’t done any favors for Twitter’s brand. Stock prices have dropped, marketers are lukewarm, and the Feds are only getting more curious about Musk’s business practices. What happens when he’s really running the show?
Something smells fishy.