Lessons we can learn from Elon Musk’s unconventional marketing approach
By Gillian McCurdy, Head of School of Digital Marketing at Arden University
The dust is settling on Twitter’s changes after Elon Musk announced a new logo and potential new direction for the app. This came as a surprise to many. Despite Musk’s unconventional approach, there are plenty of lessons to be learnt from the way he tackles big business changes and subsequent marketing.
Similar to Marmite, you either love Musk’s candour or hate it; where some find it distasteful and edging toward the line of not valuing consumers and potential customers, others find it refreshing that a CEO can be so blasé and upfront. Regardless, his seemingly spontaneous and controversial statements have led him to hit the headlines frequently, drawing attention to his companies and brand.
Going against the grain can have its benefits, and for Elon, at times, it has worked when our initial prediction is that it probably shouldn’t have. We explore what we can learn from Elon Musk’s approach and what it could mean for future brand marketing.
Does familiarity breed contempt?
Brand strategy and brand awareness tie in tightly when it comes to getting the results we want in marketing. When a brand has achieved a high level of recognition, people also instinctively recognise colours, logos and slogans associated with it. As a result, your brand strategy must be well thought out and consistent with your company’s tone of voice or approach in order to be well recognised by customers and consumers.
The main reason why brand awareness is so important when it comes to overall marketing is because it allows your target audience to trust you as they become more familiar with your brand. The more trust they have in your brand, the more likely they will buy from you. This is especially important when it comes to business acquisitions – when acquiring a new business, especially one that is globally recognised, there are often many concerns about what the new owners will change and what it will mean for customers. Keeping a strong hold on the years of brand recognition and consumer trust is vital here – especially if you want to keep the already built customer base.
But, of course, Musk’s approach went against this. With his abrupt logo switch, which happened somewhat overnight, a lot of Twitter users and observers were left confused, worried and surprised with the change that didn’t really have any build up to it. Much like most of the changes he has made with Twitter since buying it, Elon Musk seemed to have disregarded a lot of what many Twitter users enjoy about the app and much of what they recognise or associate it with.
However, even though it comes with huge risks, being this spontaneous when communicating big business change does do one thing: it gets people talking and interested in what’s happening. People may feel more inclined to use Twitter or at the very least engage with it, to come to their own conclusion if they think the new business plan is working or not. We could also argue that Musk’s decision to release his new plans for Twitter was planned in order to shift the limelight from Meta’s latest new app, Threads. At times, being outrageous gets you the attention you need in order to pique interest. Is this an authentic, ideal method to market your company? Not necessarily. As mentioned, it comes with risk. It may result in consumers not taking your brand seriously, or a break in trust.
The strength behind authenticity
Similar to how we get close to someone and they become a good friend, companies need to implement ways to communicate well with their customers to build authentic trust. Touching on one of the five ‘marketing Ps’ – people-, businesses can really level up their relationship with customers.
Brand awareness and marketing means that businesses must create a positive relationship between the company and its stakeholders, and ensure that everyone’s needs and wants are being met. A key part of brand awareness, however, is being authentic. More than 70 per cent of consumers reportedly spend more with authentic brands, but as many as 80 per cent of consumers find it difficult to trust brands. That is why being genuine is so important.
And, in a way, the reason why Elon Musk, despite being controversial, gets the attention and customers he needs, is due to this authentic approach to connecting with potential customers – or at least his followers on Twitter. Essentially, his own personal brand that he has built over the years is supporting his work now, when it comes to making changes to Twitter or even his other companies. Elon doesn’t really try to be someone he’s not, or at least we come to that conclusion given his previous interactions and spontaneous nature. He often communicates directly with his followers which gains buzz with consumers; he speaks his mind and goes against what is expected of a ‘traditional’ CEO, which drives people to engage with him. This level of authenticity – or at least the ability to tap into his audience’s emotions to drive them to buy masses of dogecoin shares, for example, – captures the attention of millions. Despite going about it in an arguably contentious manner, the bare essence of Elon Musk’s approach to creating marketing buzz is somewhat based on established principles.
