New data from Brand Finance reveals that X (formerly Twitter) has dropped out of global media brand ranking
LONDON, 12 September 2024 – Elon Musk's decision to abandon the Twitter name for a new brand has led to a significant loss of brand value for the former media giant, according to new data from Brand Finance. In January 2022, Brand Finance valued Twitter at USD5.7 billion, falling to nearly USD3.9 billion in 2023. In 2024, the brand's value plummeted further to just USD673.3 million, causing it to drop out of all Brand Finance rankings for the year. Its brand strength index (BSI) score has also declined considerably by 12.7 points to 56.9/100, signalling a major reputational crisis that the brand is struggling to overcome.
According to Fortune, X experienced a sharp decline in ad revenue, plummeting to approximately USD600 million per quarter in 2023 from over USD1 billion per quarter in 2022. This reduction is particularly notable as ad sales constitute approximately three-quarters of X’s total revenue. The downturn underscores advertisers’ reported concerns regarding X’s content moderation under Elon Musk’s leadership.
Richard Haigh, Managing Director at Brand Finance, commented,
“Musk’s controversial rebranding of Twitter has resulted in a dramatic and abrupt decline in brand value and strength. The hasty abandonment of a globally recognised name, without a clear migration plan, has had disastrous consequences, alienating key stakeholders and eroding the brand’s core strengths. This is reflected in the brand’s weaker scores in the familiarity, reputation, and recommendation metrics of Brand Finance’s research."
In Brand Finance’s latest Media 50 ranking, Google maintains its leadership as the most valuable media brand for the fourth consecutive year. TikTok follows in second place, marking a year of remarkable brand value growth. Meta’s portfolio has also shown substantial growth, with Instagram leading as the fastest-growing media brand, soaring 48% to USD70.4 billion. WhatsApp has experienced a 29% increase to USD10.4 billion, and Facebook has grown by 28% to USD75.7 billion.
WeChat tops the brand strength index with a score of 94.3/100, reflecting its essential and familiar role in China, despite a 17% decrease in brand value to USD41.8 billion amid ongoing economic challenges.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
