The report cites “highly-educated opinion leaders” as Twitter’s most significant users, leading to an increase in valuation. Moreover, Twitter has seemingly jumped ten places from 36th to 26th in the global rankings for the world’s most valuable media brands. “Musk’s interest in Twitter underlines an often overlooked aspect of brands. They are crucial not just for grabbing consumer attention, but also in influencing investor behaviour too. Musk’s interest in Twitter, and the billions he is prepared to invest in it are the consequence, in large part, or the strength of its brand,” Managing Director at Brand Finance, Richard Haigh, said in a press release. “Equally, despite controversy about the acquisition, Musk’s personal brand may be beneficial to Twitter. In an attention-dominated economy, closely aligning the Twitter and Musk brands could be mutually beneficial,” Haigh added.
Chinese IM app WeChat became the strongest media brand globally
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has been nothing short of rocky. Some employees reportedly voiced concerns over the takeover, while some were uncertain about their jobs. The future of the social media site is unclear, although it’s apparent Musk wants to make it a bastion of free speech with little or no censorship. It will be tricky to navigate these waters, as we’re likely to find out over the next few months. Brand Finance’s chart lists Google as the most valuable media brand at $263.4 billion, a 38% increase over last year. The company’s value came from its ad business, which continues to be a strong performer despite the pandemic. Although Google’s ads business faced hurdles during the early days of COVID-19, it made a comeback as online shopping surged, the report claims. Meanwhile, China’s WeChat app was the strongest media brand in the world. The social media app secured a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 93.3 out of 100, which helped them clinch the coveted AAA+ rating. However, as per Brand Finance, WeChat’s brand value fell by 8% to $62.3 billion. TikTok (Douyin in China) is the “highest newest entrant” on Brand Finance’s Media 50 2022 list. The platform’s brand value rose by 215% to reach $59 billion. Meanwhile, Instagram’s brand value is up 34%, while YouTube’s brand value has witnessed a 38% surge.
