Twitter’s rebrand to ‘X’ is yet to gain widespread acceptance among businesses with nearly nine in 10 consumers globally still referring to the platform by its former name, a new Omnisend survey reveals.

A recent study conducted by the email marketing firm, which analysed 14,530 marketing emails sent by various brands, found 85% of Australian businesses and 89% globally still refer to the platform as Twitter, despite the rebrand.

“For 17 years, Twitter has woven itself into our daily lives, creating its own vernacular with terms like ‘tweet’ or ‘retweet’ that everyone gets, ‘re-Xing’ just doesn’t roll off the tongue. Plus, when ‘X’ is mentioned it reads like a placeholder rather than a brand name,” said Pija Ona Indriunaite, Brand Manager at Omnisend. “In any case, it provides an interesting case study for what happens when you just implement a major brand change without months of market research and preparation.”

The study also highlighted regional differences in acceptance of the rebrand. Italians were found to be the most resistant, with 95% of businesses still referring to the platform as Twitter. Spain was a close second at 94%, while Swedes were the most accepting of the change, with 78% of businesses still using the original name.

“Meanwhile, Sweden’s relatively higher acceptance of ‘X’ suggests a more flexible approach to change,” Indriunaite noted. “At the end of the day, the differences between countries are relatively small, which shows that the power of Twitter’s original brand transcended borders and replacing it with ‘X’ was a questionable decision.”

Twitter rebranded to ‘X’ on July 23rd, 2023, replacing the iconic blue bird logo and removing the Twitter name from its website, app, and headquarters. The move was reportedly a result of efforts by Elon Musk to reinstate confidence among shareholders following a chaotic acquisition.

The research was conducted between January 1st and July 12th, 2024.

“The name change was likely a result of Elon Musk’s efforts to reinstate confidence among shareholders following a chaotic acquisition. However, the fact that even businesses, which tend to be more precise communicators, still call it ‘Twitter’ shows that public acceptance of the rebrand is taking much longer than anticipated,” Indriunaite concluded.