How did the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Elon Musk impact Twitter's Buzz scores?
The Twitter brand is riding high these days, according to YouGov BrandIndex data, but not because of Elon Musk’s recent moves to acquire it. Rather, the brand saw a notable increase in brand health following its row with Russia.
Russia’s communication’s regulator Roskomnadzor blocked the social media platform in early March in the country, citing a failure on the company’s part to delete content banned by Russian authorities. The ban was announced in the first weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On March 4, 7.8% of Americans had reported hearing something positive about the brand, as reflected in the brand’s Buzz score. That figure increased to 12.2% by March 28.
Just days later, documents released by the US Securities and Exchange Commision showed Musk – CEO of Telsa Motors and richest person in the world – had been acquiring Twitter stock, which amounted to 9.2% of the company. Since then, Musk announced an offer to buy Twitter and take it private. The Twitter board responded by adopting a “poison pill,” which gives certain shareholders a right to buy more stock if someone attempts to take control.
While the saga has made for gripping headlines, YouGov brand data shows the brand’s positive Buzz score has remained flat since the SEC filings were made public at the start of April.
Data shows 11.7% of Americans had heard something positive about the brand on April 6. That number has remained steady at 12.1% as of April 18.
Meanwhile, a recent separate poll conducted on April 14 by YouGov shows nearly three-quarters of Americans had heard at least a little about the news. The same survey shows 27% of adults think Musk buying Twitter would be good for society, while 24% say it would be bad. Poll data shows 18% say it’s neither good nor bad and 28% are not sure.
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