• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 16, 2023

Entropic swings in business metrics are not a good thing. This doesn't affect just loyal business clients -- consumers can lose faith. 

Twitter's advertising revenue is now down 46%, according to reports. And Tesla, with its stock price sinking, has cut electric-vehicle prices by up to 20%. 

Everyone has an opinion about what Elon Musk needs to do. Perhaps he needs some professional help -- including stuff to do with messaging. TV Watch has brought this up before. Now it appears that things are becoming more urgent.

Couple this with competitors who are gaining -- TikTok for Twitter, and virtually every major carmaker on earth for Tesla -- and you figure some strong advice and action is necessary. 

It’s time both Twitter and Tesla get some wide-reaching TV messaging -- kind of a humble “rebranding,” if you will.

Sure, you say -- new digitally inspired, forward-thinking companies don't need old-fogey media to tell young consumers to use their products. Yes -- usually. But maybe this was old-school thinking -- perhaps from about three years ago.

Maybe traditional TV marketing isn't a Musk thing -- especially for Tesla, where there has been zilch in paid TV ads.

What about a new take on things -- TV-wise? Like some key product placement in TV shows -- for both brands -- in scripted, non-scripted, sports, content -- where there is some significant young viewer reach (especially sports)?

Perhaps that media buy could also include legacy TV networks' sister companies' newfangled streaming services, since we know virtually anything digital can draw a young crowd.

Right now Twitter consumer sentiment especially can be a bit low -- not just with users but with some employees, past and present. And for Tesla employees, the thinking seems to be: “Hey, where’s the boss?”

Creative execution would need to be extra special -- perhaps subversive, tricky, or outlandish. Whatever is decided, you would need all-hands-on-deck and a quicker response to perhaps two ships taking on massive amounts of water.

Recent Tesla buyers feel they have been played after buying expensive cars and then hearing Musk is dramatically cutting pricing of autos by 20%. His $77,000 high-end “Y” model now costs $13,000 less.  “I feel like I got duped,” says one customer. 

See what I mean by getting help? C’mon, Elon. Work some of your magic -- with some hubris checked at the door. We’ll thank you for it.

Go for some big tandem brand spin: Twitter and Tesla. We’re sorry. Two good 'T's for your climate, for your thoughts.