Cartographies of Meaning

Nikita Walia and Elliot Vredenburg of U.N.N.A.M.E.D. Studios took to the VISIONS stage at MoMA last year to enlighten a room of retail executives and brand marketers about the realities of worldbuilding. Their theory: a brand’s final form is decided by the public—and the strategist's job is to navigate that story, not control it. And they use Mercator, Buckminster Fuller, Guy Debord, free public Wi-Fi, and an acne sticker to back up their claims.Mapping Meaning Isn’t About Being RightKey takeaways:Branding isn't worldbuilding because worldbuilding just imposes another set of rulesA three-hundred-page brand book is obsolete the day it ships, and rebrands every five to ten years are theater for stakeholdersThe public decides a brand's final form, not the guidelines deckRegenerative brands are always rebranding[00:00:25] "Counter to what you've heard today, branding is not, in fact, worldbuilding." — Nikita Walia[00:04:34] "This is sameness being sold to us as a form of consistency." — Nikita Walia[00:15:45] "It's not about being right. It's about being useful, and useful in motion." — Elliot Vredenburg[00:17:09] "A regenerative brand doesn't need to rebrand every five to ten years because it's always rebranding." — Elliot VredenburgIn-Show Mentions:The Mercator projection (1569) and Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion MapSuperstudio, The Continuous MonumentGuy Debord and psychogeographyLinkNYCBurberry, Daniel Lee, Demna's Balenciaga, Pierpaolo PiccioliStarfaceAssociated Links:Read Alicia Esposito's companion essay, The New Meaning of Brand Building: Cartographies of MeaningWatch the original session at VISIONS Summit: Cartographies of MeaningHear Dami Lee's VISIONS session, The Stories Behind Our SpacesListen to Building Culturally Intelligent Brands with Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa GabrielRevisit The Anti-Blands, Existential Brands, and the New DadaismRead Surface Culture: When Brands Mistake Wallpaper for AuthenticityCheck out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.