Universal Principles of Branding

Mark Kingsley got his start in the music industry, designing packages for the likes of John Coltrane, Pat Metheny, Quincy Jones, Ginger Baker, and Jewel. In 2001, his work for Blue Note Records received a Grammy nomination. Mark then transitioned into the world of corporate branding. At Landor, he was the global creative lead on the Citi account, and as executive strategy director at Collins, he developed the new global positioning for Ogilvy and helped Equinox enter the luxury hotel business. His boutique studio, Malcontent, serves independent filmmakers, global advertising firms, fintech startups, arts organizations, living legends, and Pulitzer Prize winners. Mark teaches at the School of Visual Arts Masters in Branding program and recently held the endowed Melbert B. Cary Professorship in Graphic Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is currently head of brand for the fashion brand Oumlil.

• Abstraction Anthropology / Ethnography Association Authenticity Bandits and robots Beauty, not beautification The Big Five  Black box or scientific method Blurring  Body of work Brand architecture Brands are a technology Branded Unconscious Campaigns Case studies Celebrities Character  Comfort Commit to the bit Conflict Context Crafty creativity Customer journey Delivery Difference and Différance Digital to social strategist Disaggregated data  Do no harm Don’t fear the audit Ecosystem Engagement Environment/Anti-environment Erotics of brands Everybody lives in a body Everyone works in branding Flexing Frameworks Framing Gathering (and dividing) Generosity (and humility) Go outside your lane Haptics Hearing voices History and genealogy Heterogeneity How you say it Identity  Influencers are a racket Intimacy Jargon (and fear) Jungian-ish archetypes  Kill the Human Let's put on a show Magic and superstition Management  The Master Narrative Problem Mystery is sexy Naming is knowing No such place as “away” Nostalgia Observation One ______ fallacy Out of Home, but in the Mind Parody is a sign of success Party people Permission Playtime Politics Professionalism second Relationships Render unto Caesar Repair and age Repetition and syncopation Retinal / non-retinal Rituals and routine Scoping  Semantic infiltration  Signals Skepticism Social Responsibility Standards  Strategy Tag, you’re it Take me home Talk to the gatekeepers Taste the rainbow Tension Thinking over wisdom Time  Touchpoints Values Valuation Viruses and variants War Language Weakest link What if your logo was a drum pattern? What is the product? World-building You are not a brand Zany, cute and informative