Emotional plurality, occupying multiple emotional states simultaneously due to an ever-changing and increasingly complicated world, is one of the most prevalent feelings facing many consumers today. As a result, brands will need to do everything they can to improve their mechanisms for more accurate emotional understanding and embed it more deeply into brand experiences in ways that go far beyond a cool new font or logo. This will involve everything from thinking about design differently, to instilling a more creative immersion mindset in everyone, to understanding what is possible as the future of Web3 unfolds.

With all that in mind, I wanted to talk to one of the few people I’ve ever met who can handle the worlds of art, marketing, and commerce gracefully. On the heels of the release of his acclaimed book, the american experimentI had the privilege of sitting down with Brandon Ralph to discuss the trends outlined above, as well as the launch of his new agency The Unquantifiable, designed to solve today’s most pressing marketing challenges through a strategic combination of IQ and EQ.

Brandon Ralph has been a category creator and creative industry leader for over 20 years and has been chosen as the trusted creative collaborator for some of the most influential figures of the modern age including Anna Wintour, Arianna Huffington, Lenny Kravitz, Tina Brown, Tomas Maier, and Harvey Spevak. He was a co-founder of Code and Theory, a chief experience officer at Equinox, and a fine artist. He is currently the Founder and CEO of The Unquantifiable. The following is a summary of our conversation:

Billy Howard: Tell me about your trip and the American experiment?

Brandon Ralph: My journey began in Long Island, New York, where I grew up on welfare in a middle-class neighborhood raised by a single mother. She insisted that I see the United States as a place of opportunity and possibility. After losing my parents at the ages of 18 and 19, I was forced to drop out of New York University and start a career in marketing. Soon after, I co-founded Code and Theory in 2001, and it has grown into one of the world’s leading creative and digital agencies.

It was this juxtaposition of my upbringing, which included personal loss and professional development, that profoundly influenced my journey towards what I call The American Experiment, whose objective is explore the ever-changing culture in America. My work presents a broad and varied view of the country and allows the viewer to re-examine the myriad incarnations of patriotism, as well as everyday life in the United States. My images and sculptures present a sense of timelessness when one looks both into the future and into the past. The end result is a collection of moments that will sometimes be years apart or, just as divergent, separated by state lines. When seen together, it gives one a look at the landscape and cultural issues during a time in our nation when the idea of ​​what makes one American is a hotly debated topic.

The work has been awarded globally and shown internationally. In 2022, I became a Leica brand ambassador and the book was recently selected to be sold at MOMA.

Howard: What have you learned that impacted you the most as an artist and seller?

raphael: It goes without saying that successful art and marketing share the central tenet of the power of an image, regardless of medium, to engage the viewer. What I have learned, which can be a delicate dance at times, is the balance of the open. and covert messages that leave the viewer asking a question, feeling a certain way, or even changing a point of view.

With the art I create and the brands I want to continue working with, now what’s at stake is either a bold image or a strong design. I believe the next wave of great brands will differentiate with a unified and highly nuanced experience journey as our physical and digital worlds blend. Brands have multiple opportunities to deliver elegant experiences across channels to overtly or covertly reach the viewer on an emotional level that drives viewers into an irrational and inexplicable love for the brand facilitated by the technology that bridges our physical worlds. and digital with significant moments for the client.

Howard: Tell me about The Unquantifiable and how you came to create it and what it intends to do.

raphael: In the summer of 2018, I sat down with Harvey Spevak, president of Equinox, to talk about joining them as a chief experience officer. At the time, this was the first time I had heard of this title. To be honest, it made me feel uncomfortable. We talked for hours about how, historically, specific creative roles can be limited to just traditional assets and how the CXO role could fundamentally and culturally change the way companies brought these disparate parts together, through a single lens to deliver a point by point. ultimate brand experience.

In 2020, I saw a blank space in the market to create an agency that leads with brand experience, followed by design, and brought to life through technology. Our vision is to manifest all the hidden and distinctive characteristics within a brand’s DNA that deepen commitment, loyalty and love. It reconciles the natural tension between rational and irrational consumer behaviors to reach a place of aspiration, leading with a cohesive experience strategy brought to life through distinctive and engaging storytelling, intellectual property, and technology. As a result, the brand is positioned between IQ and EQ, in a non-quantifiable way.

Howard: How do you think Web 3 fits into the vision of The Unquantifiable?

raphael: Over the past 20 years, there has been a repeatable pattern of innovation that exists and aligns with principles from Web1 (Access to Information) to Web2 (Create and Share Information), and it’s clear that there will be changes in the way brands and consumers participate in Web3 (Ownership of data and information).

We believe the next wave of companies will have opportunities to build more equitable relationships with their customers by enabling them to access their digital assets (IP, data, loyalty, coins) in their wallets as our physical and digital worlds merge. Our services support understanding and being at the forefront of innovation with a pragmatic approach to see how and if these new technologies could align with our client’s strategy and roadmap.

That being said, while not all brands may be thinking about Web3, we are at the beginning of this next wave and therefore took a strategic investment from the largest Web3 venture fund, Liberty City Ventures. Our association offers a single source of integrated information while providing clients with access to more than 70 portfolio companies. Help educate and inform our strategy, creativity, and execution where appropriate for our clients to keep them on the cutting edge of technology.