Brands do more than influence how we buy and sell products and services. They affect how we understand and represent the world. BrandBox explores these effects.
Your hosts are Dr. Tom Guarriello, Mark Kingsley, and Melinda Welch. All have decades of experience in branding and marketing. And all teach in the Master’s in Branding program at the School of Visual Arts. They think of people as people. Not consumers or audiences.
Dr. Tom Guarriello
Tom has spent decades helping people understand their own, and other people’s, minds. After receiving a PhD in psychology, he spent 25 years in clinical practice, then pivoted into organizational psychology. For almost three decades, he’s worked as a brand consultant, much of it in the fashion industry. He is currently at the forefront of the increasingly relevant field of human/robot interaction.
As founding faculty in the School of Visual Arts’ Master’s in Branding program, Tom teaches “The Meaning of Branded Objects,” a course that explores the psychological mechanisms that transform everyday objects and experiences into important, valuable components of every modern person’s lived-identity.
You can learn more about Tom, here. And to hear Tom’s thoughts on our relationships with robots, please visit robopsych.com.
Mark Kingsley
Mark Kingsley is a creative director and brand strategist who works from the premise that culture and commerce co-constitute one another. He started in music packaging — Jewel, Blue Note, Ginger Baker, Coltrane — earning a Grammy nomination, then worked to reposition Citi at Landor and Ogilvy at Collins. Malcontent, the studio he founded, continues to build on that premise. He has written three books, most recently Brands in the Age of AI, with translations out now in Brazil and forthcoming in China and Indonesia. He previously held RIT’s endowed Melbert B. Cary Professorship.
At the School of Visual Arts’ Masters in Branding program, Mark teaches brand strategy through philosophy and critical theory. His class, “Object Lessons,” responds to the moment, moving from Susan Sontag to TikTok.
To learn more about Mark and his work, please visit malcontent.com
Melinda Welch
Melinda is Head of Strategy at Brand Bureau, a multidisciplinary creative studio that develops brands, defines experiences, and designs environments. In collaboration with fellow strategists and designers, Melinda helps brands craft distinct perspectives and express themselves through design to foster deep connection with their audiences.
As a graduate of the School of Visual Arts’ Master’s in Branding program, Melinda works to cultivate community among her fellow alumni, and assists Tom and Mark in teaching their three courses in the program. She also enjoys teaching undergraduate branding and messaging courses at Pratt Institute.
To learn more about Melinda’s work, please visit her LinkedIn profile.
Both Tom and Mark are available to travel (physically or virtually… individually or as a team) for consultation and speaking engagements.