Michael Megalli
@megalli.bsky.social
You have to understand how brands work if you want to understand how the world works, and how it might work better.
https://brandnewworld.substack.com/
https://brandnewworld.substack.com/
"This literally is the work of finding purpose in what you do, no matter how much profitability comes from that.".
Part II of my conversation with my friend and business partner Lisa Light is out now on Substack
Part II of my conversation with my friend and business partner Lisa Light is out now on Substack
Brand New World | Michael Megalli | Substack
A newsletter exploring how brands built, broke, and can renew the world. Click to read Brand New World, by Michael Megalli, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
brandnewworld.substack.com
April 11, 2025 at 6:48 PM
"This literally is the work of finding purpose in what you do, no matter how much profitability comes from that.".
Part II of my conversation with my friend and business partner Lisa Light is out now on Substack
Part II of my conversation with my friend and business partner Lisa Light is out now on Substack
I’ve been wanting to start a series of conversations with smart, interesting people that I know to bring in fresh perspectives. I’m hoping not only to push my own thinking, but to have a bit of fun. I couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Thomas Ordahl, the best brand strategist I know
April 8, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I’ve been wanting to start a series of conversations with smart, interesting people that I know to bring in fresh perspectives. I’m hoping not only to push my own thinking, but to have a bit of fun. I couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Thomas Ordahl, the best brand strategist I know
Had the great pleasure of talking to my friend and business partner about the business of brands and many other things, including football, poetry, and getting to the core of a brand. To watch the full video, check out my Substack. brandnewworld.substack.com/p/light-ligh...
April 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Had the great pleasure of talking to my friend and business partner about the business of brands and many other things, including football, poetry, and getting to the core of a brand. To watch the full video, check out my Substack. brandnewworld.substack.com/p/light-ligh...
The main purpose of brands is to serve as repositories of trust. How much you trust a brand is a more important measure of its strength and relevance than how
much you like it.
much you like it.
In Very Little We Trust
Visualizing a multi-decade crisis of confidence
brandnewworld.substack.com
April 3, 2025 at 8:33 PM
The main purpose of brands is to serve as repositories of trust. How much you trust a brand is a more important measure of its strength and relevance than how
much you like it.
much you like it.
You recognize brands as effortlessly as you breathe. Each is a container that holds your memories, associations, preferences, and, of course, your judgments. You love some of these brands very deeply. Others, maybe most, just serve some neutral function. A few of them you hate. #brands #branding
March 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Brands are cultural not just commercial. This is a very important idea. You have to work harder to recognize your hometown, your country, your favorite teams and sports, or your old school, as brands. But brands they all are. #brands #branding #brandnewworld #brandingbook #history
March 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Brands are cultural not just commercial. This is a very important idea. You have to work harder to recognize your hometown, your country, your favorite teams and sports, or your old school, as brands. But brands they all are. #brands #branding #brandnewworld #brandingbook #history
Ten years ago I fell in love with an idea that changed the course of my life and career. This week I’ve written about why this simple idea is so powerful, what it led to me to create, and what I’ve learned along the way.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
March 20, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Ten years ago I fell in love with an idea that changed the course of my life and career. This week I’ve written about why this simple idea is so powerful, what it led to me to create, and what I’ve learned along the way.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
A simple framework can help us understand the origin and power of brands. It includes three categories—proprietary brands, cultural brands, and open brands. These categories are not fixed or hardwired—they represent a spectrum across which any brand can be mapped.
brandnewworld.substack.com
brandnewworld.substack.com
March 18, 2025 at 2:05 PM
A simple framework can help us understand the origin and power of brands. It includes three categories—proprietary brands, cultural brands, and open brands. These categories are not fixed or hardwired—they represent a spectrum across which any brand can be mapped.
brandnewworld.substack.com
brandnewworld.substack.com
If I challenged you to spend the day writing down the names of all of the brands that you saw or interacted with, you’d probably quit the exercise, exhausted, sometime by mid-morning. Brands are tricky things. Our lives are so full of them that we’re a bit like the fish who don’t see the water.
On the Origin of Brands
Where brands come from and how they grow
brandnewworld.substack.com
March 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
If I challenged you to spend the day writing down the names of all of the brands that you saw or interacted with, you’d probably quit the exercise, exhausted, sometime by mid-morning. Brands are tricky things. Our lives are so full of them that we’re a bit like the fish who don’t see the water.
Had so much fun talking with my friend and former business partner, Thomas Ordahl about brands. He has a knack for being able to describe things in ways that are both insightful and dead simple. Pt 1 (brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...) and Pt 2 (brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...)
March 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Had so much fun talking with my friend and former business partner, Thomas Ordahl about brands. He has a knack for being able to describe things in ways that are both insightful and dead simple. Pt 1 (brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...) and Pt 2 (brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...)
I’ve been wanting to start a series of conversations with smart, interesting people that I know to bring in fresh perspectives.
I couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Thomas Ordahl. Last year he started his own firm: OrdahlCo.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...
I couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Thomas Ordahl. Last year he started his own firm: OrdahlCo.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...
March 12, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I’ve been wanting to start a series of conversations with smart, interesting people that I know to bring in fresh perspectives.
I couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Thomas Ordahl. Last year he started his own firm: OrdahlCo.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...
I couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Thomas Ordahl. Last year he started his own firm: OrdahlCo.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...
We create the world through the choices we make. We get to choose—and we get what we choose. Understanding how we choose is of paramount importance, yet is surprisingly hard to do. We're constantly being bombarded by messages designed to influence our choices. To seduce, persuade, and influence us.
The Liberating Power of Disillusionment
The shattering of illusion and the power to choose the world
brandnewworld.substack.com
March 12, 2025 at 2:47 PM
We create the world through the choices we make. We get to choose—and we get what we choose. Understanding how we choose is of paramount importance, yet is surprisingly hard to do. We're constantly being bombarded by messages designed to influence our choices. To seduce, persuade, and influence us.
We hear that word, “disillusioned”, as a synonym for disappointed. But perhaps we should reconsider? Why wouldn’t we want to rid ourselves of illusions? To become disillusioned is to see further and with greater clarity—to see things as they truly are and imagine what they might be.
Brand New World | Michael Megalli | Substack
A newsletter exploring how brands built, broke, and can renew the world. Click to read Brand New World, by Michael Megalli, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
brandnewworld.substack.com
March 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
We hear that word, “disillusioned”, as a synonym for disappointed. But perhaps we should reconsider? Why wouldn’t we want to rid ourselves of illusions? To become disillusioned is to see further and with greater clarity—to see things as they truly are and imagine what they might be.
America has never been a finished project: its exceptionalism lies in its potential and its promise. America’s brand isn’t bestowed on us from the top down. It’s built by individuals coming together to strive towards something greater than themselves.
thehill.com
March 7, 2025 at 3:55 PM
America has never been a finished project: its exceptionalism lies in its potential and its promise. America’s brand isn’t bestowed on us from the top down. It’s built by individuals coming together to strive towards something greater than themselves.
I’ve spent my career helping companies build brands, and I’ve seen what happens when brands go bad. A brand, after all, isn’t just a marketing message — it’s an expression of collective meaning founded in profound truths.
To read my op-ed, "The American Brand is in Crisis" visit:
To read my op-ed, "The American Brand is in Crisis" visit:
thehill.com
March 5, 2025 at 4:03 PM
I’ve spent my career helping companies build brands, and I’ve seen what happens when brands go bad. A brand, after all, isn’t just a marketing message — it’s an expression of collective meaning founded in profound truths.
To read my op-ed, "The American Brand is in Crisis" visit:
To read my op-ed, "The American Brand is in Crisis" visit:
Here at home, the American brand is in crisis. Our media is fragmented, our politics are polarized and we feel alienated from one another.
thehill.com
March 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Here at home, the American brand is in crisis. Our media is fragmented, our politics are polarized and we feel alienated from one another.
Brands are identifiers—they help us to classify things and to set them apart from other things. They are storehouses of memory where we keep our observations, preferences, and experiences. We use them to make sense of the world.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/brand-crea...
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/brand-crea...
February 28, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Brands are identifiers—they help us to classify things and to set them apart from other things. They are storehouses of memory where we keep our observations, preferences, and experiences. We use them to make sense of the world.
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/brand-crea...
brandnewworld.substack.com/p/brand-crea...
The political movements and political party you support are brands. In the age of big money elections and sophisticated marketing, political branding has become the objective. It can feel like image-building, fundraising, and tribalism have eclipsed substance and progress.
brandnewworld.substack.com
brandnewworld.substack.com
February 28, 2025 at 1:19 PM
The political movements and political party you support are brands. In the age of big money elections and sophisticated marketing, political branding has become the objective. It can feel like image-building, fundraising, and tribalism have eclipsed substance and progress.
brandnewworld.substack.com
brandnewworld.substack.com
Working on the History of Brands video series has gotten me thinking about... the history of brands. The following timeline charts brands that 1) still exist and 2) that were founded between the years 500AD and 1900 (yes, you read that right).
www.linkedin.com/posts/megall...
www.linkedin.com/posts/megall...
February 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Working on the History of Brands video series has gotten me thinking about... the history of brands. The following timeline charts brands that 1) still exist and 2) that were founded between the years 500AD and 1900 (yes, you read that right).
www.linkedin.com/posts/megall...
www.linkedin.com/posts/megall...
Our shared imagination was an accidental superpower. It was the evolutionary advantage that enabled humans to take over the world. The ability to share narratives, legends, myths, and faiths meant that humanity could scale and spread. And that it could evolve to adapt to changing realities
Brand New World | Michael Megalli | Substack
A newsletter exploring how brands built, broke, and can renew the world. Click to read Brand New World, by Michael Megalli, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
brandnewworld.substack.com
February 27, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Our shared imagination was an accidental superpower. It was the evolutionary advantage that enabled humans to take over the world. The ability to share narratives, legends, myths, and faiths meant that humanity could scale and spread. And that it could evolve to adapt to changing realities
Brands are identifiers—they help us to classify things and to set them apart from other things. They are storehouses of memory where we keep our observations, preferences, and experiences. We use them to make sense of the world.
Brand New World | Michael Megalli | Substack
A newsletter exploring how brands built, broke, and can renew the world. Click to read Brand New World, by Michael Megalli, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
brandnewworld.substack.com
February 27, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Brands are identifiers—they help us to classify things and to set them apart from other things. They are storehouses of memory where we keep our observations, preferences, and experiences. We use them to make sense of the world.
The art and culture are constructed by brands of all kinds. Artists, musicians, museums, movements, galleries, libraries, and performance centers all use brands to distinguish themselves and attract audiences, readers, and supporters.
brandnewworld.substack.com
brandnewworld.substack.com
February 26, 2025 at 7:26 PM
The art and culture are constructed by brands of all kinds. Artists, musicians, museums, movements, galleries, libraries, and performance centers all use brands to distinguish themselves and attract audiences, readers, and supporters.
brandnewworld.substack.com
brandnewworld.substack.com
We humans are brand creatures. We create our cultures, societies, and economies out of brands. In our commercially driven society, we equate ‘brands’ with products and services and companies. But while corporations have built brands of unprecedented reach and scale, they didn’t invent branding.
Brand New World | Michael Megalli | Substack
A newsletter exploring how brands built, broke, and can renew the world. Click to read Brand New World, by Michael Megalli, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
brandnewworld.substack.com
February 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
We humans are brand creatures. We create our cultures, societies, and economies out of brands. In our commercially driven society, we equate ‘brands’ with products and services and companies. But while corporations have built brands of unprecedented reach and scale, they didn’t invent branding.
February 20, 2025 at 1:14 PM