All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances (and one man in his time plays many parts).
William Shakespeare in 1599 was about to share an interesting piece of timeless wisdom, recently confirmed by the most revised quantum physics theories. We are nothing but “beings” that lie in meetings of uncountable variables. We are “uno, nessuno, centomila”, we are flames dancing in the snow.
How to communicate, how to create, when we ourselves are so unsure of “the substance we are made of”?
Brand Communication and Quantum Physics
The XX Century physics is nothing less than a romance between the certitude’s conviction and the dazzling rise of the “appearance”: uncertainty and probability have conquered the smaller and smaller field that happened to be traditionally manned by science. Heisenberg, Pauli, Einstein: they all agreed on just one single thing. Reality is not what appears to be.
William Shakespeare, the most acute psychologist in all literature history, had already got it all, centuries before: his characters are as changing and mutant as the temperamental English sky, their passions and struggles change as easily as fate blinks the eye.
And yet, this is way more linked to quantum physics than it seems to be. Arnold Mindell, physicist and Jungian psychologist, is perfectly sure that many of the “coincidences” we face in everyday life are nothing but a result of the electrons' spins. In a nutshell, two systems that have been in contact will forever be in contact. The intrinsic angular momentum of an electron affects its atom’s energy level, and therefore the ordering of elements in the periodic table. We do not claim to make here a science lesson, and thus the expert reader will pardon us if we dramatically simplify 98 years’ worth of theories, experiments, discussions (granting us a little “artistic license”).
One quantum physics’ classical experiment shows us that, when two particles meet, their spin is opposite. If we know particle A’s spin, we will always know also particle B’s one, no matter how much space and time sits between them.
The astounding, mind blowing side effect of this impressive piece of science is that two elements can be related, simultaneously, across time and space.
Weren't we talking about theater? And hey, you are branding strategists, aren’t you?
We are, indeed. What we are trying to say is that there is nothing that has meaning “par se”, everything is linked to finite but not yet countable variables. What we call “fate”, “infinity”, “plethora” or “eternity” is just a number so big we cannot envision it.
We are always looking at only a certain amount of variables: the ones that matter most to us, the ones that are available, the ones that we are able to process. Everytime we start doing something, we also choose a point of view. Obviously, we are dramatically simplifying: read our friend Carlo Rovelli books and you’ll find the kind of physics capable of deeply shaking the boundaries of human essence itself, you will find Beauty, I daresay, pure Beauty. (Unfortunately, we deeply admire Carlo but we’re not friends, strictly speaking: we never met. Carlo! If you ever happen to read this, please drop a note! lisa@remidastudio.com will offer you lunch and welcome you at the Studio).
What makes theater a “mirror of society”? What makes Shakespeare the greatest author of all times? Theater was the biggest invention of the pre-Christian era (while, to my opinion, the greatest Christian era invention is marketing BUT that’s another story). Theater made abstraction possible, theater epitomized the point of view. Ancient Greece had a name for that: “META”. That's right, it's not another Mark's trick. μετά meant “beyond”, and it was used to connote at the same time depth and transformation. Theater is society’s mirror because society has no other mirror to reflect itself on. And Shakespeare is the greatest author of all times because he learned to use the stage to portray the most intimate, wild, unbleached human nature.
So what’s the point in linking brand communication and theater?
Theater is a “cadre”, a reference frame, a canvas that brings to meaning the particles that enliven it. Just as culture is the frame that makes our work relevant. Very few strategists would consider their occupation a “socially impactful” job. Very few agencies aim to realize art that “drives culture to progress”. The majority of billboards you can see in New York City depict the status quo, but do not challenge it. The greater parts of the briefs we read address “our current target’s needs”, but don’t try to induce those needs to evolve. Most accounts try to “make the client happy”, but not wiser, more enlightened or thoughtful.
We firmly believe that a consulting firm, a communication agency, a strategy studio, should be cultural players, first and foremost. Because every-thing-you-do sits within a culture that is probably covertly trying to shape it. And culture is a matter of interpretation: Hamlet’s always the same, but it’s your voice that will make a difference. What will make your job great is the capability to distill that culture, and guide it towards new heights.
