Talent and brand advisory company United Talent Agency has a message for everyone at Cannes Lions 2026 and beyond: “Cultural impact can be measured.”
And it has a new tool to do so, which it unveiled on Tuesday morning at the annual Festival of Creativity, where it is having its biggest presence ever. Meet the “UTA Culture Canon” and the firm’s first-ever Culture Index.
UTA describes the index as “a first-of-its-kind measurement system that quantifies cultural significance” and is built on “public intelligence, UTA’s proprietary data and perception” to translate “what was once intangible into a clear portrait of influence today – and what it takes to gain it.”
Why should brands care? Well, research finds that consumers are “far more likely to engage, trust and buy from brands they perceive as culturally relevant,” UTA explains.
The Culture Index measures three factors and weighs their influence. The three factors are reach, resonance and relevance. “Reach gets a brand noticed,” the firm explains. “Resonance keeps it remembered. Relevance gets it bought.”
