New Study Shows how Smart Brands are Harnessing Culture to Create Growth

NEW YORK, October 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

83% of brand marketers say that connecting with wider culture is important for business growth, and 71 % indicate they seek to contribute to culture and deliver something of value to consumers beyond their products and services.

These are just two findings of Kantar Added Value's 2016 Creating Cultural Value Study. Report findings are being presented today in New York to over 50 brand marketers at the invite-only event "Cultural Value: Mastering the New Marketing Currency."

Kantar Added Value, a global marketing consultancy focused on helping big and small brands make marketing work, surveyed over 100 senior brand leaders in the U.S., U.K. and France for the study. It revealed that the topic of culture is taking prominence, and that brands are interested in growing their value within culture.

"Brand marketers have told us that the topic of culture is rising on their agenda, as they consider the contributions they wish to make to people's lives beyond products and services. Creating cultural value is playing an increasingly strategic role as a driver for brand engagement and expression," said Helen Firth, Senior Vice President, Kantar Added Value. "And, brands are taking action by investing in initiatives that make the right contribution to culture. Marketers are beginning to think about 'cultural content' over 'branded content' - connecting with aspects of culture that are meaningful to the brand's target audience."

Kantar Added Value's Senior Vice President Helen Firth is presenting the survey findings today. In addition to the study, the following featured panelists will share their views on using culture to deliver marketing relevance and engagement, moderated by Kantar Added Value's Executive Vice President, Leslie Pascaud:

• Luke Atkinson, Vice President, Global Consumer and Cultural Planning, Smirnoff at Diageo North America
• Joanna Dumont, World Wide Director of Consumer Marketing Insight for Global Oral Care, Colgate-Palmolive
• Tiyale Hayes, Senior Vice President, Consumer Insights, BET
• Don Abraham, President, Consulting Services, Kantar Futures
• Helen Firth, Senior Vice President, Kantar Added Value

The Creating Cultural Value Study includes the following findings:

• 73% of respondents say their marketing department will need to act like a 'cultural radar', connecting with consumers by tapping into what is relevant to them at that moment in time
• 63% claim they will invest more money in initiatives they feel make the right contribution to culture for their brands
• 50% of respondents say the need for their brand to "be more human" is a key challenge - but only 33% think they've nailed it.

Kantar Added Value's Creating Cultural Value Study can be downloaded here. A video summary today's event will be made available on the website in the coming days.

About Kantar Added Value

Kantar Added Value is a creative marketing consultancy. We are one of the founding partners of Kantar Consulting, the sales and marketing consultancy at the heart of WPP. Our purpose is to add serious value to the businesses we work with and the world we live in. We challenge our clients to build brands that shift categories and shape culture. We inspire brands to create experiences and champion issues that people genuinely want to engage with.  It's how we add value. 

Kantar Added Value's services include Portfolio Strategy & Segmentation, Category Strategy & Innovation, Brand Positioning, Human & Cultural Insight, Cultural Strategy, Creative Development and Copytesting, and Advertising and Brand Tracking.

Today Kantar Added Value operates globally from 10 locations in 9 countries, working with a broad spectrum of world-famous brands including Unilever, Toyota, GSK, MasterCard, Nestlé, Vodafone, BMW, PepsiCo, AT&T, Diageo, Facebook, Mondelēz, Centrica, IHG, Tesco, Tiffany's and EY.

For more information, please visit added-value.com and follow Kantar Added Value on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Kantar 

Kantar is one of the world's leading data, insight and consultancy companies. Working together across the whole spectrum of research and consulting disciplines, its specialist brands, employing 30,000 people, provide inspirational insights and business strategies for clients in 100 countries. Kantar is part of WPP and its services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.

Media Contact
Jordan Lucoff, Vice President, Business Development and Marketing,
Kantar Added Value
[email protected]
+1-818-416-1243 cell
+1-323-436-6621 office

SOURCE Kantar Added Value