Omnicom’s The Marketing Arm has completed its first annual Cultural Resonance Score, finding that Amazon is the most resonant brand among the general population while YouTube is number one among Gen Z.  

Google, Crayola, Apple and Target rounded out the top-5 ranked brands by resonance when looking at the total population over age 18. 

Apple, Marvel, Target and Google finished behind YouTube as the most resonant brands to Gen Z. 

The agency notes that “resonance” differs from “relevance” in that resonance amplifies over time, versus relevance which is "in the moment." 

The study measures both a brand’s standing in culture and identifies actions that can be taken to improve a brand’s cultural resonance, thereby driving growth. 

TMA explains that resonance is built through awareness as well as through four pillars: 

A brand’s Cultural Resonance Score is calculated as an average of the four pillars. 

The agency said that last year brands with the highest Cultural Resonance Score grew 25% more than their competitors and that the top three culturally resonant brands in the study grew at twice the rate of their competition. 

CEO Trina Roffino stated, “Our many subject matter experts have uncovered consistent patterns for growing cultural resonance in their domains. With the Cultural Resonance Score, we’ve built a complement to our qualitative expertise, so we can now measure and monitor the impact of marketing activities on cultural resonance.” 

The agency also applies resonance scores to categories. Chocolate, video games and toys are the top culturally resonant categories, followed closely by e-Commerce retailers (e.g., Amazon, Target) and pet care products. These categories all score in the 90th percentile. 

TMA worked with BERA.ai, which the agency said is powered by the world’s largest syndicated brand equity data stream. BERA's Brand Intelligence Software automates the real-time collection, analysis, and measurement of 130+ consumer-based metrics across 4,000+ brands in 200+ sectors globally.  

TMA plans to publish its Cultural Resonance Score rankings annually and will also provide and track the performance of its clients.