WPP has launched a new index that it says measures the value of creativity and that creative brands are better able to drive growth in a number of ways. 

It’s called the Creative Capital Index and it was designed by BAV, which WPP agency Young & Rubicam (now part of VMLY&R) created 30 years ago to evaluate the overall value of brands.  

The new index is designed to help brands assess the value of creativity in delivering different types of measurable growth, including financial and consumer advocacy.  

First tested in Australia, the index shows that brands with high levels of creative capital in the country deliver double the financial return of the average brand measured by BAV over five years. 

In addition, brands with higher creative capital provide: 

Michael Sussman, chief product officer of BAV asserts that the new index proves that creativity is the top driver of income growth and is more important than other capabilities and traits such as trust, innovation, purpose and status.  

“Creative brands drive incrementally greater consumer interest, positive attitudes, and proactive and engaging consumer behavior,” stated Sussman. Brands, he added, “now have the proof they need to invest in their brands – and even more so during periods of economic uncertainty.” 

The algorithms and methodology for the proprietary metrics driving WPP's Creative Capital Index are based on survey research of a globally representative sample of consumers who rate brands in their local market on key image, equity and advocacy metrics from reputation to innovation to popularity. 

Based on these ratings, BAV has ranked and compared brands across culture on a common set of brand KPIs; their Creative Capital Index aggregates a brand’s ratings on metrics that reflect a brand’s creativity and how it drives its influence in culture. 

BAV has grown to contain more than 16 billion data points covering 52 countries and some 63,000 brands.