CANNES LIONS
The new commercial metric
that matters
22 June 2026 | 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM CEST
Why cultural power is driving the world’s most valuable brands
Nikkei FT Teahouse, Cannes | #FTCannesLions
Join us in Cannes to discover how cultural power drives brand growth
Brand leaders are drowning in metrics. Impressions. Engagement. Share of voice. Return on ad spend. The dashboards are full and yet they still can’t explain why some brands build enduring loyalty while others quietly lose relevance. The problem isn’t the data. It’s that the most powerful force shaping commercial performance isn’t being measured at all.
The brands that win aren’t chasing culture. They’re shaping it. They’ve moved from being visible to being believed in, and that shift – from presence to cultural legitimacy – is where real commercial value is built. Most measurement frameworks have no way of capturing it. Until now.
This Financial Times event, in partnership with M+C Saatchi and Oxford Said Business School, presents the findings from the first Return on Cultural Power study, a new empirical framework developed with Oxford Said Business School, and examines what it means for brand strategy, investment decisions and long-term growth.
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The new commercial metric that matters
What are traditional metrics actually missing and what has that cost brands?
Can cultural power be genuinely measured or is this just rebranding the intangible?
Should cultural relevance be treated as a governed business asset rather than a marketing tactic?
