Unveils how brands that forge a strong sense of connection drive brand growth at 5X market penetration with special guests from Diageo, Mastercard, and PepsiCo
New York, NY, Thursday, June 27th – Kantar, the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business and an indispensable brand partner to the world’s top companies, including 96 of the world’s 100 biggest advertisers, celebrated the world’s top brands and brand architects at the Kantar Brand Gala, held last night at Cipriani 25 Broadway.
The event featured insights from some of the world’s most effective brands including Diageo, Mastercard, and Pepsi, who topped Kantar’s flagship ranking BrandZ – the world's most detailed consumer brand equity database linked to financial outcomes.
Wayne Levings, CEO Kantar NA and Global Chief Client Officer, unveiled Kantar’s key drivers for growth in disruptive and unstable times.
“There's more competition and pressure put on brands now than ever before. Being indispensable partners to the world’s most beloved brands for well over 50 years, we know what works and what doesn’t, and the key to success is connection,” stated Levings. “Connection is both a bastion against disruption and a lightning rod for growing shareholder value. Our Blueprint for Brand Growth provides a proven formula on how brands create effective, resilient connection regardless of disruption or challenge."
Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth shows that brands who can create a strong sense of connection are more Meaningfully Different to consumers. Being Meaningfully Different results in 5x higher market penetration today as well as a sustained advantage for over two years, according to historical trends derived from 6.5 billion data points. Kantar found that in 2024 brands that scored high on these metrics grew +19% ahead of expectations.
The Brand Gala showcased leaders who discussed their brand success story and how these learnings continue to drive impact through market disruptions:
Predispose More People
Ed Pilkington, Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer, Diageo
Diageo’s application of “Predispose More People” resulted in a combined brand value of over $19 billion according to Kantar BrandZ, with Guinness holding its place in the Most Valuable Beer or Alcohol Brands ranking for 19 consecutive years.
Be More Present
Homi Battiwalla, Global Head of Marketing Transformation, PepsiCo
Stephan Gans, Global Head of CMI, Analytics Marketing, PepsiCo
As one of Kantar’s longtime clients with over 25 years of partnership across more than 50 markets, BrandZ shows that PepsiCo has over twenty $1billion dollar brands as of 2024.
Find New Space
Pernilla Winberg Babtist, EVP Partnerships and Sponsorships
Mastercard increased its value by +180% since 2008, by finding new space and innovating as seen through BrandZ results.
Additional speakers included Kantar's Martin Guerrieria and Margot Acton, who presented key learnings and predictions on how to add dollar value to businesses and achieve strong, sustainable growth.
To learn more about the brand gala, BrandZ, or the Blueprint for Brand Growth, check out the gala homepage here.
About Kantar
Kantar is the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business and an indispensable brand partner to the world’s top companies, including 96 of the world’s 100 biggest advertisers.
We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of people around the world: how they think, feel and act, globally and locally in over 90 markets.
We don’t just help clients understand what’s happened, we tell them why and how they can shape the future.