- Cultural relevance contributes to 15% of sales
- Making it worth an estimated £147 billion to UK consumer spending
- News brands deliver an ROI of £3.97 for every £1 invested, including £0.45 generated through cultural relevance
A major new study from Newsworks has quantified the commercial value of culture for the first time, revealing that cultural relevance contributes to 15% of UK sales and is worth an estimated £147 billion to UK consumer spending.
The research identifies news brands as one of the most effective channels for building cultural relevance, delivering the strongest return on investment of any media channel analysed.
Conducted in partnership with Trajectory, the study analysed 80 brands across four categories and found that cultural relevance contributes to approximately 15% of sales across automotive, travel, retail and digital subscriptions.
The research also shows that advertising directly contributes to 20% of sales across the categories studied, with an additional 2% boost generated through advertising’s effect on cultural relevance. This highlights the role media plays in helping brands become more connected to culture and more relevant to consumers.
News brands emerged as the highest-performing channel in the analysis, delivering an ROI of £3.97 for every £1 invested. This included £0.45 generated through news brands’ impact on cultural relevance, approximately double the average uplift seen across other media channels studied.
Carried out among 4,000 UK adults and supported by modelling of sales and media investment data, the study sought to answer three key questions: what is cultural relevance, how much is it worth, and what role media environments play in creating it?
Read the full report below.
