Consumer expectations are shifting faster than ever. In today’s marketplace, brand trust, loyalty, and growth are increasingly determined not by advertising reach or award-winning campaigns, but by the ability of brands to authentically resonate with nuance across different consumer audiences. Cultural fluency, once considered a “nice-to-have,” has become the deciding factor in whether consumers see a brand as relevant, “for people like me,” and worth their long-term loyalty.
Cultural fluency is the ability of a brand to resonate deeply across different consumer segments while still maintaining a unified equity. Brands that master this skill earn not only attention, but advocacy.
To measure this new dimension, Collage developed the Brand Cultural Fluency Quotient (B-CFQ). Unlike traditional brand tracking, B-CFQ identifies how well a brand connects across race, ethnicity, generation, gender, life stage, and lifestyle. It goes beyond awareness or favorability to examine whether consumers feel a brand understands and connects with them at a cultural level: their deepest values and beliefs. B-CFQ is predictive of purchase intent, making it a powerful tool to enrich any brand health measurement.
Insights from the 2025 State of Cultural Fluency Report
Collage’s 2025 State of Brand Cultural Fluency Report shows that Cultural Fluency is accelerating. The report provides a nationally representative assessment of over 1,200 brands. Several key findings highlight why cultural fluency is becoming a core driver of market differentiation:
• Average B-CFQ scores rose 4.5 percent in first half 2025 compared to second half of 2024, suggesting that more brands are embedding cultural intelligence into their core marketing strategies.
• Brands that rise to the top share common traits. The Top 20 Most Culturally Fluent Brands - ranging from Dawn and M&Ms to Sony and Google - connect emotionally across different consumer groups. They succeed by reflecting consumer values authentically and by building relationships rooted in cultural understanding far better than their competitors in similar categories.
• Industries are evolving unevenly. Brands in the entertainment and alcoholic beverages saw significant six-month growth in cultural fluency, while others lag. Regardless of industries, brands need to differentiate themselves or risk becoming a commodity. Cultural intelligence highlights those areas where a brand is strong and can double down with intention as well as where it stands versus competition.
Best Practices for Building Cultural Fluency
So how can brands operationalize cultural fluency as a strategic advantage? Insights from Collage’s work with leading brands point to several best practices:
1. Ground strategies in cultural intelligence. Go beyond demographics and invest in insights that capture cultural drivers of cultural traits, passion points, fandom, and other key drivers of decision-making. Understanding what matters to consumers at a values level is essential.
2. Test resonance across segments. Use tools like Collage’s B-CFQ to evaluate where your brand has a right to win and where it has weaknesses that are holding back resonance and growth. Consider Collage’s A-CFQ (Ad Cultural Fluency Quotient) methodology as well to evaluate how specific ads, messaging, and concepts connect authentically with different communities. Don’t assume one-size-fits-all will work.
3. Commit to authenticity and nuance. Representation without depth risks backlash. The most fluent brands demonstrate real understanding of cultural context with nuance, not token gestures. This requires leveraging both the data and insights plus the extensive cultural strategy expertise like those at Collage.
4. Track progress continuously. Just as brands once monitored awareness or favorability, B-CFQ should become a standing KPI. Regular measurement helps ensure that cultural fluency is not an afterthought but a core metric for growth.
The Future of Brand Measurement
The rise of cultural fluency signals a broader transformation in brand management. Traditional marketing metrics still matter, but they no longer provide a complete picture of how consumers perceive brands in an era of increasing diversity and complexity.
By adopting cultural fluency as a central measure, brands can position themselves to thrive in this new environment. As David Wellisch, CEO and Co-Founder of Collage, notes, “Brands with high B-CFQ are accelerating resonance and growth efficiently in the market. By better aligning with values and beliefs across different consumer segments, brands can create a competitive advantage.”
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