Amazon, Google and Crayola are the U.S.' three most culturally resonant brands, followed by Apple and Target, to people over the age of 18, according to a study by Omnicom Group's The Marketing Arm (TMA). According to TMA, brands that resonate the most culturally grew 25% more last year than their competitors, and the top three brands grew at double the pace of their competition. 

"For over 30 years, TMA has been powering brands' resonance across cultural platforms, using every form of content, experience, and partnership," said TMA CEO Trina Roffino in a statement. "Our many subject matter experts have uncovered consistent patterns for growing cultural resonance in their domains. With the Cultural Resonance Score, we've built a complement to our qualitative expertise, so we can now measure and monitor the impact of marketing activities on cultural resonance."

The below chart shows the relationship between cultural resonance and customer share:

TMA defines cultural resonate via brand awareness as well as four pillars: 
Using an index of these factors, TMA determined that Amazon, Google and Crayola are the three most resonant brands, followed by Apple and Target, when looking at the total population over age 18.

-- Recognition: Clarity of the brand's role in the consumer's world

-- Alliance: The consumer's alignment to the brand's perspective on the world

-- Engagement: Willingness to spend one's most valuable resource—time—with a brand

-- Advocacy: Active participation within the brand's community, magnifying its message to the world

"Crayola surprised us, but it makes sense," said Kathleen Colditz, EVP of strategy at TMA, who spearheaded the project. "They have endured for generations with an evolving product mix that stays true to the brand's purpose; therefore recognition and alliance. And they've invested in experience and influencers, which help lift engagement and advocacy. Every marketer should want to dominate their category the way Crayola does."

TMA went on to determine who the country's top brands were according to their four pillars: 

Recognition: 

Disney, Apple, Google, Nike, Chick-Fil-A

Alliance: 

Crayola, Levi's, Amazon, M&Ms, Google

Engagement:

Crayola, Lego, Amazon, Google, M&Ms

Advocacy: 

Target, Chick-Fil-A, Crayola, Amazon, Campbell's

A key finding of the study is that YouTube, Apple, Marvel, Target and Google are the five most resonant brands to Gen Z or those aged 11 to 26. YouTube, Apple, Marvel and Google all have strong ties to entertainment and Marvel and YouTube only appear in this category in the study. That could indicate that while those brands are less relevant to older consumers, their strength among younger consumers means they will have staying power as those consumers age.

According to TMA, the most resonant brands share a combination of high recognition; an ability to build an alliance and engagement that yields distinction among their most loyal consumer base; and success in driving engagement beyond shopping. For example, Amazon has grown Prime Day from a set of discounts to a holiday that has reshaped the shopping calendar. Apple's developer conference has become live info-tainment for fans and media worldwide.

To develop the cultural resonance score, TMA worked with BERA.ai, which is powered by a syndicated brand equity data stream. BERA's brand intelligence software automates the real-time collection, analysis, and measurement of 130-plus consumer-based metrics across 4,000-plus brands in 200-plus sectors globally. The TMA Cultural Resonance Score reflects a brand's ability to capture consumers in a category with 85% accuracy.

Cultural resonance is achieved, says TMA, when a) audiences have clarity of the brand's worldview; b) that worldview is meaningful to the audience; c) the audience is so engaged with the brand that they spend time with it; and d) they become brand advocates.

READ MORE: Ad Age