INTELLIGENCE / THE CULTURAL-SIGNAL INDEX · THE 2026 CLASS

Who actually authored the influence.

A proprietary, authorship-weighted read of brand and cultural work — scored across idea, authorship, execution and consequence. Editorial judgement, evidence-led, and ranked.

24
BRANDS RANKED
24
WORKS SCORED
97
TOP SCORE
84
INDEX AVERAGE

THE RANKING

Every scored brand, ranked.

24 BRANDS · TRACKING SINCE 2026-06-23

  1. 1

    Letsile Tebogo × De Beers / Botswana

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —97SIGNAL
  2. 2

    The Black Book (Editi Effiong) / Nollywood on Netflix

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —97SIGNAL
  3. 3

    Achraf Hakimi / Morocco national team

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —95SIGNAL
  4. 4

    Kava (Inkblot Studios + Filmhouse Group)

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —94SIGNAL
  5. 5

    The Met Gala 2025 — “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —93SIGNAL
  6. 6

    Burna Boy × FIFA ('Dai Dai', with Shakira)

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —93SIGNAL
  7. 7

    DR Congo (Léopards) × JMAKxPARIS

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —92SIGNAL
  8. 8

    Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games / IOC

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —90SIGNAL
  9. 9

    Wizkid × Asake — REAL, Vol. 1

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —90SIGNAL
  10. 10

    Tyla × the World Cup Stage

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —90SIGNAL
  11. 11

    Nike × Air Afrique

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —88SIGNAL
  12. 12

    Chicken Licken (agency: Joe Public)

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —87SIGNAL
  13. 13

    Flutterwave

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 5/5

    —84SIGNAL
  14. 14

    Faith Kipyegon / Kenyan distance running

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —83SIGNAL
  15. 15

    Tyla × Pandora (and Nike, Chanel, H&M)

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —83SIGNAL
  16. 16

    FIFA World Cup Stage × Rema

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —83SIGNAL
  17. 17

    Ayra Starr (× Maybelline / New Balance / Pepsi)

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —80SIGNAL
  18. 18

    AfroPlus Fest 2026

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —80SIGNAL
  19. 19

    Sarkodie × Shatta Wale (EVERLASTING)

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 4/5

    —80SIGNAL
  20. 20

    NBA Africa / Basketball Africa League

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 3/5

    —73SIGNAL
  21. 21

    Visa

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 2/5

    —71SIGNAL
  22. 22

    Adidas

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 2/5

    —64SIGNAL
  23. 23

    Coca-Cola

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 2/5

    —64SIGNAL
  24. 24

    Budweiser (AB InBev)

    1 WORK · AUTHORSHIP 2/5

    —61SIGNAL

METHODOLOGY

How the score is built — and what it is not.

The Cultural-Signal Score is an authorship-weighted composite of four editorial dimensions, each scored 1–5 and expressed out of 100. It is interpretive editorial judgement — a defensible, evidence-led reading — not a measured market metric.

IDEA25%

Originality and cultural force of the idea.

AUTHORSHIP35%

Who shaped it — African creative leadership vs localisation.

EXECUTION15%

Craft, narrative and product detail.

CONSEQUENCE25%

What it actually moved — culture and commerce.

AUTHORSHIP carries the heaviest weight: it is the question MonoKromatik exists to ask — who shaped the idea, who got access, who captured value. Levels are set by editors today; an AI-assisted draft → human-approval workflow is planned, never autonomous.

THE FULL REPORT

The scores are free. The Index is the product.

Take the complete ranking, every per-axis breakdown, the methodology and the evidence behind each score.

GET THE FULL INDEX REPORT
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