In today’s image-saturated world, brands are producing thousands of visuals every day across campaigns, social platforms and search. Yet most struggle to answer a simple question:
What do all these images tell us about what’s happening in culture and how can brands tap into it authentically?
At Kantar, we’ve helped clients move from visual overload to clear strategic direction. By analysing tens of thousands of user-generated, publisher, and branded images across markets, we have been able to:
• Identify dominant and emerging cultural trends shaping categories
• Pinpoint emotional positioning gaps competitors are not owning
• Uncover white space opportunities for more distinctive creative
This shifts visual analysis from descriptive to decisive. Instead of relying on small samples or intuition, brands gain a category-wide view of how meaning is being created and where they can win.
Why This Matters for Brands
Visuals are no longer just execution. They are a primary driver of how people, and by extension brands, signal meaning, emotion and relevance.
Without scale, brands risk:
• Over-indexing on familiar tropes already saturated in the category
• Missing fast-moving cultural shifts in consumer expression
• Lacking clarity on how their visual identity compares to competitors
With the right approach, brands can:
• See the true landscape of visual culture in their category
• Understand emotional territories being overplayed or underused
• Act on clear opportunities to differentiate and grow
What Culture & Semiotics at Scale Looks Like in Practice
Our recent study in the personal care space demonstrated that scale and richness of insight are possible:
| Range | Description |
| 100+ | Global brands analysed |
| 30,000+ | Images and videos collected across markets |
| 16 to 36 | Distinct visual themes identified |
| From 5 up to 30 | Cultural codes distilled for strategy |
Enabling a level of clarity and confidence not achievable through traditional manual analysis.
From Images to Insight: How We Deliver This
To unlock these insights, we bring together AI-powered visual analysis and proven semiotic frameworks: MUSE and NeedScope,
1. Large-scale Image Collection
We capture brand and user-generated visual expressions of a category across social media, websites, publishers and eCommerce channels. This results in thousands of images and videos that reflect real-world experience.
2. Automated Visual Clustering
Using visual intelligence, MUSE groups these assets into distinct themes, highlighting recurring aesthetics, locations, products, codes and creative narratives present in the images.
Outcome: A clear map of how visual storytelling is currently being shaped.
MUSE groups images into visual territories, helping brands identify disruptor vs. mainstream dynamics, niche vs. established positioning, and shifting creative trends
3. Emotive Interpretation with NeedScope
Each visual theme is mapped to one or more of six core emotional territories, revealing the underlying motivations and signals being communicated.
Outcome: Understanding not just what is shown, but what it means emotionally.
“The NeedScope wheel view shows the emotional distribution of visual content across six core territories. In this case, Orange represents warmth, affiliation, accessibility, and genuine connection. It bridges the vibrant energy of yellow with the stability and security of brown to create an emotional territory focused on joy and inclusion.”
4. Distilling Cultural Codes
Our experts translate patterns into actionable “cultural codes” that define how meaning is constructed in the category.
Outcome: Clear, named territories that brands can act on strategically.
“The dashboard’s Visual Codes tab displays the emergent cultural codes, each with example imagery and content volume. ‘Practical Guidance’ and ‘Indulgent Mood’ emerge as dominant.”
Example Cultural Codes in Personal Care
| Cultural Code | What It Represents |
| Practical Guidance | Educational, step-by-step or tip-led content focused on product usage, routines, and problem–solution advice |
| Indulgent Mood | Playful, sensory-driven self-care with rich textures, treat-like formats, and escapist or pampering cues |
| Minimal Aesthetic | Clean, stripped-back visuals emphasising simplicity, efficacy, and ingredient-led credibility |
These codes help brands identify where they are already playing and where they could expand.
What Makes This Approach Different
By combining MUSE and NeedScope, brands can:
• Move from observation to action with clear, strategic outputs
• Understand emotional positioning at category level
• Identify white space with confidence, not guesswork
• Respond faster to cultural change with scalable analysis
In Summary
Scaling semiotics is not about analysing more content because it is available.
It is about seeing the full cultural picture, understanding how meaning is constructed visually, and using that clarity to make better strategic decisions.
MUSE and NeedScope enable brands to:
• Decode how they and competitors show up visually
• Understand emotional territory ownership
• Identify underdeveloped spaces to differentiate
The result is more distinctive, culturally relevant and effective communication.