Firms Launch The Australian Talent Index

Media and marketing agency Talent Corp has partnered with research agency Lewers and survey firm Pureprofile to launch a new survey called The Australian Talent Index, which measures the popularity of the country's celebrities.

Nearly 2,500 participants were invited to share their opinion of more than 120 of Australia's personalities from film and broadcasting. These participants were asked if they recognised the celebrity, how much they knew about them, and how they felt about them on a scale which included the terms 'dislike', 'indifferent', 'like' and 'a favourite'. Talent Corp says the results can be used by brands and agencies to match, rank and compare talent for campaigns and ambassador roles.

The index is calculated by subtracting the proportion of people who disliked a personality from those who liked or loved them, giving each a score ranging from -100 (universally disliked) through to +100 (universally liked). Actor and producer Hugh Jackman topped the popularity list, with a score of +84; while the most well-known individual was Nicole Kidman, most trustworthy Michael Caton, and most controversial Barry Humphries.

Lisa Lewers, founder and CEO of Lewers, said that this is the first study of its kind to use AI to understand the 'breadth and depth of the emotions Australian talent evokes'. Talent Corp's MD Mark Noakes added: 'The ability of a trusted or popular presenter to deliver return on investment for a brand is well established. A way to match that presenter with a brand, much less so. The Australian Talent Index seeks to change that by providing the industry with an up-to-date picture on media and entertainment talent.'

Web sites: www.talentcorp.com.au , www.lewers.com.au and www.pureprofile.com .