Watermelon Launches 'Canvas Index' Benchmark Score

UK-based customer research agency Watermelon has launched a benchmarking tool called the Canvas Index, promising to help brands understand how they perform compared to competitors, and identify priorities for improvement.

Watermelon specialises in tech-driven CX solutions, customer feedback programs and evidence-based consultancy. Canvas is its VoC platform, launched in June 2025. The firm is owned by ad and communications agency VCCP.

The new tool combines classic brand metrics like awareness, consideration and loyalty, with insights from customer experience, to create a single, actionable Index score which the firm says highlights strengths, exposes gaps and shows brands what to do next, all via an AI-powered dashboard.

Early research using the tool, examining brands across sectors including financial services and insurance, shows that salience, or 'being top-of-mind', is a key factor driving performance gaps, while CX 'remains a critical lever, particularly for smaller or emerging brands.'

Watermelon CEO Mark Squires (pictured) says the new solution 'helps brands focus on what truly matters - improving experience, strengthening brand and driving growth.' He states: 'Customer experience isn't one-dimensional. Customers start forming opinions about a brand long before they become a customer, and those early impressions shape how they experience the brand once they do. The Canvas Index shows the full picture, while VoC helps brands understand why and what to do next.'

The new tool can be found online at www.watermelonresearch.com/canvas-index .