Sundial and Culture Hive Partner
NEW YORK, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --Â , whose portfolio includes ESSENCE, Refinery29, AFROPUNK, and BeautyCon, and today announced a strategic partnership to redefine how media is planned, activated, and measured by making cultural relevance a real-time, actionable signal.
Together, the companies are turning over a century of cultural insight into a modern intelligence system creating a closed loop where cultural signals are identified, scored, and activated in real time. Sundial contributes first-party data rooted in real communities and authentic cultural participation. Culture Hive powers the system with its Cultural Relevance Score (CRSâ„¢), the first framework that makes culture measurable, scalable, and actionable within the programmatic ecosystem.
"Advertisers have always known that relevance drives performance, but they haven't had a consistent way to act on it," said Kirk McDonald, CEO of Sundial Media & Technology Group. "As a human connections platform built on more than 100 years of cultural insight, we understand that real influence lives within communities, not just content. This partnership turns that legacy into a modern intelligence layer, giving brands a clear, actionable path to align media investment with the environments and communities that shape behavior, and ultimately drive more meaningful, measurable connections."
For the first time, publishers, platforms, and brands can operate on a shared system for cultural intelligence, turning culture from a qualitative input into a measurable, transactable signal that informs how media is planned, bought, and optimized.
"This partnership replaces assumption with precision, giving brands the ability to invest with confidence in culturally aligned environments that drive performance," said Joe Lige, CEO, Culture Hive.For too long the industry has treated culture as a proxy for DEI that misses the point.Culture drives behavior, and what's changed is that we can now measure and activate it at scale. CRS makes that possible. This marks a turning point for the industry: culture is no longer just an input into strategy, but a core signal in how media is transacted."
About Sundial Media & Technology Group
(SMTG) is a human connections platform redefining the future of media. With more than 100 years of storytelling expertise and audience insight, SMTG is transforming the traditional media model into a technology-enabled ecosystem designed to foster belonging, drive influence, and scale economic opportunity. Its portfolio includes some of the most iconic purpose-driven brands and experiences in culture today, including ESSENCE (Girls United, ESSENCE Studios, ESSENCE Festival of Culture®), Refinery29, AFROPUNK, Beautycon™, the Global Black Economic Forum, and the Academy for Advancing Excellence. Through strategic storytelling, data-powered platforms, and products built for cultural impact, SMTG is where connection becomes currency.
About Culture Hive Media Group
Culture Hive Media Group's mission is to shift the advertising industry from demographic targeting to culture-first activation. Through its proprietary cultural intelligence technology and Cultural Relevance Score (CRS™), the company helps brands better understand and connect with audiences based on shared values, identity, and community—turning cultural fit into a measurable advantage.
Media Contact
Angela Hoye, The Hoye Collective, 1 3039299163, [email protected], The Hoye Collective
SOURCE Sundial Media & Technology Group
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