In Conversation with Darshana Geeganage: Explaining the Canvas Index

Written by Sophie

Missed all the hype about the Canvas Index? No dramas. We spoke to Darshana, who has been instrumental in designing the inputs and analysing the outputs, to find out everything there is to know about what it is and how it works.

Tell us a bit about your background and how it’s helped you in designing the approach for the Canvas Index

My background is in research and analytics, with experience working both on the client side and within agencies. Across Australia and other markets, I’ve consistently seen the value of having a single, robust metric to measure and drive brand performance.

What’s the idea behind the Canvas Index design?

The Canvas Index is designed to measure the Total Brand Experience. It captures not only the experience after someone becomes a customer, but also the perceptions and interactions formed well before purchase, across the many ways brands communicate and engage with people.

How do companies benefit from using the Canvas Index?

The Canvas Index helps organisations quickly identify strengths and weaknesses, understand what truly drives loyalty, and see where gaps exist between brand promise and actual experience. Most importantly, it simplifies complex data into clear, actionable insights for better decision-making.

What makes this approach different from traditional benchmarking?

Traditional benchmarking typically looks at brand and CX separately, which only tells part of the story. The Canvas Index brings these dimensions together, showing how perceptions and experiences interact. This integrated view makes it much easier to identify where action will have the greatest impact on overall brand performance.

When you started analysing this first wave of data, did anything immediately surprise you?

What stood out was how few brands perform strongly across both the brand and CX dimensions. These brands are truly “best in class,” and importantly, their market performance clearly reflects this strength.

To find out more, go to www.watermelonresearch.com/canvas-index