BRW ranks M&C Saatchi 2nd Most Innovative company; Y&R Group comes in at #4; UM at #10

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Australia’s most respected business title BRW has named Sydney advertising agency M&C Saatchi as the nation’s 2nd most innovative company in a new listing appearing today. Also ranking on the list is Y&R Group in at #4 and UM in at #10.

The 2014 BRW Most Innovative Companies list, compiled by Inventium, reveals the most successful strategies for harnessing the forces of change in Australian businesses.

To be eligible for the list, entrants were required to describe two innovations their company had implemented in the past twelve months – including details on a problem that the innovation solved (or opportunity it capitalised on), and the impact that the innovation had on the business. Entrants also had to complete Inventium’s Innovation Audit which analyses performance across key internal drivers that are responsible for innovation.

 

There was a 50% increase in entries to BRW’s Most Innovative Companies survey this year, proving that innovation has rocketed up the CEO agenda.

 

Cloud-based accounting software provider Xero took top honours in this year’s BRW Most Innovative Companies list for innovations it developed in-house to improve payroll functionality and the tax platform. Xero is also a great example of a company that innovates through a network of third parties with more than 350 independent developers making plug-ins that interact with Xero software. Xero’s innovations make payroll and tax obligations substantially easier for bookkeepers and accountants saving time by automating processes and eliminating the need for most paperwork.

M&C Saatchi came in at #2 on the list. The agency’s traditional advertising idea lead to the instigation of a research and development project, and the subsequent launch of the Clever Buoy. A world-first smart ocean buoy that can detect sharks and alert those on the beach via the Optus network (M&C Saatchi’s client whose brief was to promote its network coverage), thereby minimising the risk of shark attacks.

Jaimes Leggett, CEO, M&C Saatchi was “humbled” that M&C Saatchi is the most innovative company in Australia bar one.

 

Says Leggett: “To sit in the company of the nation’s best thought leaders is humbling. It’s brilliant for M&C Saatchi but equally it’s great for the industry as a whole to be recognised as ground breaking.

 

“Creativity sits at the heart of any great innovation – big ideas brought to life in new and interesting ways. Creativity has always been our raison d’etre at M&C Saatchi and it’s never been more important. This ranking is vindication of that and the tools and processes we’ve put in place to bring that ideation to life for our clients.”

 

Leggett (pictured centre flanked by ECD Ben Welsh and chief strategy officer Justin Graham) paid a special tribute to M&C Saatchi’s clients: “None of our moves to innovation would have amounted to much without their vision, bravery and support. Optus has been simply brilliant in embracing Clever Buoy and helping drive the project to reach its full potential. The same goes for Google, who are a by word for Innovation and you only have to look at CommBank’s top 10 ranking on the BRW list, to see they are a business that places innovation at the heart of their offer. For us innovation is not an option, it’s a necessity to keep ahead of a rapidly evolving marketplace and we’re fortunate to have clients who share that view.”

Closely followed at #3 is Planet Innovation who created a cutting edge new incubator that allows embryologists around the world to grade embryos for IVF without ever compromising their safety.

 

The 2014 BRW Most Innovative Companies list also saw a rise in the number of entrants from the corporate sector, an indication that CEO’s of large companies are no longer complacent about the risk of disruption from start-ups.

 

And this year also drew more companies from banking and financial services, as well as technology, advertising and media.

 

As a result of the increased competition there are more ground-breaking innovations in the top 10 than in previous years.

 

The definition of innovation used by the expert judging panel* is “change that adds value” – a deliberately broad concept to capture innovation in all its form.

 

There are many different ways to innovate as this year’s winners have demonstrated, with BRW revealing the five broad approaches that have proven successful.

    • Nurture innovation in-house

    • Collaborate with a partner

    • Cultivate many partners

    • Crowd source or co-create

    • Find an innovative start-up and buy it

 

Says Michael Bailey, BRW editor: “Innovation is not just about what happens inside your business, it is also about your company’s external relationships. A recent study suggested that businesses in Australia and other rich countries are lagging their counterparts in the developing world in embracing “open innovation” however through the compilation of this list with Inventium we have seen the best innovators in Australia and been inspired by the partnerships they have developed and the level of creative thinking displayed.  This year is by far our strongest list of innovators.”

BRW’S TOP 10 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2014

#1 Xero Software (Development)

#2 M & C Saatchi (Media)

#3 Planet Innovation (Product Development)

#4 Y & R Group (Media)

#5 Hickory Group (Construction)

#6 Commonwealth (Bank Finance)

#7 MYOB Software (Development)

#8 Laing O’Rourke Australia (Engineering)

#9 Employment Innovations (HR/ Payroll Services)

#10 UM Australia Media

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(Pictured: 1. Optus Cleaver Buoy; 2. M&C Saatchi executive creative director Ben Welsh, chief executive officer Jaimes Leggett and chief strategy officer Justin Graham)

*The 2014 independent judging panel consisted of:

•Joanne Gray Editor, BOSS

•James O’Loughlin, Australian television and radio presenter

•Dr Amantha Imber, Founder, Inventium

•Dr Catriona Wallace, Managing Director, Fifth Quadrant

•Owen Kerr, CEO and co-Founder, Pepperstone