BUSINESS BITES: M&C SAATCHI

IKEA is a property developer, Airbnb is a media company and Facebook is a drone developer.

Got your attention? That's the mark of M&C Saatchi's group innovation director, Ben Cooper.

With too many 'agency of the year' accolades to count, M&C Saatchi pioneers creative direction worldwide.

Cooper heads innovation across the ten businesses under the M&C Saatchi banner, as well as leading social, mobile and content across the agency.

He has 18 years of experience in digital media across London, Zurich and Sydney, and recently co-founded a different kind of design business, O Six Hundred Kayak.

Watch Business News Australia interview M&C Saatchi's Ben Cooper, who puts a different spin on innovation at the Australian Marketing Institute's (AMI) QLD Marketing Summit:
 

"Our leading companies are often tech companies, but they are never just that - they are companies with a massive sense of purpose," says Cooper.

"We've worked on IKEA twice over the years and if they find a better way to pack through enabling technology, they bring the cost back to the consumer. It's an incredible lean company which is now building homes - for $1500 and four hours of assemblage. It's a solution to the housing affordability crisis.

"Airbnb is another one which purely exists to fulfil it's purpose. 'Belong anywhere' stretches into Airbnb's magazine, Pineapple, which helps the world understand the underbelly of cities. With features and functions that make it easier to belong, you rate them highly and finish the trip in a good space.

"Then, of course, there's Facebook. The aim is to make the world more open and connected, which is why the company is spending energy on Aquila and Oculus. All Zuckerberg does is work on purpose."

This video was filmed by Business News Australia as part of a series in collaboration with AMI, the leading professional marketing association in Australia.