Beer, hot sauce, an app that helps you choose what to have for lunch, chocolate, suncream, duck feed… what do these all have in common? They are part of a growing trend for agencies and brands to develop and retain their own IP.

To attract the best talent and most forward thinking brands, agencies are devoting more time to the R&D process.

Some are adopting the innovation strategies of big tech companies like Google, whose ‘20% time’ policy gives employees free-thinking time to focus their imagination away from their day job and towards alternate company goals. Creative agency TMW Unlimited has created Project Illiad, an incubation programme to drive innovation from within. It provides new revenue streams for the agency as well as enabling employees to follow their creative dreams. Winning ideas are co-funded by the agency alongside holding group Creston and prototyped by their internal digital innovation lab tmw_labs.

Start-up incubators like The Bakery, who recently spoke at BITE LIVE, create environments where brands and tech companies work together to solve business challenges. A brief is sent out to their network of start-ups who will respond with a technology focused solution.

Innovation is also helping brands to find relevance in the digital age. Recently M&C Saatchi Australia worked with telecoms provider Optus to create a buoy that uses the Optus network and Google+ to send real-time information to lifeguards about the location of sharks. What could have previously been seen as a self promotional tool, is now a core focus for both brands and agencies, as they look to stay ahead in a marketplace that is constantly being challenged.

Read on for examples…