A New Framework to Define and Measure a Brand’s Ingenuity | Industry Insights | All MKC Content | ANA

A New Framework to Define and Measure a Brand’s Ingenuity

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Leaders know that ingenuity is vital to success. But what does this term mean today — and why does how you define it matter? Answering this question is an urgent need for businesses seeking to drive new solutions amid the significant challenges the world faces today, from climate change and inequality to pandemic recovery and geopolitical instability. A meaningful understanding of ingenuity helps inform a brand's vision, which is the foundation for brand health and performance.

To help brands dimensionalize what being ingenious means, the Bloomberg Brand Accelerator 2022 Ingenuity List uncovers how global elite audiences define ingenuity — and spotlights which companies they perceive as having it. The list, generated from Bloomberg Media's proprietary tool that measures thousands of decision-makers' perceptions across hundreds of brands, identifies, and ranks more than 200 leading companies based on a group of interrelated attributes that bring fresh utility to the concept of ingenuity.

These attributes arose from a factor analysis conducted across more than 40 brand diagnostics included in the Bloomberg Brand Accelerator's data sets, with varimax rotation used to augment interpretation. Seven attributes emerged as a clear cluster correlated to ingenuity among decision-makers: growing; innovative; disrupting business; bold and daring; invests in technology; thought leader; and anticipates customer needs.

The Ingenuity List reveals that contrary to the general wisdom, which associates innovation primarily with technology, true inventiveness is multifaceted. When we look at the list by industry, we see consequential implications for marketers.

Companies that are strong on one or several measures can get credit for forward thinking, even if they aren't tech-based. And conversely, tech-first companies can more clearly see areas where additional strategic focus is needed.

For example, luxury autos are seen as very ingenious, measuring strongly on being bold and daring, an attribution that is likely to increase as Evs become prevalent. Tesla is at the top of this category. Electronic payment systems are also seen as highly ingenious, with strength in growth as well as addressing customer needs — perhaps as a result of contactless, mobile options developed during the pandemic.

For instance, Apple Pay is leading the way. Several banks are seen as leaders in ingenuity, primarily driven by thought leadership and anticipating customer needs; Citi ranks first, which could reflect positive sentiment for becoming the first major Wall Street bank led by a female CEO. Consumer electronics brands, as expected, are among the most ingenious in our list, defined by growth and investment in technology — but they are not seen as disrupting business, or seen as bold and daring.

The Bloomberg Brand Accelerator Ingenuity List is being introduced this month, timed to coincide with the innovation-focused SXSW conference.. The full list, showing leaders across sectors, can also be found on bloombergmedia.com/BrandAccelerator.


The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.



Anne Kawalerski is the global chief marketing officer at Bloomberg Media.

Michelle Lynn is the global head, data science and insight at Bloomberg Media.

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