Nike Reigns as Most Innovative Company

Fast Company recently released The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies 2013 featuring Nike, Inc. in the No. 1 position. The list is described as the “annual guide to the state of innovation in our economy, featuring the businesses whose innovations are having the greatest impacts across their industries and our culture as a whole.”

 

Each year, new leaders emerge. Fast Company’s most innovative companies list is not a legacy. Of the 50 honorees on the first list, only four have made reappearances all five years. In all, 194 companies have appeared, representing diverse industries, from apparel to biotech to consumer electronics, and more.

 

Revolutionary, nimble and yes, even sexy are some words used to describe the consumer goods companies that made the cut. Here, we recap some of their secrets to success in an adapted excerpt from Fast Company’s article:

 

 

In 2012, Nike's experimentation yielded two breakout hits. The first is the FuelBand, a $150 electronic bracelet that measures your movements throughout the day, whether you play tennis, jog, or just walk to work. The FuelBand is the clearest sign that Nike has transformed itself into a digital force. "Nike has broken out of apparel and into tech, data, and services, which is so hard for any company to do," says Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps… The other innovation is the Flyknit Racer, featherlight shoes that feel more like a sock atop a sole. Created from knit threading rather than multiple layers of fabric, it required a complete rethink of Nike's manufacturing process. The result is a shoe that's more environmentally friendly and could reduce long-term production costs. To produce even one of these innovations in a given year is a rarity for any company, especially one with 44,000 employees. But Nike CEO Mark Parker knows he can't just rely on celebrity endorsements and the power of the swoosh when confronted by big-name competitors such as Adidas and upstarts, like Jawbone and Fitbit. "One of my fears is being this big, slow, constipated, bureaucratic company that's happy with its success," he says. "Companies fall apart when their model is so successful that it stifles thinking that challenges it." Last year, Nike's annual revenue hit $24 billion, up 60 percent since he took over the reins as CEO in 2006. Profits are up 57 percent, and Nike's market cap has more than doubled.

 

To read the Nike, Inc. profile from Fast Company in its entirety, click here.

 

 

The TV spot was once the center of Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy. Now, Coke is on to a new era of delightful, shareable online content (earning a 5 percent bump in global sales along the way). Secrets to its success lie in the following mantras: stick to the message, mix novel with nostalgia, own the big moments, and embrace outside creativity.

 

 

Israeli-based SodaStream may be the world's largest producer of home carbonation: Its seltzer- and soda-makers are carried by 60,000 retailers in 45 countries, and it sold 3.5 billion cans of its flavorings in the past year. But it's only in about 1 percent of U.S. homes — paltry compared to elsewhere. (In Sweden, it's in 25 percent.) To make it in the United States, it must now "introduce something that changes everyone's kitchen like no other appliance," says product and innovation head Yaron Kopel. To that end, SodaStream is offering new partnerships such as the one with Kraft, which allow users to create flavors from Country Time and Crystal Light at home, and that’s just one example.

 

Dino and Barney have a new purple reptile to contend with: Meet Spyro, the dragon that's capturing kids' imaginations while ushering in the future of physical and virtual play. Spyro is the star of Activision's video game Skylanders Spyro's Adventure and is one of 32 chip-embedded action figures that interact with whatever happens on the screen, whether it's a TV, computer, or handheld. Activision sold more than 30 million toys since its debut in late 2011, then released a sequel that adds 16 new characters. In a recent earnings call, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirschberg said the series, which has so far earned $500 million in U.S. sales, is "on track to become [a] billion-dollar franchise."

 

To see the full list and read this article in its entirety, click here.