Ketchum Earns a Spot on 2011 InformationWeek 500 List of Top Technology Innovators Across America

MONARCH BEACH, Calif., Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global public relations agency Ketchum today announced that it was named to this year's InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation's most innovative users of business technology. This marks the agency's third consecutive year on the list, and Ketchum remains the only public relations agency to be awarded the honor. The 2011 list was revealed Tuesday night at a gala awards ceremony at the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference taking place at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif.

Ketchum was recognized on this year's coveted list for its Ketchum Creativity Suite, created in partnership between the agency's information technology team and its creativity and innovation leaders to bolster its creativity initiatives. Recognizing an opportunity to improve the creative yield for clients utilizing the latest in collaborative, social media and crowdsourcing technologies, the team developed a suite of integrated tools, including Passion Panels, IM Storms, and open innovation platforms Ide8 and Mindfire, which brought creative quality and quantity to a new level. The initiative produced an array of technology solutions that tap into the diverse creative brainpower of Ketchum's workforce in 70 countries.

"In public relations, creativity is absolutely fundamental in determining a campaign's impact in the battle for share-of-mind," said Andy Roach, Ketchum partner and chief information officer. "The Ketchum Creativity Suite allows us to consistently provide our clients with creative inspiration, while also aligning those ideas with brand strategy to help them reach their target audience and stand out from their competitors."

InformationWeek editor-in-chief Rob Preston said, "For 23 years, the InformationWeek 500 has chronicled and honored the most innovative users of business technology. In this day and age, however, being innovative isn't enough. Companies and their IT organizations need to innovate faster than ever before to stay a step or two ahead of their customers, partners, and competitors. This year's ranking placed special emphasis on those high-octane business technology innovators."

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America's best-known companies. Top winners have included: The Vanguard Group, CME Group, Conway, National Semiconductor, Kimberly-Clark, Hilton Hotels and Unum. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.  

Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found online at www.informationweek.com/iw500/.  

About Ketchum

Ketchum is a leading global communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. Named 2010 Large PR Firm of the Year (Holmes Report and PR News) and the winner of an unprecedented three consecutive PRWeek Campaign of the Year Awards, Ketchum partners with clients to deliver strategic programming, game-changing creative and measurable results that build brands and reputations. For more information on Ketchum, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), visit www.ketchum.com.

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network (http://www.informationweek.com/)

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow—from defining and framing objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties like DarkReading.com (security), NetworkComputing.com (networking and communications) and BYTE (consumer technology). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets, such as CIOs, developers, and SMBs via InformationWeek Global CIO, Dr. Dobb's and InformationWeek SMB, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare sites. Content is at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy—IT professionals turn to our experts and communities to stay informed, get advice and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

SOURCE Ketchum