The division called Ignovation will be led by Oliver Carew as director. He joined the agency in 2008 as an account executive.
Carew explained that he will initially work with current clients, which include Pernod Ricard, Fuller’s and DHL, to solve any business problems they are having. The long-term strategy for Ignovation labs is to create new technologies and introduce these to new clients.
The arm will have three people working in it initially, with Carew full-time. He will be joined by group account director Nick Redmond and senior developer Eamon Taylor, who also work for the digital department.
Carew added that the agency wanted to set up the arm as a way of helping ideas come to life.
He said: "Innovation has been an integral part of the DNA at Ignis. People come up with great ideas all the time but there’s a challenge around people having day jobs to do so it’s hard to let the ideas come to fruition so this gives the ideas the time they deserve."
Carew added that he is taking a start-up approach to the new division. He explained that many labs fail because they don’t have the right business model.
He said: "Many labs these days get their basic operational model wrong, starting with simply brainstorming the newest tech, in the hope that the outcomes are relevant to their clients. Whilst this approach might be exciting, effective solutions are hard to come by."