Creative talent platform Working Not Working has released its annual report listing the top 50 companies creatives want to work for.
Ranking No. 1 this year is Google, which received the most votes from the 6,712 creatives in the WNW community who participated in the survey. Google overall fared well, with its in-house agency, Google Creative Lab landing at No. 8 and Google Brand Studio at No. 29.
Non-agency companies dominated the top 10. Nike and Apple followed at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Netlflix was No. 5, Spotify No. 7 and Airbnb No. 10.
Wieden & Kennedy, which ranked No. 4, was the only creative agency in the top 10. The other slots were filled by design and branding firms: Pentagram was No. 6 while Ideo landed in the No. 9 spot.
Out of all 50 top companies, only 10 of those were creative agencies. Along from W&K, those included Droga5 (No. 13), 72andSunny (No. 17), R/GA (No. 22), Mother (No. 25), BBDO (No. 27), Huge (No. 37), Ogilvy (No. 40), Anomaly (No. 45) and TBWA/Chiat/Day (No. 46).
Seventeen companies appeared on the list for the sixth year in a row since WNW introduced the ranking in 2015. Along with Top 10 winners Google, Nike, Apple, W&K, Pentagram, Ideo, Airbnb, 10 other companies made the list all six years: 72andSunny, BBDO, Buck, Disney, Droga5, Mother, Patagonia, Pixar, R/GA and Tesla.
Seven companies made the list for the first time, three in entertainment (A24, Cartoon Network and Marvel), three publishers (The New York Times Magazine, Conde Nast and its fashion brand Vogue), as well as The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Where do respondents see the greatest opportunity to do creative work? Almost 44 percent of them said freelancing offered the most creative opportunities, while 20 percent identified working internally at larger brands and 19 percent working internally at smaller brands. Just 11 percent said the most creative opportunities would be “in-house with agencies.”
The Working Not Working community comprises more than 80,000 freelance and fulltime creatives across different industries in more than 130 countries. The survey is not pay-for-play and those who participate write in their answers, versus choosing from a pre-selected list.
