The Campaign

Challenge - GE has been transforming healthcare, transportation and power in rural India for over 20 years. Despite this, GE is still widely perceived as an American company whose technology is not relevant to grassroot India. It was our task to address this issue and Indianize GE. Objectives - To make influencers, government decision makers and the public at large aware of GE's commitment towards India and its deep social footprint. Strategy and Execution - To showcase the positive impact of GE's technology on rural India, we decided to collaborate with artists from these communities. A campaign created by these rural artists would be the greatest proof of their commitment to India. We encouraged them to use their own unique art forms to express themselves and depict how GE's technology was improving their lives. Outcome - The result of this collaboration was a stunning campaign that used four indigenous art forms and depicted grassroot change in the most amazing and simplistic way. The media picked up this campaign immediately and described it as a refreshing campaign from a company that was perceived as an American multinational but will now be seen as a lot more Indian! The campaign is still on and will continue till end August.

The Brief

In the last few years, GE was mostly adapting and running its international campaigns in India and as a result, consumer research was telling us that the public perception of GE was that of an American Multinational that's not deeply connected to rural India's development. perhaps it was time to change that. We needed a campaign that could effectively Indianize GE and change the widespread perception that it's not deeply committed to India's growth story.

Results

This campaign effectively repositioned GE as an Indian company, committed to India's progress at the grassroots level. The campaign was instrumental in shaping the opinions of Government bureaucrats and policy makers who have the authority to engage GE in big developmental projects. Generated huge interest in the media about GE's work in India. Got extensive coverage across publications and websites. FirstPost commented on the campaign - 'GE is instantly less an American multinational and more a multinational that understands India.' Revived mainstream and commercial interest in marginalised art forms like Gond, Madhubani, Saura and Kutch patchwork and opened up opportunities to folk artists to exhibit their work in urban art galleries.

Execution

The campaign rolled out in April 2012 with Print ads in the biggest National and regional dailies in India. The impact was instant as these illustration styles were refreshing and not overused in mass media. We followed it up with a burst in magazines along with innovations in digital media. The banners were visible on the most popular search engines and social media sites. Soon we added to the campaign by launching the outdoor billboards, translites, building wraps, bus wraps and airport installations. Starting July, a TV commercial went on air and the campaign will be visible on media till end August.

The Situation

GE has had a long and productive association with India. They have been transforming healthcare, transportation and power in rural India for over 20 years. Despite this, they are still widely perceived as an American company whose technology is not relevant to grassroot India. Interestingly GE was mostly adapting and running its international campaigns in India and perhaps it was time to change that. We needed a campaign that could effectively Indianize GE and change the widespread perception that it's not deeply committed to India's growth story.

The Strategy

What if the campaign was not created by an ad agency, but by the indigenous communities whose lives GE impacted? That would be the greatest proof of GE's commitment to India. To showcase the positive impact of GE's technology on rural India, we decided to collaborate with artists from these communities. We encouraged them to use their own unique art forms to express themselves and depict how GE's technology was improving their lives. Over 3 months, we went out and worked closely with these tribal artists in far flung areas. The process was tedious as we wanted the art to be a true reflection of the change in their society and how GE had enabled that positive outcome.