The Campaign

Most people have heard of General Electric, but few could tell you exactly what they do. It may be one of the world’s oldest listed companies, but GE’s story is a complex one, encompassing innovation in a diverse range of fields – from healthcare, to aviation, to oil and gas. This breadth of expertise has created a challenge. GE has a lot of stories to share with many audiences. GE Global Reputation research data showed that the more familiar Business Decision Makers (BDMs) are with GE and its businesses - the more favorably they view the brand, and the more likely they are to purchase and recommend GE technology. GE found it was becoming harder to get their stories heard amongst BDMs through earned media channels. To drive engagement with the brand and conversation GE realised it had to stop relying on traditional media and become a publisher. In October 2013, we created a platform, GEreports.com.au. The content hub operates like a newsroom, publishing timely and relevant stories to engage readers around the ‘why’ and not just the ‘how’ of the company’s technologies. The content enhances the PR function and complements GE’s traditional media relations; providing additional insight and colour for business messages. Since launch, there have been more than 420,000 unique visitors. GEreports has impacted the brand’s Reputation Tracker, which shows increased familiarity and perception of GE as an innovative company.

The Brief

GE Global Reputation research showed the likelihood of BDMs to view GE as an innovative company increased when a BDM engaged with six or more communications from the brand. In order to enhance the businesses reputation as an innovative company, GE needed to create frequent and meaningful connections with its target audience. Over and above frequency, content mattered too. Brand Tracking demonstrated the BDMs who recalled content had a more positive perception of GE in Australia, particularly when it comes to trust. These insights were used as a north star in guiding the brand’s communications strategy.

Results

In the first six months (during a period of limited advertising) GEreports has made a positive impact on the brand’s reputation amongst BDMs. It contributed to: • A 22 point baseline increase in Brand Familiarity amongst BDMs • A 14 point increase in perception as an innovative company • A 27 point increase in brand trust • A 32 point increase in the number of BDMs who noted that GE in Australia is “a company you’ve been hearing more about lately.” GE has also seen changes in its external communications results: • Over 380,000 unique users resulting in over 900,000 page views of GEreports.com.au content • An increase in the number of local GE articles in Australian media from 19 per cent in Q1 2013 to 59 per cent in Q1 2014.

Execution

GEreports packages up stories of innovation from GE and the industries it works in into digestible pieces of compelling content. Like any great media outlet, stories are driven by trends, world events and reader interest in technology, innovation and local impact. The editorial team works like a newsroom, developing pre-planned content and real-time posts in response to the news cycle and social conversations. The content covers how GE and its partners are tackling some of the biggest challenges facing Australia, focusing on science, technology and innovation. In May 2014, a ‘Viewpoints’ section was introduced in response to successful reader engagement with op-ed pieces. The ‘Viewpoints’ section publishes Q&As with GE employees, its partners and industry experts. Content is amplified through earned media to drive engagement and build familiarity with the GE brand. Content supports media relations outreach, either as a standalone story pitch or to support business news and announcements.

The Situation

GE is steeped in history. Its founder, Thomas Edison, invented the lightbulb. GE is the oldest listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. In today’s world, GE continues to lead in innovation. GE has a diverse business portfolio and a significant footprint and investment in Australia – from long life intelligent machines connected to the cloud, through to ultrasounds that can be held in the palm of your hand. Demonstrating the breadth of innovation to BDMs from a variety of industries was a challenge for the brand in Australia. The business and brand reputation tracker pointed to a need for the American company to enhance its reputation as an innovative player in the Australian industry.

The Strategy

We realised that GE had to stop relying on traditional media alone to tell its stories and build its corporate reputation. The brand had to develop a content marketing strategy to enable it to become a publisher of its own stories to support its communications and earned media function. In short, GE became its own media company. In October 2013, launched its own storytelling platform - GEreports.com.au. GE partnered with the agency to create this content-first strategy. The GEreports editorial team joined forces to create an online content hub, and then worked together as a newsroom to develop the stories that live on it.