In late 2021, GE announced its plan to separate into three industry-leading, investment grade standalone public companies in healthcare, aviation and energy.
Amid the announcement, one burning question emerged: What will become of the GE brand?
Valued at almost $20 billion, GE is the only industrial company in the Top 40 Interbrand Global Brand Ranking. There was a strong sense of responsibility toward the future fate of the GE brand. We were being entrusted with a once-in-a-career opportunity to help write the next chapter in the story of a 132-year-old brand.
We embarked on a rigorous six-month exercise in which employees, customers and other stakeholders were interviewed to help us better understand the different perspectives and perceptions.
Each of the future companies would continue with the GE name and logo. The three companies will embody the DNA of Thomas Edison and the legacy of invention and innovation.
From there, we began to dive deeper: if each company would retain the GE name, how could we create a brand for each of them that would be unique, would draw on the legacy of invention and innovation, and also move them forward into a world of future possibilities?
The three companies will share a history. But, going forward into the future, the three companies will be independent of one another: each with a new company name, and a new brand strategy and architecture signaling a new beginning.
The result was “GE Vernova,” driving the decarbonization and energy transition; “GE Aerospace,” building the future of flight; and “GE HealthCare,” which is focused on precision health and patient outcomes.
As we stand today at the end of 2023, GE HealthCare has already become an independent company, and GE Aerospace and GE Vernova are on track to do the same in early 2024.
Globally respected
We wanted to convey a clear understanding of each new brand identity building on the brand’s equity, but to do so in a way that resonated and was relevant to different geographies and markets.
These are markets where we have decades of brand presence and work, where we have large footprints of facilities, technologies and people.
Our communication needed to convey the “why” behind the spin: both the value it would bring and the relevance to our audiences.
They needed to understand that this transformation would bring operational improvements, better speed and decision-making, more focused R&D, and more focused capital allocation, as well as generate greater value from a market and customer perspective in the three high-growth sectors.
Presenting the brands in a powerful and locally relevant way in each market required thoughtful and careful implementation. Leading our global muti-cultural teams to deliver on this mandate has been an incredible journey.
For example, GE Vernova’s brand color is “evergreen.” In China we had discussions on how to translate this in a way that would resonate. We landed on what translates in English as “Universal Jade”. In China, jade is a highly valued gemstone, and it represents green purity.
We wanted to express green in a Cathay style. The intent of “universal” is that we bring the green everywhere. In Chinese, it was important we adopt lyrical local language.
A legacy of sustainability
At GE, sustainability is core to our ethos and our operations, and so, from a communications and marketing point of view, it is part and parcel of our core narrative and that of the three independent companies.
This will be on display later this year, when the UAE hosts the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 28, in Dubai. As someone based in the UAE for more than 25 years and also responsible for GE communications at this event, it is clear that the UAE considers this a critical moment in the climate crisis and is working tirelessly with stakeholders around the world to create an environment where real progress can be made. The goal is a COP that is collaborative, inclusive, and action oriented.
Having worked for the company for almost 20 years, I have had the honor of shaping and building GE’s brand and reputation in the region and global markets. Change is constant at GE, and we thrive and grow with change. As Thomas Edison said, “the secret of success is focus of purpose”.
The three independent public companies – GE Aerospace, GE Vernova and GE HealthCare will progress towards a future of possibilities with focus of purpose and mission.
We recently produced the last “one company” GE film called Beautiful Law. Beautiful Law is an expression of GE’s DNA. The past and the future.
By Rania Rostom, Head of Global Communications & Marketing, GE
