Inside GE's Journey to 'Building a World That Works'

GE’s new tagline, “Building a World That Works,” had been in development long before Covid-19 hit. But as familiar systems ground to halt during the pandemic, the need to keep the world working—despite significant new barriers—became paramount. In this episode of On Brand, we speak to GE’s director of global brand, Zara Mirza, about the company’s new purpose—what it represents, how it’s being expressed in advertising, and how it became an rallying cry internally during one of the most challenging inflection points in the company’s history.

Timestamps:

• 1:47 – How WFH is going for Zara and her team.
• 5:11 – GE’s journey to a new corporate purpose in the past 16 months.
• 9:26 – A look at the company’s new ad campaign.
• 12:57 – Working with BBDO, and how the new spot was shot remotely.
• 16:42 – How the new positioning relates to the old one, “Imagination at Work.”
• 17:52 – How GE juggles mass advertising and targeted advertising.
• 22:21 – What the next 6-12 months look like for GE.

Every Thursday at 4 p.m., Clio president Nicole Purcell and I chat with top brand marketers—most of whom are still working from home—about the value of creativity, what they want from their agency and solution partners, how they’re shepherding their brands through Covid and beyond, and more. See all the On Brand episodes here.

If you’re a brand marketer who’d like to take part in the series, please get in touch.