What is in a Name?

"…That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

A brand is the distinguishing factor that sets one company apart from the rest. Whether it be a recognizable name or symbol, the brand image psychological symbolizes all the information and expectations associated with a company.

Bringing Good Things Back to Life
When CEO Jeffrey Immelt took over leadership of GE in 2001, he felt that the company’s brand image needed a face lift. With its stock lagging and its reputation polluted, Immelt felt the need to make GE hot again. Therefore, he hired Judy Hu as global executive director for advertising and branding for the Connecticut-based conglomerate in 2002.

Hu quickly put her gears in motion as she undertook a study of peoples’ impressions of GE. Of the people surveyed, the majority associated the company’s brand with “light bulbs and appliances—or their mother’s kitchen,” according to Hu. Since GE is much more than kitchen appliances, Hu wanted to create a brand image that could incorporate all of GE’s assets, including its stake in entertainment, nuclear reactors, jet engines and medical-imagining equipment, while Immelt wanted the world to see GE as an eco-innovator.

However, the company’s previous slogan “We bring good things to light” was ranked number four by BusinessWeek and Interbrand behind Coca-Cola, Microsoft and IBM. Surpassing such an iconic image would be difficult in itself, especially without tarnishing GE’s company image. Yet, Hu took the challenge head on and came out victoriously with two award-winning ad campaigns, "Imagination at Work" and "Ecomagination".

GeoTerra Makes Going Green Fun
In order to relay GE’s new message to the public, Hu headed a campaign of television, print and online ads that launched in 2003. These ads humorously targeted business executives, but also appealed to regular people too. Secondly, Hu introduced the Ecomagination campaign, which I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, in order to illustrate Immelt’s push to make GE a cleaner, greener and more profitable company.

One way GE’s public relations people relayed this message to the public was by creating the GeoTerra online game. Hu and her team felt that most publicity around environmental themes were too negative, therefore her team created games that people would enjoy. On GeoTerra, internet junkies could go green by utilizing GE technologies, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and wind turbines, helping the island go green.

As another PR tactic came from Immelt himself when he announced, through a podcast, that the company’s Ecomagination campaign would focus technology, manufacturing and infrastructure capabilities to develop tomorrow's solutions such as solar energy, hybrid locomotives, fuel cells, lower-emission aircraft engines, lighter and stronger materials, efficient lighting and water purification technology.

CEO Jeffrey Immelt speaks about GE

Conveying an Image
Creating a successful brand image takes lots of time, extensive research and hard work. Immelt and his PR people wanted to bring GE back to its roots as a company defined by innovation in all spheres. GE’s new campaigns were designed to draw attention to their wide spectrum of innovation in areas ranging from appliances, medical and financial services to aerospace and biotech. These campaigns conveyed that GE was just as innovated as their motto “Imagination at work” stated. Nonetheless, the reality of GE’s campaigns were not to simply create warm fuzzy feelings for the company, but to achieve real business results. Coming from a true capitalist himself, “Green is green. What we're doing isn't charitable. It's about increasing revenues in an environmentally friendly way" CEO Jeffrey Immelt.

It's been awesome blogging for you. I hope you found my blogs attention-grabbing, or fascinating at least. However, I must move on with my life. Although jet engines and technological jargon is quite interesting, I need a little excitement in my life. Happy Holidays. Peace out cyber pals! -GEewhiz

Crisis: Obstacle or Opportunity?

"There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full."
- Henry Kissinger

Crises Mode

Crisis management is when an organization deals with a major unpredictable event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. Companies can view a crisis in two ways: as an obstacle or an opportunity. Like most major companies these days, GE has suffered its own crises. From the downward spiral of the economy to being reprimanded for polluting the environment, GE has tried to turn obstacles into opportunities.

The Crisis
Like I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, GE has dumped over 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls or PCB’s into the Hudson River. New York State took GE to court and won, exposing GE for many years of pollution. After fighting it tooth and nail, GE was mandated to dredge the Hudson River in three locations. From 1990 to 2005, GE spent more than $122 million on public relations, lobbying and legal efforts to fight their demand to clean up the 3 locations they contaminated with PCB’s. The nation’s biggest Superfund site is a 200-mile stretch of the Hudson River, located in Upstate New York.

Covering It Up
GE’s public relations tactics were to spend one billion dollars on addressing PCB issues and launch its “Ecomagination” campaign, which I believe is a perfect example of modern day propaganda. This cleverly designed campaign was GE’s way of presenting itself to the public as an environmentally conscious business, embracing pollution free policies and “Go Green” methods. Here GE acted reactively, but it actually played out quite nicely for them. Healthy public relations enabled GE to be viewed as a strong and respected voice in the industry, and considerate about the community.

Watch this video about GE's Ecomagination campaign!!

The Aftermath
Many people disagree with the way GE responded to this crisis. Patricia Daly, coalition director of the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment said the money GE spent could “have gone a long, long way in cleaning up the problem” in the Hudson, “had it not been wasted on PR, lobbying and courtroom delaying tactics.” In 2005, the EPA estimated that the dredging of toxic sediment would cost approximately $700 million by the time the project was finished. However, after an agreement was reached between GE and the state of New York, GE is only obligated for the dredging costs within the first year. Therefore the company could potentially avoid $600 million in cleanup costs, according to EPA spokesman Leo Rosales.

If It Were My Choice…
I am bias on this particular topic since it pertains to my hometown. Part of dealing with crisis management is anticipating a crisis and being prepared when one hits. Personally, I believe GE’s PR people did not anticipate this crisis or adequately research the possible environmental issues that the company might encounter. GE is a multi-national power house who produces (emphasis on produces) heavy machinery and power plants across the country. Obviously, they are going to create some sort of pollution, be that air or water. If I worked for GE I would have heavily researched how GE pollutes the environment, not just to be prepared for when a crisis occurs, but with intentions of correcting it before the crisis could hit. As the saying goes; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! In addition, I strongly agree with Patricia Daly. I would have advised GE management not to fight the court cases or the accusations. I would have told them to model the Tylenol incident and take responsibility for their actions and clean up the Hudson River. However I do believe the “Ecomagination” campaign was a great idea to boost company moral and image.

Thought I'd leave you with a laugh. Happy Thanksgiving, GEewhiz!!!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Even the Best Teams Fumble
The typical offensive goal of a company is to score shareholder points. To do this a company must not only perform well in the market, but also blitz the income statement and balance sheet with fair and reliable audit figures, providing evidence to the eligible receivers that they will benefit from blowout investments. This camaraderie between the company and the financial community is known as investor relations.

According to GE’s latest annual report, it must have been a scramble for the special teams (or PR people) to scout out extra points for shareholder value. With the economy in its current state, The Generals are only one of many corporations who have suffered major sacks in profit.

“2008 was a tough year, and we expect 2009 to be even tougher,” stated Head Coach Jeffery Immelt, CEO of GE.

SEC & Form 10-k – Hike!
All publicly owned teams are responsible for producing a comprehensive report of their game plan throughout the preceding year. GE took this as a marketing opportunity. They gave shareholders and other interested fans information regarding their actions and financial performance in a quarterback sneak. Therefore, after searching from document to document, I found that there was way more than just an SEC and Form 10-k on GE’s website. It was a very analytical attempt on behalf of the PR people to explain GE’s current economic loosing streak. Although I believe GE’s PR people fully intended on being honest, they used many “forward-looking statements” within their annual report. That, intertwined with GE’s strategy of keeping shareholders and future rookies focused on a completion in future business and financial perforce of GE, was intended to keep shareowners in motion and driving to the end zone, rather than dwelling on the current economic crisis.

General Managers
Coach Immelt’s PR people have been sending signals throughout the company’s letter to their shareholders. However, the most frequently stressed defensive message is about the economy, referring to it as “a global financial meltdown.” With the economy in a recession, The Generals will focus on their innovativeness and diversified portfolio. They emphasize the importance of preparation for a difficult season in 2009 and how they can capitalize on their own wild card advantages, especially as a technological advanced corporation. The statement I found most reassuring, as a season ticket holder of GE stock, was that GE is looking at the economy crisis as a thrilling opportunity for a big win rather than overwhelming defeat. The overall tone of this letter was optimistic. After reading it, I felt very confident that the odds were in my favor and that my stock was invested on the favorite draft choice. GE’s PR people had just the right amount of gusto to keep me in possession of faith in the company.

NY Times Implies GE is in the Stability Zone
I reviewed a recently released post game report (news release) related to GE’s earnings and found the play by play slightly difficult to understand. Printed in the NY Times, the article was obviously well written and detail oriented, however my GE “jargon radar” suffered technical difficulties! Luckily, I did manage a few interceptions from the article such as; GE’s 2nd quarter profits were better than the 1st quarter and the 3rd quarter profits were better yet suggesting possible holding in the company and stabilization in the economy. The playoffs seem to be Industrial Business vs. Big Finance. Although GE’s earnings per share dropped 44% from last year, it was still 2 cents higher than analysts expected. Orders for industrial equipment are down but this decline seems to have slowed down considerably. Yet, the critical aspects of this article demonstrated that the highest earnings by GE were made up of almost a billion dollars of tax credit for the losses in their financial side of business, making gains less exciting. Revenue has fallen 20 percent, which was worse then expected on Wall Street. The NY Times encouraged investors to be critical about whether the higher than expected earnings were actually stable. Another unfavorable aspect of this article is GE’s decline in financial business such as commercial property, and home mortgage loans. GE is even considering a hail mary by selling their stake in NBC Universal. According to the article, “Analysts are closely monitoring G.E.’s quarter-by-quarter results for two things: evidence that its industrial business is reviving as the economy gradually recovers, and proof that the loan problems in the finance business are under control”.

Read Full Article Here

Game Notes
After reading this article, I felt that the NY Times tested my confidence as a shareholder in GE. Will it be the thrill of victory of the agony of defeat? While the PR people at GE instilled a sense of hope and optimism in the future of GE’s financial undertakings through their annual report and letter to shareowners, the NY Times made me weary about my investments in GE. Although the news release stated that GE does have a backlog of future orders that will raise revenue and earnings, such as the profit gain from the NBC Universal trade, the price of my stock is still down 14.88% this year and my team is losing.

Overall, I thought the unfavorable news was handled quite well by both parties. GE’s PR people told the truth, while looking at the economic crisis through a hopeful lens. If I were the PR person at GE I would not have done anything differently. The NY Times article also took the negative aspects of GE’s earnings and demonstrated that the company and the economy were both likely coming to a plateau. After analyzing all the game stats, I have decided that it is a good bet to back my team hoping for a first in ten rather then an incomplete pass!

Till next time, GEewhiz!!!

One Project, One Community at a Time

Community Relations is essentially a company’s involvement with the community in order to build acceptance and trust. Corporations accomplish this by not only writing a check or providing in-kind donations, but also contributing their time and energy to a community project. GE has an outstanding record of community relations. GE Volunteers are improving their communities by donating their time and money in community-based projects.

The Man of Steel
GE’s Volunteers Foundation provides over 1 million hours of community service a year. They call it volunteerism. This Foundation is made up of GE employees and retirees, who share a common goal of improving the communities in which they live and work by donating their time and money to community-based projects. There are more than 150 GE volunteer councils located in over 41 countries; each responsible for addressing serious social issues facing their communities. From providing the Bell Gardens Public Library of Los Angeles with a $10,000 grant, to funding two food banks in California and Florida GE has gone above and beyond supporting its community.

The GE Volunteers organization is the driving force behind all of GE’s community relations, including volunteer activities around the world. According to GE’s website, their aim is to focus their imagination and expertise in the areas of education, the environment, and community development to those most in need. To achieve their goals, GE celebrates ‘Global Community Days’ in which employees coordinate efforts company-wide to address urgent projects around the world. It appears that GE lives discretely amongst us humans, but thrives on the opportunity to save the world. Folks, it looks like we have a modern day Clark Kent here.

Video on GE Global Community Day

Planet PaintFest

Planet PaintFest is a global GE Volunteers Event in which more than 15,000 employee volunteers help paint over 350 color-coded murals that are donated to healthcare-related facilities. In partnership with The Foundation for Hospital Art, GE is able to “brighten up and improve the physical environment for the users of hospitals and other nonprofit organizations by providing unique, eye-catching artwork for those organizations.” When GE employees aren’t working, they’re putting their Van Gogh skills to the test by making the world a better place.

People Helping People
I was very fond of GE’s values towards community relations and their motto “one project, one community at a time.” This shows their determination to finish what they start and put their best effort forth. On their website, GE provides different case studies which give readers like me an opportunity to see the improvement GE has made in communities across the country. One specific case study that stuck out in my mind was Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina devastated areas of our country, killing many Americans and leaving others without basic necessities such as food, clothing and even homes. After her mom was hospitalized due to the disaster, GE employee Kay Erwin and her sister stayed behind at the disaster site to assist with communications, food preparation and water distribution. From a corporation stand point, the GE Volunteers Foundation established the Disaster Relief Fund to enable GE people to help their colleagues who are affected by natural disasters. GE provided $464,000 in 61 relief grants to affected GE employees, in direct relief such as housing and essentials. This case study was heart-melting. It is obvious, that GE has allocated time and thought into establishing community relations.

No One Likes a Penny Pincher
When it comes to asking for donations, GE is far from shy. Conveniently located on GE’s website is a link that you can click to make a donation towards the GE Volunteer Foundation. What I found most intriguing about this link was that those wishing to contribute to the foundation had options; the typical the cash donation or the donation of one’s assets such as a life insurance policy! What would drive a person to relinquish a life insurance policy? Last year GE earned $18 billion dollars; $19 billion in cash flow and $172 billion backlog in infrastructure products and services. What are they doing with this money? By donating to the GE Volunteers Foundation, you are insured that your donation will be dispersed in the form of grants to recipients sponsored by GE volunteers. However, over the last eight years the foundation has only provided approximately $750,000 to service projects, a fraction of what they make a year. In 2006, CEO Jeffery Immelt made over 8 million dollars alone. As a stockholder you want me to consider donating my life insurance policy? Ha

Happy Halloween!! GEewhiz

Denial: It's Not Just a River in Egypt

When it comes to informing the public of an organization’s missions, policies and actions a company must think strategically in order to make the right move. It’s in that crucial moment that a company must act, in a consistent and credible manner, or else they might just lose their king.
GE’s mantra: “We bring good things to life” embodies it technological ingenuity, however it falters in many other categories. Each time GE is confronted with criticism, they launch another heartwarming ad of them lending a helping hand to third world nations and relishing in its technological advancements. Behind their public relations masquerade, we gain a completely different understanding of GE and what it brings to the world.

And Honestly, I’m Down Like the Economy
When it comes to addressing GE’s latest financial undertakings, PR practitioners look to CEO Jeffery Immelt to give Americans some peace of mind. According to the Harvard Business Review, Immelt wrote that GE and other U.S.-based multinational companies’ growth will depend on “reverse innovation,” or developing products in emerging countries such as China and India. Immelt’s bright idea is to develop products in these low-cost countries and then distribute them worldwide. Products like a $1,000 handheld electrocardiogram portable device and a $15,000 personal computer based ultrasound machine. This will allow GE to expand into emerging countries and keep firms there from creating similar products, then expand sales into the U.S.

This reverse innovation gave GE a chance to act proactively by communicating their belief directly to the media. I highlighted Immelt’s key message, “Success in developing countries is a prerequisite for continued vitality in developed ones.” GE’s PR people have done a great job relaying his message to different media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal. This is a perfect example of how GE enhances its reputation and promotes its mission.

Proud as a Peacok
Heck, if reverse innovation doesn’t bring GE out of its deficit they could always sell part of its NBC Universal unit to Comcast for about 30 Billion. According to Bloomberg.com (full article), Comcast and GE are in cahoots about forming a joint venture that would own NBC Universal. If talk is true, Comcast will soon own more than 50 percent of the film, broadcast and cable-television business. With all that money GE could cover its full dividend again. However, GE spokeswoman Anne Eisele, NBC spokeswoman Allison Gollust and Comcast spokeswoman D’Arcy Rudnay all declined to comment.

In this situation, it would appear that the cat was almost out of the bag. Although no comment sounds completely sketchy on their part, we wouldn’t want them to break cardinal rule number one about media relations: HONESTY!

Battle Royale

Are Jeffery Immelt and NBC waging war against media companies? Sources from Nielsen Business Media believe that Immelt ordered his news operations to be less critical of President Obama. Word then spread across liberal and conservative websites that Immelt put a GE company-wide ban of all advertising and editorials of Nelson Business Media, in response to their investigation. After reading internet blogs, GE’s Executive Director of Corporate Communications, Gary Sheffer, responded in Immelt’s defense by saying that “Immelt had no involvement with this matter.”

Having someone else comment on your behalf looks foolish, Immelt should have made the time for a press conference with the local media. However, Sheffer acted reactively to the reporters’ questions and allegations, which thankfully cleared the air before a crisis occurred. Future reference: don’t send someone else to do your dirty work!

American Impoverishment
“At GE, we believe ideas are limitless. Every day, we go to work innovating, inventing and building the advanced technologies that are creating jobs and redefining what’s possible. We call it the American Renewal”(Message found on the innovation page of GE’s website). Is GE constantly creating jobs and redefining what’s possible? Let’s take a look at the facts… GE hasn’t received a single locomotive order from any North American business yet this year. Their transportation division is calling for a “tough” and “bleak” railroad market through 2010. In February, GE announced it would be making 350 permanent job cuts and placed 1,200 workers on hold. How did Stephan Kolier, GE spokesperson for transportation division respond to this statement? “There is a likely hood of more permanent layoffs.” Exactly what every employee wants to her from their employer.

And the good news keeps on coming…GE Transportation CEO Lorenzo Simonelli verified what people were thinking for weeks, that the General Electric plant in Erie will permanently layoff nearly 1,500 local workers. YourErie.com argued, “You can't layoff this many highly paid workers, from Erie’s largest employer, and somehow escape the economic affects of this announcement today.”

Terrible idea for GE to go public about employee layoffs, why not release this information solely in an intranet or company news letter instead? Nobody wants to get stabbed in the back.

Thanks, GEewhiz!

Weaving the Web of Social Media

I believe there is a correlation between social media and the child’s book Charlotte’s Web. Remember back when you were a kid and your kindergarten teacher read to you the award-winning novel Charlotte’s Web? It was a classic tale about a pig named Wilbur and his new found friendship with a spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur’s life was endangered, Charlotte, the great pal she was, used her web to persuade the farmer to let Wilbur live. How does this relate to social media you ask? Cleverly enough, Wilbur’s threatened life is equivalent to that of a corporation who resists the online fad we call social networking and blogging. However, with a little persuasion from Charlotte’s “Web” (no pun intended) the corporation’s way of life can be preserved. More so, as many folks are taking a liking to social networks (Myspace, Facebook and Twitter) social media can be a huge advantage to those corporations daring enough to take the leap.

Oh What a Web We’ve Weave
Now that story time is over, let’s get down to business. The question that I am posing today is whether or not GE has used social media effectively. After doing my own research, I decided that GE is making strides in the right direction. They have slowly moved away from the old-fashioned means of communication, like press releases and investor briefings, and started a company blog called GEReports.com to share their news with investors. However, the pessimistic side of me picked away at the website’s structure. At first glance it looked cluttered, especially the sidebar. It also had all this techno-jargon which was hard for a dimwit like me to understand. As an investor of GE, I immediately searched for a stock quote, but it was NO where to be found. I questioned: Was GE trying to hide the fact its stock value has dropped 80% since the year 2000? Or that they are trading under 20 dollars a share for the first time in decades? Next I selected the viewpoint labeled “Energy and Climate” and read aimlessly about how environmental and economic challenges in third world countries presented an exciting opportunity for GE to “do what they do best” and create an innovative way to bring clean water to families in Africa. Where was the talk of the water and air pollution GE has already created here, in the United States? As sensitive to the subject as I am, I clicked the viewpoint labeled “Hudson River Cleanup” and was happy to see that GE at least acknowledged this situation, as it affects my home town. However, there were no blog updates or progress reports regarding this issue. Good or bad, a blogs a blog, and GE has put forth the effort.

GE Hit the Multimedia Goldmine
GEReports.com was not all bad. I was thoroughly impressed at all the great links they had at the bottom of the site. YouTube, which is increasingly growing amongst young adults and senior citizens, also a core group within GE’s demographics, provides amazing behind the scenes footage of GE commercials, industrial equipment and healthymagination campaigns. I was extremly happy to see that GE chose Flickr. It is a wonderful, photo friendly website and social media. I think it’s the best way to share photos on the web and within the Flickr community. I will definitely be tapping back into that link to use pictures for later blogs. However, I couldn’t help but wonder where the link to Hulu was, seeing as how GE is now partners with the website. Hulu has a channel dedicated to News and Information, which GE should take advantage of, even if it’s only a place for advertisement.

Into the Twittersphere
I checked out GE’s twitter page, created by Megan Parker, and again was blown away by all the jargon. I immediately wondered what she got her degree in (thought for a second about switching my major to engineering) and then questioned whether or not she even understood the stuff she was tweeting. According to eMarketer.com, a research and analysis of digital marketing websites, 66% of people on Twitter are under the age of 25, while 15% of tweeters are between the ages of 25-29. My advice to Megan, and GE, is to make your tweets more generation friendly. People in their twenties, excluding the geeky engineers, do not want to hear about a flash explosion blocker or industrial loan companies… Tell me about my stocks, healthcare and how GE is cleaning our environment. And for Pete’s sake please speak in English!
GE _Reports
Full Article by eMarketer

Get Hip or Get Out
Social media is the “cool” way of communicating with the now generation. According to the NY Times, the use of social media by people from ages 35 to 54 grew 60% in the last year. “Adults are just catching up to what teens have been doing for years,” stated Jeremiah Owyard, industry analyst. If GE wants to be successful it better “stay hip” to the social media.

Catch ya on the flip-side, GEewhiz!

Welcome to My New Innovation!

“Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Thomas Edison

General Electric was named 6th on Fortune 500’s annual ranking of America’s largest Corporations but it is number 1 on my priority list! I chose GE as the topic for my Corporate Relations class assignment because of its renowned ingenuity, questionable undertakings (considering my home town is located on the Hudson River), and the simple fact that my GE stockholder portfolio has plummeted. I guess you can say I am already well invested in this conglomerate!

About the company
General Electric leads the technological industry as it develops products such as jet engines, gas turbines and even medical imagining equipment. According to Wikipedia, Forbes ranked GE as the world’s largest company, with 323,000 employees worldwide in 2009. GE has even broken the media barrier with an 80 percent stake in NBC Universal, making it a driving force in television and film. Additionally, NBC Universal’s recent partnership with the News Corporation to form Hulu.com, a video-streaming website, GE has now immersed into the world of online entertainment. As a Communications student, in future blogs I will be taking a further look into GE’s successes and or failures within the social media network.

GE: Friend or Foe
GE has much to boast about when it comes to lending a helping hand, or a couple million dollars. From providing company bailouts to its bountiful contributions to the United States health care market, GE looks philanthropic on the outside. One should give kudos to GE’s public relations people for doing such a spectacular job in this category. However, some of what GE’s publicists and image consultants aren’t saying is that from 1947 to 1977 GE dumped an estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson. Or that on April 11th, 2008 GE’s stock (NYSE-GE) plunged 13% to $32.05, devastating investors like myself. Not to mention, it erased about $47 billion in market value and put a big cut in the company’s annual earnings forecast. This stock decline was recorded as the worst for GE since the stock market crash of 1987.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Throughout this semester I will be taking a look at how GE communicates their reputation, emphasizing the positive and minimizing the negative (if they even address the negative at all) through different media outlets. I also want to uncover the challenges and opportunities that exist for the PR people at GE for improving the company’s reputation. And lastly, as a future public relations practitioner, I will take a look at GE’s job market, including new promotions and daily earnings.

Watch this!!

My intentions for this blog are to be witty and creative. It is not meant to offend the geeky, analytical type (aka GE’s target audience), but my plan is to look at the company through a somewhat critical lens, while playing the Devil’s Advocate. Sincerely yours, GEewhiz!