GE Medical Systems

Interactive/Employer Branding

SITUATION

GEMS needed to attract technology professionals in an unusually tight labor market. They were up against countless high-tech firms, many of which were seemingly more “exciting” to technology professionals. GEMS needed to create a unique, memorable, and appealing brand within the recruitment arena, while maintaining the integrity of the established brand, and the look and feel of their corporate parent: the General Electric Company.

STRATEGY/SOLUTION

Working with the GEMS team, we recognized that GEMS had a strong market position to build upon: work done at GEMS is work that can have a significant positive impact on humankind. In addition, we recognized a real potential to leverage “We Bring Good Things to Life.”

“Save Lives” was selected as the theme that most clearly positioned GEMS as a high-tech, global company in the business of “creating the technology to help save lives.” We demonstrated how this could be creatively implemented across the board, in a highly targeted media mix encompassing not only newspapers, trade journals and the Internet (both general and health care specific sites), but also billboards, airport dioramas, radio, on-screen cinema, and transit advertising vehicles. This included creating and developing the GEMS recruitment Web site (http://savelives.gecareers.com), a Six Sigma-based project completed on an aggressive timeline. The GEMS Web site incorporated the “Save Lives” theme, and is truly a global product, with specific sites branching off for the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

THE RESULT

Ground-breaking “Save Lives” creative has provided GEMS with a true “branding” which clearly and effectively communicates their selling points to potential candidates, and has been embraced globally. In the first year alone, the “Save Lives” Web site delivered a 300% increase in resume submissions, resulting in a savings of $332M in search firm fees.