Simon Sinek presented a memorable Ted Talk in 2009 explaining how Apple and other companies were able to relate to customers so well, to encourage those customers to believe in the company and then to get them to become loyal customers. He presented the idea that “it’s not what you do but why you do it.” Essentially, Simon Sinek presented the idea that, when companies have similar quality levels, customers are loyal to one company over another because it has the same values as them. GE is attempting to leverage this theory by creating ads that don’t focus so much on the company’s products as much as the company’s beliefs.
GE created a series of commercials depicting the values of those customers–a compilation of those different ad versions is pictured to the left. The technology company created a storyline for each of the different characters in the ads. One of the characters is an elderly women going to see her grandson in a play. Another is a body in an emerging economy who strives to do well in school. The third version is of a mother with a premature baby who is finally able to take her baby out of the incubator and bring her home. All of these ads mention the GE technology that helps the character’s dreams come true but it doesn’t go into the details of the technology. This is a very smart approach as customers shop for products that will satisfy their needs and wants. They are not very concerned with the specs because they are not experts in those fields and thus don’t necessarily know what’s good and what’s bad. They just know what works and what doesn’t.
Through this ad, GE wasn’t trying to push a product. Instead, they we trying to raise awareness for their brand. The technology company makes various products, both for consumers and for businesses. Thus, the goal is to get viewers to align themselves with the brand. Then, when they go shopping for a washer and dryer, example, and they see the GE logo, they will feel a sense of connection to the brand and will be more likely to pick that product even if it might be priced a bit higher. Customer loyalty is clearly the goal of this ad because it ends with People are why we do things. Obviously, the company is saying: believe in us because we care about you.
The ad campaign ran during the Olympics. While it may seem that GE didn’t segment their customers at all and didn’t consider the types of viewers of the Olympics, this is actually the perfect audience for GE. Due to its many products, the company is targeting everyone all around the world. GE is hoping to raise brand awareness and brand loyalty for customers in all of their international markets. This is why, I believe that GE thought about their long-term strategy when it decided to launch this global ad campaign. While advertising at the Olympics is expensive, if your target market is the whole world, advertising at the Olympics may actually save costs compared with making advertising deals in each country where GE has a presence.
Did you see this commercial at the Olympics? What did you think of it?