In November of 2021, GE announced its decision to split into three separate companies - GE HealthCare, GE Aerospace and GE Vernova - to drive greater focus, tailor capital allocation, and improve strategic flexibility. With Interbrand leading the brand strategy and visual identity work, we were brought in to focus on implementing the GE HealthCare brand. It was our job to help them with a realistic, yet impactful plan for how they were going to launch and migrate their new brand.
Experience gave us an edge when it came to moving GE HealthCare quickly through the brand implementation planning process. Due to timing, we had to reverse engineer our typical process. We started by presenting leadership with an implementation hypothesis inclusive of prioritized workstreams and timing as well as resourcing recommendations. From there, we validated the plan with key stakeholders to ensure alignment on an implementation strategy and provide a clear understanding of what to expect leading up to launch and beyond.
TenTen executed the creative production and signage, designed the system extension and guidelines, and generated templates for various formats and collateral.
Ongoing brand management was critical in GE HealthCare's decentralized organization. We equipped the client with training materials and extensive guidelines as well as ongoing consultation to help them solve one-off design issues as the brand was put into action. Supporting them through the implementation process enabled us to confidently produce an acquisition playbook with clear direction on integrating future acquisitions while maintaining brand integrity. We also advised on the role of a global brand team, defining how to support business units from a central brand position.
Spinning off GE HealthCare meant building a business and a brand from the ground up. The historic GE brand identity had only seen minor color modifications since 1986, and now this new business had a brand identity of its own to bring to market in the most effective way. Layer on resource constraints and a tight timeline and they had a big undertaking on their hands. The GE HealthCare team was looking for a partner who could offer specific experience, augment their internal team, and provide direction on how to get started, who to reach out to, and when.
By working quickly and strategically to validate our hypotheses, we helped GE HealthCare launch with priority branded touchpoints and critical communications that allowed them to be operational in a short period of time. To prioritize efforts for the client team, Interbrand, and ourselves, we outlined the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for launch day success, then established a rolling approach for the remaining workstreams. With just 1.5 months spent planning and 1.5 months spent executing prior to launch, GE HealthCare was able to confidently come forward with meaningful proof points for launch day and a comprehensive plan for transitioning everything else in a timely manner.
“We had to be very clear about the fact that we were a new company, and we had a new logo and visual identity to show for it. From an implementation standpoint, this meant that we needed to change everything the brand touched to signal transformation.”
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Interbrand and GE HealthCare were awarded the Transform North America Grand Prix award for the new brand as part of a celebration of rebranding and brand identity. Interbrand’s vision to focus on the spirit of bold exploration also earned the project three Golds and one Silver in various creative categories including Best of Brand Implementation.
