By Ed Lowcock, Account Director, Good Relations
Being one of the world’s foremost technology companies provides something of a thought leadership conundrum for General Electric – it has multiple sectors, all with wildly different challenges and opportunities, to bring under one all-encompassing communications umbrella.
It has other initiatives that touch the different strands of the business, such as its Ecomagination strategy, but it is its Txchnologist site – a microsite packed to the brim with captivating content – that really stands out as a top thought leadership platform.
Developed in partnership with Business Insider, the microsite draws its audience in with GIFs of a small robot with a plant on its back searching for sunlight and a beating heart as it is delivered to a waiting patient. With such compelling content throughout the site, it becomes an easy to view, shareable outlet for unique news; just the sort of platform that future leaders of science and technology businesses might find interesting.
Importantly, Txchnologist reflects a basic point of view – one that almost reads like a mission statement;
“We offer an optimistic, but not utopian, take on the future and humanity’s ability to tackle the great challenges of our era through industry, technology and ingenuity. We examine ideas that will shape societies, from the developing world to our frenetic and growing cities.”
All content supports this and, by extension, the notion that GE is a true authority on the many innovations on display.
Centred around nine key topics – Earth, Space, Materials, Life & Nature, Energy, Building, Transportation, In Theory and Computers – Txchnologist also has a clear strategic purpose for GE. Each topic features services offered by GE itself, reminding all buyers that it not only understands the challenges ahead, but also that its depth of knowledge and attention to detail outstrips its competitors.
Too often thought leadership avoids detailed examples, instead favouring grandiose views of industry. GE and Txchnologist show that practical views and content, which are of genuine interest to the target audience, can be all that is needed to launch a truly great thought leadership platform. It shows us that sometimes it’s OK to handover the stage to the geeks at the expense of the gurus.
Take a look at Txchnologist and let us know what you think. Or perhaps you’ve seen other interesting sites with a different take on thought leadership? Let us know.
If you are interested in finding out more about how thought leadership could work better for you, join our LinkedIn group, and if you would like to attend one of our events, contact Holly on hdedman@goodrelations.co.uk