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In 2007 General Electric Company began spotlighting monthly stories about innovation on its home page to expand consumers’ impression of GE beyond that of “the lightbulb maker” to a global company with a hand in technologies ranging from photovoltaic systems (for solar energy) to early-detection healthcare scanners. GE called on VSA Partners, with whom it had been collaborating on a variety of projects including the GE corporate site, to take on the challenge of creating an intriguing online experience that would expand brand perceptions.

Each of the GE.com Innovation features begins with an introduction on the home page. VSA built in functionality to refresh imagery and messaging on the home page when users revisit the site, leading them into one of the three main feature areas: Evolution, Innovation and Passion.

As the first Innovation feature VSA produced, the Aviation story focuses attention not only on GE’s history of groundbreaking technology, but also brings to life the passion GE’s employees have for aviation. “We wanted to underscore GE’s strong heritage of ingenuity in the aviation space and employees’ commitment and dedication to advancing the art of flight,” says VSA creative director Patrick Heick. “We wanted to work with the corporate and aviation teams to [emphasize] aviation inspiration and innovation through a rich storytelling experience.”

Aerial photography brought bird’s-eye perspective to what GE employees have accomplished, from the first turbosupercharger to the next-generation GEnx aviation engine. Supportive imagery and rich media helped further the story, told first person as well as through tightly crafted story “snapshots” of ongoing achievements. With these techniques, VSA portrayed what could have been just a timeline-type of story—how GE jet engines and technology have evolved over the past 90 years—through rich-media storytelling instead. “We thought that hearing about employees’ passion for what they do was the real through-line of GE’s aviation history,” explains Heick.

“We always enjoy what we learn about GE in the process of creating a feature,” says VSA project manager Elise Bittner, “and it was particularly gratifying with Aviation to immerse ourselves in their passionate culture.” Interestingly, the Aviation feature has since evolved into an effective recruiting tool, finding a second home on GE Aviation’s careers site. Terry Lee Stone

VSA PARTNERS | CREATIVE DIRECTOR: PATRICK HEICK | DESIGNER: HUGH CONNELLY | DEVELOPERS: BILL NORDSTOM, MATTIE LANGENBERG PROJECT MANAGER: ELISE BITTNER | WRITER: KATHY CHENG | CLIENT: GENERAL ELECTRIC | WWW.VSAPARTNERS.COM