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William Woduschegg, Executive Creative Director

Signaling a bold new era for an established leader

GE HEALTHCARE

GE HealthCare

Office: New York

When the 130-year-old corporate icon GE decided to spin off its healthcare operations, it needed a new brand identity that maintained over a century of heritage while simultaneously pushing the brand in a new direction. Interbrand worked with GE HealthCare as it became an independent company to reimagine its brand as more human-centric, innovative and bold. 

While GE has always been based in engineering, it moved beyond its original consumer product roots into diverse industries as it grew into a global conglomerate. In 2021, GE CEO Larry Culp announced that GE would take a focused approach moving forward, separating the business into three independent companies: Healthcare, Aviation and Energy.

GE HealthCare was the first company to spinoff, with work to prepare for the new brand launch beginning in April 2022 and additional work continuing past the company’s January 4, 2023 official listing date.

Interbrand took the core elements of the GE brand – including its iconic monogram – and created an entirely new wordmark and visual identity, spearheaded by the indelible, differentiating color of Compassion Purple. Interbrand also created a complimentary set of colors to evoke the diverse people, organizations and institutions that GE HealthCare serves. 

Our Approach

In evaluating the brand, one thing became clear: it was essential to retain the GE brand. The equity of the GE brand among employees and customers alike is highly valued and emotionally resonant. The Interbrand team knew that they had to retain this equity while signaling a new brand that could stand alone.

​GE HealthCare worked with Interbrand on a nine-month collaborative design and data-driven research process, which consisted of 20+ work streams including messaging, brand architecture, ESG, financial modeling, quantitative global research – looking at customer, investor, employee and stakeholder perceptions of the GE brand – and a global online feedback survey to engage its 50,000 employees.

“Our Purpose drives everything we do.”

Pete Arduini, CEO, GE HealthCare

Brand Purpose & Expression

As a new stand-alone healthcare company, a new purpose for GE HealthCare was essential. “Our Purpose drives everything we do,” said GE HealthCare CEO Pete Arduini when revealing the new purpose to GE global leaders in August 2022. “We had worked through several iterations of the purpose statement, but when we landed on this one, we knew we had nailed it.”

The new GE HealthCare’s purpose is To Create a World Where Healthcare Has No Limits. “Coming out of the pandemic, the disconnected nature of the healthcare system had been laid bare,” said Danielle Halstrom, GE HealthCare Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer. “As leaders we have an obligation to drive toward solutions.”

In addition to a powerful purpose, GE HealthCare is dedicated to leading the industry in improving precision care and connected care. That required visual and verbal experience principles that emphasized humanity over technology, compassion over efficiency, and putting providers and patients at the center of the brand. The new identity, with the iconic GE logo, combined with a modern wordmark treatment and the compassion purple color honors the brands heritage while signaling exciting new beginnings. This was reflected in photography that made people heroes and language that spoke with warmth and empathy.

The first test of the new brand was at healthtech’s biggest conference of the year: RSNA, held in Chicago in late November 2022. This test proved to be a great success, with the GE HealthCare team receiving countless positive reviews of their new presence. Excitement was building.

“As leaders we have an obligation to drive toward solutions.”

Danielle Halstrom, GE HealthCare Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer

Results

January 4, 2023 was the moment the new GE HealthCare brand was truly independent. That morning, Arduini rang the Nasdaq bell from GE HealthCare’s factory in Wakasha, Wisconsin, putting his people at the center of the launch. As GE HealthCare was officially listed as an independent company, over 50,000 employees globally joined in the festivities, celebrating a newly independent company that is truly for the people. GE HealthCare reached a valuation of $32 billion just one month after public trading commenced.

The new brand has been widely embraced by the organization and the communities it serves – underlining a bold new era in which GE HealthCare creates a world where healthcare has no limits.​

“[Interbrand’s] role was to bring patients, humanity and compassionate care to the center of our brand purpose and identity work.”

William Woduschegg, Executive Creative Director, Interbrand

GE HealthCare reshapes the industry around people, inventing tools that transform and humanize care, enabling healthcare professionals to go above and beyond.