GE on Wednesday ran a one-day digital and social effort to show off its super materials.
Called #SpringBreakIt, GE is using video from its test labs to demonstrate the durability of products used in making jet engines. It also shows how ordinary objects like teapots, ice and CDs fare when put through the same tests.
The social component is running only on Wednesday, with GE tweeting back to fans who use the #SpringBreakIt hashtag. Users of the hashtag will receive GE video on their Twitter handles and can also check out content on GE's Tumblr page.
To participate, fans can visit www.SpringBreakIt.com or follow @GeneralElectric. YouTube, Vine, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn are also being used as part of the effort.
"Our brand story focuses on what GE is doing to solve the world's toughest problems. Materials science is a huge part of being able to build machines and solutions that were previously unimaginable," said Linda Boff, GE's executive director, global brand marketing. "A topic like advanced materials affects everyday consumers, but they may be less aware of how it impacts them. We want to shed some light on this area and get people as excited as we are about the potential super materials have on innovation."
GE used creative work from Stockton & Stockton, not its agency of record, BBDO. The company was looking to "work with a mix of creative partners across our channels," according to Ms. Boff. "It gives us more bandwidth plus a variety of points of views to run higher volumes of programming throughout the year. We love both partners -- our goal is to divide and conquer and always have the ability to produce new compelling content quickly."
The agency's CEO, Philip Stockton, said the video was creating using slow-motion and infrared cameras to give viewers different visual angles.
"Our goal was to showcase how extreme these tests can get by highlighting the beautiful aspects of destructive testing on everyday objects," said Mr. Stockton.
Some educational materials will remain live on www.SpringBreakIt.com after Wednesday's effort.
