GE launches original six-part Australian podcast, Decoding Genius
Industrial conglomerate GE has launched its first Australian podcast series, exploring the lives of six young innovators across Australia, Canada and the US.
In collaboration with Made by Fairfax, the six-part series was made available last week, the first episode reaching number eight on the iTunes charts within 24 hours.
The latest podcast is the first locally produced and created series for the global giant, and was made following the success of last year’s US based sci-fi podcast ‘The Message’.
Joanne Woo, director of communications, GE Australia and New Zealand praised the quality of local creatives and producers.
“Decoding Genius is our first Australian production. We are particularly proud of it because it’s an Australian produced and created podcast that will hit global channels,” Woo said.
“The fact we have been able to create and produce a podcast that is globally scalable and has global resonance speaks to the quality of talent and the creativity that we’ve got in Australia.”
Hosted by Aussie mathematician and numeracy ambassador Lily Serna, the program explores the science and stories of three young Australians as well as two Canadians and one American.
Lily Serna, Mathematician and host of GE podcast Decoding Genius
Australian talent includes Mitchell Clark, a Perth based high school student running his own IT company, Dr Jordan Nguyen who built a mind-controlled wheelchair, and Ivan Zelich, a 17-year-old mathematician from Brisbane.
Woo believes the unique personalities introduced through the podcast set the program apart from other competitors in the global podcast space.
“What sets this podcast apart is that we are looking really closely into the lives of six remarkable young people, hearing about their amazing stories. Ultimately, as a listener you feel great because you know the world is in good hands,” she said.
Woo added GE was one of the first brands to jump into the local podcast arena, describing the space as an area of “untapped potential” for marketers.
“It’s the only branded content that has been featured in the top 10 list, a storytelling podcast for a brand created by a brand has made it to the top 10.”
“As brands we can connect more with audiences by telling compelling stories and inspiring audiences through these stories. For GE, we see our role as an expansive brand to get our people excited about science and technology, and one of the best ways to get people excited is to tell amazing stories of the breakthrough we are seeing.”
Joanne Woo, director of communications, GE ANZ
Speaking about GE’s work alongside Fairfax’s creative agency for the first time, Woo said GE was pleased with the collaboration’s success and will “definitely” continue to work with them in future.
“We had a long-standing relationship with Fairfax over the past three years and we’ve had some successful media partnerships with them.
When they set up Made by Fairfax, their creative agency, we found that they had unique propositions by having that unique knowledge of publishing, and a deep knowledge of audiences as well as the creativity. We found that to be a really compelling reason for us to work with them.”
Woo said collaboration was key to coming up with the original idea.
“When you bring together really incredibly creative people, big ideas happen. Collaborations are important when it comes to creativity.”
While she admits the podcast space was a “no brainer” for GE, Woo warns marketers to think carefully about whether different media platforms work for their specific product.
“Don’t do podcasts for the sake of doing podcasts. Ultimately, it needs to be strategic, it needs to be about what is the story you want to tell, what your brand stands for, and what’s the best way of telling that story.”
