General Electric

LifeAfter is General Electric’s New Podcast

~ jen

lifeafter-logoGE Podcast Theater is an experimental partnership in branded podcast production between General Electric, Panoply, and the BBDO advertising agency. GE Podcast Theater has launched a new podcast called LifeAfter.  It comes after the first GE Podcast Theater podcast, The Message, but is not a sequel.

LifeAfter is a 10 episode thriller. The main character is Ross, who is a low level employee at the FBI. Ross spends his days conversing online with his wife Charlie – who died eight months ago. The technology behind this digital resurrection leads Ross down a dangerous path that threatens his job, his life, and maybe even the world.

New episodes of LifeAfter will be release every Sunday. At the time I am writing this blog, there is an introductory episode and LifeAfter episode 1 available.

The Message website has a disclaimer that clarifies that the medical technologies and treatments that are in the podcast are fictional. There is a link to where people can learn more about the real technology that GE is working on in the ultrasound therapy space. In other words, The Message was, essentially, a creative form of advertisement that didn’t feel like an ad.  The unexpected popularity of The Message is potentially what made LifeAfter possible.

General Electric has a Sci-Fi Podcast

~ jen ~ 1 Comment

The Message podcast logoGeneral Electric has created a science-fiction podcast called The Message. The first episode was released on October 4, 2015, and more episodes will follow. The podcast tells the story of Nicole Tomalin, as she tries to decode a 70-year old message from outer space. She works for an encryption think tank called Cypher, and has just started working there.

The Message podcast is science fiction. However, it is presented in a way that could easily cause people to immerse themselves in the story and suspend their disbelief for a while. The first episode begins with “I’m Nicole Tomalin, and you’re listening to Cyphercast”.

Yes, that means The Message podcast (which is from General Electric) is presented from as Cyphercast, which is the fictional podcast of the fictional main character. Reuters reports that the cryptologist characters in The Message podcast use real ultrasound technology, that has actually been developed by General Electric, to decode the messages.

Reuters reports that the reason why General Electric wanted to do this podcast was in the hopes that it would raise its profile among a younger, tech-savvy, audience. The Message podcast is being produced by General Electric and in partnership with The Slate Group’s podcast network Panoply. Each episode will be between 40 and 60 minutes long and advertisement free. It is available through The Message website, and on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Overcast, and TuneIn.