GE?s aim is to make the public aware that it is not just a maker of light bulbs but also produces jet engines and other technology products.

?Mobile is another great way for us to ignite passion around science and technology and open the doors of GE,? said Katrina Craigwell, GE?s director of global content and programming.

?For us, mobile has been about where?s the audience going, what are the new platforms, the new channels and also the new technologies that are capturing the audience?s attention.? 

In addition to tapping mobile platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and Vine, GE is marketing itself through its application of virtual reality technology.

In November, GE used a headset developed by the virtual reality company Oculus Rift to design an immersive 3D virtual reality tour of the company?s new research center in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The Oculus Rift headset looks like a pair of ski goggles with a thick lens. Users who donned the headset experienced what it would be like to be in the pilot?s seat of a virtual Nautilus 1 submersible vessel. The submarine took them more then a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, above much-coveted oil deposits.

The Oculus Rift experience was a way for GE to take viewers into territory they would not normally visit. Traveling a mile down to the ocean floor, the experience highlighted the extreme environment that subsea technology must withstand, and shaped a vision for how a subsea factory will work in the future.

?It?s our job to increase the breadth and depth of what we do,? Ms. Craigwell said. 

?We want to reach consumers. We want to reach the public at large and talk about the future of science and technology.?

There is a short list of people who are going to buy a jet engine, she said. They are going to have teams who support them who are younger than them and talk about projects with colleagues who in turn will talk about it with their families. 

?There are a lot of different touch points where we can reach these decision makers who we?re selllng to,? Ms. Craigwell said. 

Besides GE, Mobile Marketer?s fourth annual Mobile FirstLook: Strategy 2015 conference featured speakers from Coca-Cola, Time Inc., Forrester Research, American Eagle Outfitters, eBay?s StubHub, Twitter, Yahoo?s Tumblr, Deloitte and The New York Times. 

The two-day New York event sought to help brands, retailers, ad agencies and publishers develop and implement mobile-surround strategies and tactics in 2015, a year where mobile integration into other channels and mediums will question orthodoxies in marketing and retail.

GE is seeing results by betting on mobile social platforms such as Instagram and Vine to build a relationship with consumers and tell the company?s story.

It also is promoting self-generated content and social interaction by inviting consumers to create emoji experiments and share them.

The company?s first Vine was a simple video that showed a science experiment with a saucer of milk, food coloring and a Q-tip. Then GE began running Vine campaigns asking users to submit Vines. The company compiled all of the vines in one video, which yielded more than 700,000 views as well as 40 articles written about the campaign.

Mobile is a tool in GE?s strategy to ignite a light-hearted curiosity about the Fairfield, CT company?s work in science and technology. 

?We know we have to make it easy, don?t take a complicated concept and shove it down people?s throats,? Ms. Craigwell said. ?We make it a beautiful experience.?