Our Expertise
Science and Academia
Frank Vinken for Max Planck Society
The Dan David Prize in the Swedish Newspaper Expressen
An internationally renowned prize that annually awards US $3 million to inspiring individuals or organizations for remarkable achievements may seem like an easy pitch. But when compounded by a complex model of operation, a strict embargo, sophisticated (and sometimes none too communicative) fields of activity, and a saturated scene of international awards, getting the media’s undivided attention is challenging.
In working with the Dan David Prize (DDP), we have applied various strategies. For example, when the DDP named as a laureate a Swedish paleogenetics researcher, Prof. Svante Pääbo, we chose to refer to the DDP Prize’s greatest competitor for media attention – the Nobel Prize. We highlighted the fact that this brilliant Swede did not receive recognition in his native country – but from the dynamic and original Tel Aviv-based prize. The outcome: The popular Swedish newspaper Expressen ran the headline “Svante Pääbo’s prize – worth more than the Nobel Prize.”
Bee researcher in the French
prestige Le Figaro
Do bees, just like us, also suffer from Omega-3 deficiency?
Over the last decade, the world has watched in horror as bees succumb to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) – exhibiting symptoms of confusion, abandoning hives and dying in record numbers. When Israeli scientists published a scientific paper revealing clues about honey bees’ cognition, linked to Omega-3 deficiency, possibly providing the next piece needed to solve the CCD puzzle, we triggered media attention by tapping into the human interest in Omega-3. The story was carried by the international media, including this feature on a leading French paper
The Hebrew University's, Faculty of Agriculture on ARD TV (Germany)
International visits posses high potential for media coverage, but the visit itself is usually insufficient for a good story. When we learned that German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture was planning to visit the Hebrew University's Faculty of Agriculture, we searched for a story that the German media just couldn’t ignore.
We identified scientific collaborations between the Faculty and parallel institutes in Germany and located German students studying in Rehovot, and built a program of events open to the media that included meetings with students from Germany and researchers working with Germany – and the media responded enthusiastically.