Cognis Sums Up 2017

Recently a client asked me, “So what has #Cognis been doing in the past year? I decided to summarize all of our projects in 2017. A little late, but better late than never - and you'll see it was quite a year. The cherry on top was a customer who raised Round A using the presentation we created for him and our coaching. So read on.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

The year started off with #BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company of Ben-Gurion University (#BGU). Although BGN initially hired us to draft a new marketing strategy and the marketing and plan for 2017, we found ourselves focusing on public relations. Turns out that Lavin Communications, the PR firm working with BGU in the US does excellent outreach and media focus. We created interesting stories with strong messaging that got across to the right media and the end customer.

Our ten releases on BGN research-based ventures got extensive coverage by targeted publications, but what’s more important - five of them gathered either investor or customer interest – or both.

Examples include the new therapy for ALS, research on protection from cyber threats posed by peripheral equipment, and a new company to commercialize the first Israeli AUV.

Following in tow was #Qmarkets, an innovation management company that hired us for the second time (they previously participated in the SaaS consortium I managed). This time around, we provided them with PR and social media services, including a Twitter campaign to connect with journalists and potential customers, create brand awareness and promote company events.

BRANDING

We also landed a large-scale branding project with #Phytech, an Agriculture IoT company. Omer Kotzer, a seasoned creative designer who worked for years in the US, brought us on board, and it was a great opportunity to learn from the very best.

We created a company positioning that is geared with surgical precision to its customers, as can be seen on their website and a polished visual language that seamlessly encompasses all their communications, including the product user interface.

We also conducted a branding project for Exodus, a startup system for evacuating and managing crowd safety, and Creo Partners, a capital raising and M&A advisory venture, for which we created the company name.

OVERALL MARKETING

Next came #Amdocs, which hired us to provide overall marketing services for their Services R&D unit, an in-house incubator for new services and technologies.

Cognis’s core specialty is SME’s, but we took the plunge, built the positioning and messaging for six new ventures and created marketing tools (both internal and external).

#RavTech, a new kid on the Israeli software services block (with a twist: all its employees are Haredi rabbinical scholars), took us to do some tricky branding and build their website and marketing collateral.

RavTech provides religious scholars with a vocation that utilizes their capabilities, and our role was to build a coherent story that would emphasize their uniqueness, but place it in the right context.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

#CENS, a portfolio company of #Incubit Ventures, develops technologies for rechargeable batteries. We developed marketing tools for them and launched a highly successful LinkedIn campaign to contact potential customers, which are major battery manufacturers. Some of the leads we landed include Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems, 3M electronics & energy, and Samsung SDI.

INVESTOR PRESENTATION

Last but not least is #MiRobot, a startup in the field of dairy farming. We created an investor presentation, including content and design. Taking a closer look at the financial projections and estimated savings to farmers, we found out they weren't represented in correctly. We brought them to the front in a clear and defined way. We also coached the Tal, the entrepreneur, on giving the presentation. The result: they just raised Round A of $1.5 million.

PARTNERS

2017 was the year of partners, who joined the Cognis team and helped make this year such a success.

Nuia Mana, the incredible content strategist who while creating the RavTech positioning and website content, was able to take the Company’s unusual DNA and turn into a clear advantage.

The Grafov Studio, headed by Einat Grafov, developed the visual language of almost every marketing project we did, including the MiRobot presentation, which was so successful that the end of each meeting the CEO was asked who made it; and the RavTech project, which ended with RavTech hiring Grafov to do UX for some of their projects. 

Last but not least is the super talented Shadmit Ken Koren, who has her own startup, and helped us with BD and social marketing, and is the one that landed those awesome LinkedIn leads for CENS.

Indeed, a fruitful year. We're looking forward to a great 2018 with a lot of good work with partners.