At a time in which there is both a disturbing increase in anti-Semitism combined with a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, the task of preserving the memory of the Holocaust through education is becoming an ever more challenging and important one.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019, Israeli entrepreneur Mati Kochavi together with his daughter Maya Kochavi launched an innovative memorial project that brought to life the diary of Eva Heiman, a 13-year-old Jewish girl who lived during the Holocaust, in the first Instagram movie of its kind – Eva's Story. The innovative project was the beginning of a new genre of historical memorialization which utilizes social media platforms to connect younger generations with the Holocaust through the language and technologies that they live and breathe.
Our main goal was to generate widespread public resonance and maximize the media coverage and exposure of Eva's Story in Israel, and later to the world at large. The complex, multi-faceted task required in-depth strategic considerations in order to ensure quality media coverage. Eva's Story had to hold its own on the launch date, a day packed with news stories, ceremonies and events memorializing the Holocaust a task particularly challenging considering the backdrop and sensitivities surrounding the first-of-its-kind use of social media as a medium for Holocaust education and memorialization.
Our 360° strategic media plan focussed on three areas in order to maximize media coverage of Eva's Story. Firstly, we created strategic collaborations with influential media and communications organizations. Secondly, we leveraged digital assets and social-media and influencer campaigns. Finally, we focussed on our connections with traditional media, Israeli and international media alike.
Our work on the project began three months ahead of the launch; a time in which we secured coverage in advance in Tier-1 media outlets across the world, including a behind-the-scenes feature of Eva's Story on Israel's Channel 12 News, the project's unveiling in Yedioth Ahronoth and major articles in the New York Times and the international news agency, The Associated Press.
From the first moments of its launch, Eva's Story sparked widespread public turmoil with unprecedented coverage in more than 70 countries worldwide in 27 different languages. For two consecutive weeks, Eva's story was on the Israeli and international public agendas as a result of the dazzling media exposure the projected received. The project's founders were interviewed dozens of times, thousands of articles were published, there were 10 million interactions and reactions on social media, over 300 million views on the Instagram account, and a billion views and shares from opinion leaders and influencers, including the Israeli Prime Minister and the White House in Washington D.C.
In recognition of their work, Mati and Maya Kochavi were crowned as the ground-breaking creators of Eva's Story and the project was declared one of the most important and influential commemoration initiatives in the world.
כתבתו של עומרי ברק - חדשות 12
