ESET Science Award – a new partner for the development of science and research in Slovakia

Trusted award

The new award entered a busy marketplace of numerous categorised scientific and social awards. That’s why it was crucial from the outset to build respect and highlight differentiation.

Scientists were invited to establish the award’s founding principles. This bolstered respect and credibility amongst the scientific community, and increased acceptance from the general public.

Welcome to science

The award’s intensive communication highlights scientists’ work, gives their informed opinions exposure, and attracts the general public’s interest. The communication strategy is built on:

• Exciting media partnerships that give scientists new scope Scientists showcase and discuss their work through contemporary channels (podcasts, surveys), and also comment on pressing social issues.
• Exclusive media content enables journalists to gain top-table access to leading Slovak scientists. So scientific opinions bridge the divide – permeating media areas not primarily science-focused.
• The ESET Science Award profile on Facebook creates a public forum to raise scientific and general issues with scientists.
• And participation at popular public events (e.g. White Night, Pohoda Music Festival) puts science in a surprising new light and setting.
• Slovakia rolled out the red carpet to international scientific royalty (Ruzena Bajcsy, Michal Valko, and Nobel-prize winner Erwin Neher) to showcase scientists’ inspiration and fascinating work.

What we achieved

• One in five Slovaks thinks that ESET has a positive impact on Slovak science*
• Forbes magazine ranked the award among the best news of 2019
• The award was sponsored by the President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová
• The President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Pavol Šajgalík, described the award as 2019’s most important event
• The award won second place in the corporate communication category in the Prokop 2019 competition

*2muse, February 2020