Developing the New Media Relationship: Our Most Recent Delegation to Israel

Relationships between countries can take various different forms and can be based on a whole range of foundations. Occasionally, we see relationships where interests and values coalesce and the result of which is a strong, dynamic and productive partnership. This is the relationship between the UK and Israel.

The impact of the partnership between these two countries continues to be of great benefit, not just in the political sense, but also in very real terms to both peoples. One needs only to look at the bilateral ties that exist in business and trade for proof of these universal and applicable advantages.

The most up-to-date figures from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) show that trade between the UK and Israel has gone up 35% over the last year and is now worth a staggering £3.75 billion.

When broken down further, we can see that there are increases in both directions of trade: exports from the UK to Israel has increased by 17% and exports from Israel to the UK has increased by over 50%, which translates to the UK being Israel’s second largest export market, and their 4th largest overall trading partner.

So, against this backdrop, in November 2011, the Trade and Economic Office at the Embassy of Israel was approached by the UK’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to build a delegation of business leaders to join the Minister of State for Universities and Science, Rt Hon David Willetts MP, on a visit to Israel.

In every way, the visit was a resounding success.

However, so too was our Israel New Media Innovation Day that had taken place in London a year before. This event brought together leaders from the UK’s Media industry and exposed them to the biggest and brightest innovations coming out of Israel in this sphere.

As a follow on to both events, the we began planning for a New Media delegation to Israel. Israel had come to the UK and so now it was time to take the UK to Israel.

Excitingly, as the opportunity arose to combine this New Media delegation with the Ministerial visit of the Rt Hon Ed Vaisey MP, Minister for Culture, Communities and Creative Industries, the Trade and Economic Office worked together with the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, UK Israel Business and the Israel Export Institute, to create a truly first-class bilateral programme.

Between 4-7 March, Minister Vaisey was accompanied on this visit to Israel by high-level representatives from several leading media organisations such as BBC Worldwide, Ogilvy, BBH and Samsung, to name but a few.

Centred on Israel’s expertise and reputation in New Media Technologies, the delegation visited several incubators and R&D Centres, including the JVP Media Labs and Microsoft Israel’s R&D Centre, to witness first-hand the exciting range of stimulating new technologies on offer.

Delegates were intrigued and impressed by the lengths to which the Israeli government invests in the start-up community, putting in place tangible infrastructures, including financially, to support their growth and development.

Throughout the visit, the delegates were also treated to presentations and demonstrations from some of the most recent Israeli success stories in this field. They visited NDS’s office and were able to observe just how integral they had been to the success of BSkyB’s Pay TV Business. It has since been announced Cisco is set to acquired NDS for $5 billion.

Other success stories on show during the visit included Labpixies, who were acquired by Google, and The Gifts Project, who were acquired by eBay and used to form eBay’s Israel Social Center.

One of the participants, Nicole Yershon, Director of Innovative Solutions for Ogilvy, commented: “This whirlwind trip enabled me to meet amazingly innovative technology companies and entrepreneurs of an extremely high calibre, with an eye to introducing them to the Ogilvy and Mather UK Group and the wider global Ogilvy lab community. This will ideally lead to us collaborating and commercialising on various projects in the future.”

On his return from the visit, Sidharth Jayant, the European Content Service Manager for Samsung, noted that “The new media delegation was successful in making the UK delegates understand the huge potential of technology sector in Israel. It is quite breath-taking to see so many start-ups creating valuable products for various industries. Usually, such delegations have a wide scope and its difficult to find the exact companies that are of your field of interest. However, this delegation achieved to set up excellent meetings that might be pursued for business reasons in future”.

As these comments suggest, the visit was extremely successful and a notably productive event.

Given the emergence of Tech City in East London and the creation of Google Campus, amongst other incubator programmes, Britain has recognised the need to grow the start up culture in the UK and has looked to Israel for inspiration and collaboration. These evolving partnerships hold an enormous amount of energy that can continue to drive the UK-Israel relationship forward and we await these developments with excitement.

Daniel Saunders

Chief of Staff

Trade & Economic Affairs

International World Water Day 2012

Today, 22 March, is the UN’s International World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific challenge facing us as a global community, in regards to our consumption and usage of water.

The concept behind this year’s day of celebration is to increase both attention and focus on the sustainable management of freshwater resources, with a particular emphasis on Water and Food Security.

It is recommended that each individual should drink between 2 to 4 litres of water every day. However, the UN has noted that it takes between 2 000 to 5 000 litres of water to produce just one person’s daily food. Today, there are over 7 billion people to feed on the planet and this number is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

This is a huge requirement but one that can be achieved. Though to be able to feed everybody, we must first be able to secure water, both in sufficient quantity and adequate quality.

Additionally, the UN is calling on us to reduce our levels of food and water wastage and move towards more sustainable diets.

At the forefront of this challenge, the use of innovations and technologies play an ever-increasingly vital role. In Israel, where fresh water is at a premium, technology is spearheading the drive to manage the water used in all areas of society and national infrastructure, including food.

To read how Israel is addressing these severe issues through initiatives such as drip irrigation and desalination, please click here:

Further information on UN International World Water Day can be found here:

Simon Spier

Cleantech & Water Technologies

Trade & Economic Affairs

ILSI-BioMed Conference - Israel 2012

On 21-23 May 2012, ILSI-Biomed 2012 will take place in Tel Aviv.

This is the leading international conference covering the fast-growing field of innovation in the biomedical, health care and life sciences industries, where industry and academia join hands to learn about the latest and future developments, explore opportunities for new business ventures, meet up with old colleagues and make new contacts.

We are committed to making this event a learning and enjoyable experience as we each take one step closer towards making this world a healthier and happier place.

ILSI-Biomed 2012 follows the success of previous annual conferences: last year’s event drew 6,000 industry players, engineers and scientists, with 1,000 participants from 42 countries and in excess of 3,500 one-on-one meetings.

The conference will feature a rich programme and supporting events such as:

• 60 presentations given by Israeli medical device and biopharma companies
• Cutting-edge keynote addresses by prominent industry leaders from Israel and abroad
• A platform where science, technology, academia and industry come together
• Present up-to-date issues around the economical and regulatory landscape and the future of healthcare through a variety of panels on industry topics and trends
• Provide a meeting place for personalized one-on-one meetings and networking opportunities
• Start-up Pavilion where a wealth of innovation is displayed
• Extensive exhibition area

This is the third year that the Trade & Economic Office at the Embassy of Israel will be arranging a delegation to Israel. In addition to the conference and the exhibition, we are also offering you an in-depth introduction to the Bio-Medical industry in Israel. with the possibility of a tour of Israel's leading innovation and R&D centres.

To be part of the UK delegation and to be exposed to the latest

technologies coming out of Israel, please contact Yael Levy-Ariel:

+44 (0) 20 7957 9645 • yael.levy-ariel@israeltrade.gov.il.

To find out more visit: www.kenes.com/biomed

UK and Israel commit to tech partnership

On Wednesday, the UK and Israel agreed a plan to strengthen cooperation in numerous tech sectors, at the first UK Israel Tech Council. The Council, meeting in London, brought together top business leaders and officials from both countries to develop an ambitious strategy for creating the UK/Israel tech partnership.

The first annual meeting of the UK-Israel Tech Council was held in the historic Lancaster House in London, co-chaired by UK Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts and Israel’s Chief Scientist Avi Hasson.

The Council agreed some key sectors for the two countries to focus on, where the UK and Israeli economies match each other particularly well. These include digital, water tech, life sciences, creative industries and financial services. The Council also identified possible barriers to closer working and considered ways of overcoming them including regular Ministerial visits, sector-focussed trade delegations in both directions, and a joint effort by both governments to stimulate collaboration.

The Council is comprised of 35 high-ranking business leaders and senior officials, including British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould and Minister for Trade & Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Israel, Noah Shani, Yossi Vardi, Israel Makov, David Rowan as well as senior executives from Virgin Media, Google, Alcatel Lucent, Amadeus Capital, NICE Systems, Pitango Venture Capital and other leading corporations and investment funds.

Minister Willetts said after the meeting: “Israel has an impressive record of research and development and this should in turn be an important driver of UK economic growth. Today’s launch of the UK-Israel Tech Council was another key step in forging our partnership and bringing together our leading companies. Our ambition is to encourage Israeli entrepreneurs to go beyond the default option of partnering with the United States and also persuade British businesses to look seriously at what Israel has to offer.”

Israel’s Chief Scientist Avi Hasson said: "Research has shown that international cooperation in technology and innovation is an effective way of reaching economic growth and promoting job creation for both countries involved. I believe that the Israeli and British technological and scientific ecosystems are complementary.

"A joint effort by both the private and public sectors is required in order to remove existing barriers and make sure that we take advantage of the real partnership and cooperation that can be achieved in these areas, for the benefit of both countries. I hope that the first meeting of the council is just a first step on the way to a successful and long lasting platform for tech cooperation between our countries."

Israel: Creativity not technology the real competitive advantage

This article has been written by the Director of the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network, Frank Boyd, subsequent to his return from Minister Ed Vaizey's recent digital trade delegation to Israel organised by the Trade & Economic Office at the Embassy of Israel, London with its partners.

Ed Vaizey visiting NDS Labs in Jerusalem with the UK Israel Digital Delegation

Israel’s success in fostering very successful and profitable technology start ups is well known. One thing that became very clear during Ed Vaizey’s trade delegation to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem last week is that Israeli companies are rapidly becoming a major force in cross platform media markets, and not just for underpinning technologies. Israeli entrepreneurs and investors are establishing businesses that are becoming world leaders in just about every area of the emerging digital economy: cross platform format development, transmedia production, search marketing, social media and online advertising, applications of metadata, game development, online commerce.

One young investor, Yaron Carni, who has recently sold his company Lab Pixies to Google, described the ingredients of the cocktail that is contributing to the rapid growth of the sector. They have their origins, he said, in the joint effects of national military service and a persecution complex: “not just talent but tenacity, insatiable questioning of authority, determined informality, unique attitude towards failure, teamwork, mission, risk and cross-disciplinary creativity.”

The theme of interdisciplinary creativity was a constant reference point during the four-day visit. It was most persuasively expounded by Erel Margalit, the founding partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), which has helped to create some of the largest companies to come out of Israel over the past eighteen years.

“People misread Israel’s competitive advantage,” he says. “It is not technology, it is creativity.”

Margalit has followed the country’s transformation into a global hub for the high tech industry from the start; he founded JVP, now a $900m fund, in 1993. He spoke to the delegation at the JVP Media Quarter, a converted Bauhaus building originally built by the British as the national Mint. It now houses the venture capital firm, its Media Labs (a technology incubator), a dozen start-up and portfolio companies, a performing arts hub, and a social profit organization "JVP Community". The vision is to fuse technology, creativity and social action in one complex as a hub for innovation.

JVP's success as the most profitable investment group in Israel is, says Margalit, based on the insight that it is innovators and entrepreneurs from creative industries backgrounds who will drive the development of products and services that people will want to use, to own, to pay for: “The club where one engineer meets another engineer and a company is created needs to widen. We need to bring in writers, advertisers, story-tellers.”

The value of combining the artist’s or the designer’s approach to creative development with technological R&D was echoed at a reception at Microsoft’s R&D Centre in Tel Aviv. They’ve clearly learnt something as they’ve watched Apple overtake them as the most valuable tech company in the world. In a presentation on their approach to innovation, the centre's director Zack Weisfeld, outlined seven key drivers; the last one, which he insisted was critical to all their R&D efforts, was “design matters”.

Weisfeld was followed on stage by a team from Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. They all echoed his theme: if R&D and innovation processes are to result in products and services that people will love, if they are to create magic, they need to combine design creativity with engineering excellence. Neither is enough on its own.

Many of the start-ups and established businesses which presented to the delegation were living demonstrations of this principle.

They included NDS, a technology company whose conditional access technology is in all the subscription set-top boxes in the UK and Keshet, Israel’s leading commercial broadcaster. At the heart of NDS’ demo was a radical re-imagining of the EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) based on a fluid and intuitive user interface designed for gestural interaction. Keshet (whose most recent success in the format market has been ‘Homeland’, a US remake of their series ‘Prisoners of War’) spoke of their ‘Rule of Engagement’: “Content is measured by the echo it creates; if the audience doesn’t respond, we didn’t succeed.” They have recently launched a joint venture, Screenz, with the specific intention of developing (and exporting) cross-platform formats. Screenz brings together the expertise of Mako, the digital arm of Keshet, and digital agency The Box’s merging of content and technology to help broadcasters deal with radical changes in viewing habits worldwide.

UK companies across the media and technology sectors could learn much from their Israeli counterparts. They may not have the advantage of the huge investment in military technology but they can emulate the fusion of deep technical expertise, creative imagination and commitment to design excellence with a mastery of business skills which is driving Israel’s start up culture.

The future success of the digital economy will depend on the geek, the luvvie and the barrow boy learning to understand each other and work together. Many Israeli businesses have figured out how to make that happen.

Frank Boyd

13/03/12

Other companies that pitched to the UK Israel Digital Delegation included:

Outbrain: www.outbrain.com
Outbrain offers a content recommendation engine on the web. Outbrain provides publishers a service for recommended links to increase traffic and generate revenue, and marketers a way to their distribute content alongside publisher’s own editorial recommendations.

Eyeview: www.eyeviewdigital.com
Eyeview develops technology solutions that enable advertisers and agencies to create and target personalized video ads at broadcast quality on all screens. Eyeview technology enhances brand quality video ads by adding dynamic compositions that are updated and targeted in real-time.

Adotomi: www.adotomi.com
Adotomi is a performance marketing specialist for Social Media. Adotomi is a Facebook Preferred API Partner focused on bringing high value users to clients. Using patented technology Adotomi is able to deliver relevant users in a scalable and cost effective way.

TheBox: www.theboxsite.com
TheBox specialises in creation of true cross platform original content for benefit of both advertisers and entertainment of viewers and users of TV, the Internet, mobile and all other forms of media.

Contextin: www.contextin.com
An engine for optimized bidding and media acquisition for performance advertisers over the web.

Kenshoo: www.kenshoo.com
Kenshoo is a digital marketing software company that engineers technology solutions for search marketing, social media and online advertising. Brands, agencies and marketing providers use Kenshoo Enterprise, Kenshoo Local and Kenshoo Social to direct more than $15 billion in annual customer sales revenue. The Kenshoo Universal Platform delivers automation, intelligence, integration and scale to make better marketing investments.

Techloft: www.techloft.co.il
An incubator/digital workspace on Tel Aviv’s “Silicon Boulevard”

UK thirsty for Israeli Water Technology

Given the increased concern over drought conditions and the announcement of summer hosepipe bans across seven water utilities in southern and eastern England, there is no doubt that the UK water industry is facing a significant challenge.

More and more, UK water utilities are having to balance an increased demand for clean and secure water while reducing leakage and lowering costs. An increasingly difficult task now set against record low levels of rainfall over the last 17 months.

Salvation for these utilities companies therefore, can only be found through innovation as it is the only realistic way of achieving these demanding targets.

Israel is no stranger to complex and demanding water needs. Having coped with a shortage of water since its beginning in 1948, Israel has moved to establish itself as a world leader in water innovation and technology. For over 60 years, Israel has continued to offer technologies at the forefront of the sector, driving water innovation forward, and earning itself a reputation as a key source for new technologies within the industry.

Last week, the Trade and Economic Office brought to the UK a delegation of Israeli water companies to present to the UK their latest technologies within the sector.

On 8 March, the Technology Splash run by global law firm Pinsent Masons introduced UK investors, utilities and engineering firms to Israeli water-tech companies. The 80 attendees heard presentations from: AGM, Diffusaire, Miltel, PML and Tal-Ya. The technologies on display were focused on wastewater treatment, water analysis and irrigation.

The following day the delegation also attended closed sessions to hear about the UK water industry from the UK’s leading experts, including recent changes and the latest White Paper. This was followed by a presentation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to learn more about the organisation, its modes of operation and opportunities for water projects in Eastern Europe.

The visit concluded with a roundtable discussion at Bloomberg New Energy Finance on water issues and opportunities in the UK, as well as global trends within the industry.

Oded Distel, head of Israel NewTech, said “Israel’s water industry is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful in the world. We’re pleased to see the investment community in the UK now focusing more and more on the business opportunities presented by innovative Israeli start-ups in the water sphere.” The Israeli Technology Splash was supported by Israel NewTech and the Israel Export Institute.

Agritech Israel - 15-17 May 2012

Agritech Israel 2012, the 18th International Agricultural Technology Exhibition, is one of the world’s most important exhibitions in the field of agricultural technologies. The exhibition will be held May 15 – 17, 2012 at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv.

The exhibition program will include the conference of the International Committee for Plastics in Agriculture (CIPA). The conference is held once every three years and, in response to the invitation extended by the organizers of Agritech, the Committee decided to hold its 2012 Conference within the framework of the Agritech Exhibition.

We hereby invite all those involved in manufacturing, marketing, R&D, as well as all those involved in the various agricultural sectors both directly and indirectly, to take part in the Agritech Exhibition.

Despite Israel’s extreme water scarcity challenge, her agricultural pedigree is nevertheless reflected by the calibre of companies showcasing this year at Agritech Israel, encompassing pioneering irrigation and recycling technology and the very latest farming machinery and equipment.

For more information, please contact Peter Wynch: +44 (0) 20 7957 9674 • peter.wynch@israeltrade.gov.il.

Mobile World Congress 2012 - The Results

Mobile-technology is becoming an ever-increasing necessity in the everyday fabric of modern society. The growing need for data-on-the-go, for both businesses and individuals alike, means that the latest means and methods of mobile technology are of the highest demand.

As such, there was a sense of excitement in Barcelona between 27 February and 1 March, where, at the Mobile World Congress 2012 (MWC), the attention of world’s mobile-tech communities were focused on the latest innovations and designs in mobile technology and application from around the globe.

For many years now, Israel has boasted a reputation as a world leader in technological innovation and this was demonstrated most emphatically at the Israel Pavilion, where 60 Israeli companies offered visitors a unique chance to witness and experience the technological expertise that Israel has to offer.

Spanning from applications to infrastructure solutions, the technologies on display at the Israel Pavilion were of the highest caliber and attracted great interest from some of the world’s leading companies and businesses.

The Trade and Economic Office at the Embassy of Israel in London played a key part in ensuring the success of Israel Pavilion at MWC 2012. Considerable time and effort was spent arranging and co-ordinating meetings between Israeli companies exhibiting at the event and a host of high-level representatives of leading international business that have large operations in the UK.

Approximately 140 meetings were co-ordinated by London’s Trade and Economic Office, which constituted around 10% of the total meetings between Israeli companies and foreign businesses at the Israel Pavilion.

Feedback from these meetings have been most enthusiastic. Danny Atsmon, the Chief Technology Officer or iOnRoad commented that “the Israel Pavilion was a superb set-up. It was a comfortable and professional place to have real quality meetings. Overall, everyone was very pleased by the facilities on offer, especially the level of British companies that we were introduced to. We look forward to being a part of the Israel Pavilion again next year.”

The CEO of Digimo, Yossi Yarkoni, commented: “It was amazing. A truly winning concept. When you present by yourself, you don’t know who the visitors are. However, the network of staff from Israeli Embassies were extremely professional and second to none. We have met with clients, investors and businesses interested in tangible collaboration. There was a real sense of excitement at these meetings.

Owing to the continued success of the Israel Pavilions at MWC and the excitement from the first ever Israeli Applications Buzz Arena – where an additional 45 Israeli applications were on show – there are plans currently being considered to expand the Israel Pavilion by an further 25-30% at next year’s MWC.

With 48 hours’ worth of meetings taking place at the Israel Pavilion this year, there is an endless potential that can be achieved next year at MWC 2013.

Ed Vaizey MP and New Media Delegation to Israel - March 2012

Update 9 March 2012:

To see photos of the delegation, click here to see our Facebook photo album.

Further updates to come...

----------------------------------------------------------

Britain’s Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey will visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories next week, bringing with him some of the leading names in Britain’s media and creative industries sectors.

The visit will introduce leading British content providers to cutting-edge Israeli technology companies with the goal of fostering future partnerships between the sectors in both countries. Minister Vaizey will also meet with Israeli Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon and Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat to discuss opportunities for UK/Israel cooperation.

Ahead of the trip, Minister Vaizey commented: “This will be an exciting and ground-breaking visit, as we build partnerships that connect content with consumers. The UK is a world leader in content production, and Israel is a world leader in developing technology that gets content to consumers. So there is enormous potential for collaboration.”

The delegation is a joint initiative of the Trade and Economic Office at the Embassy of Israel in London, the British Embassy in Israel, UK Israel Business, the British Council and the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute.

Noah Shani, the Minister for Trade and Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Israel in London, commented that “with such a creative variety of Israeli technologies on offer, this visit has a great potential to develop new and exciting business partnerships between the UK and Israel. With delegations such as these, it is clear to see why the UK is now firmly fixed as Israel’s second largest world-export market.”

Among the companies participating in the delegation are BBC Worldwide, Ogilvy, Albion and Samsung.

During the trip, the delegation will meet leading Israeli businesspeople including Meir Brand, CEO of Google Israel, Avi Nir, CEO of Keshet broadcasting, Mimi Nofach-Mozes, Chairman of Yedioth Ahronot and Ron Ayalon, CEO of YES, visit TechLoft a start-up incubator in Tel Aviv to experience some of the newest, most innovative technologies coming out of Israel and tour JVP Media Labs in Jerusalem. The delegation will also visit Keshet and NDS, and meet representatives from Israeli success stories such as The Gifts Project (acquired by eBay) and LabPixies (acquired by Google).

Haim Shani, the recently-appointed non-executive Chairman of the UK-Israel Technologies Hub, said “Israel and Britain are ideal partners in technology, with complementary strengths that offer great potential if we can get our companies working more closely together. Building such a partnership is now a priority for both governments”.

An event at the Israel Museum organised by the British Council in Israel will bring together leading figures in the Israeli cultural world to mark the first visit by a British minister of culture.

A dinner sponsored by Microsoft Israel and organised by UK Israel Business will officially launch Innovate Israel Technology Conference planned to be held in London this June. The dinner will enable the delegation to meet over 120 growth stage web, mobile and media entrepreneurs as well as technology showcasing from Microsoft, Waze and Conduit.