A pioneering team from Oxford University developed an extraordinary technology: a DNA construct that when introduced into mosquitoes would allow them to live normally in the lab, but was lethal to them and their offspring when the mosquitoes were released into the environment.

When used with the Zika-carrying mosquito, the result was a crash in the population of these deadly insects. The challenge was to get governments and publics to accept this genetically modified mosquito as a possible solution to Zika.

Our ultimate target was simple, and small: a deadly mosquito that we wanted to find, to reach. And then to kill to make people safe.

To help facts win out, we amplified the voices of scientists, doctors, community leaders and others willing to speak out through social and digital media, earned coverage, teletown halls and old-fashioned one-on-one communication.

In Brazil we started to boost awareness of Oxitec in March 2017, right before the GM mosquito technology was endorsed by WHO and praised by the Brazilian Presidency. We did groundwork in PR to amplify these statements. In May, “Aedes do Bem's” content hub went online, featuring stories about the technology's success in field trials and about the severity of the arboviruses epidemics in Brazil. In October, we did extensive PR work to promote the grand opening event of the new Oxitec factory that was built in Piracicaba, engaging content production in the task.

We achieved a historic victory at the polls in November, by winning the first-ever vote in the U.S. in favor of using a genetically modified organism. We achieved widespread popular support in Brazil, which is opening the way for protection of ever-widening circles of communities from Sao Paulo in the south to Pernambuco in the north.

The victory is spreading. Now Colombia has agreed to use the protective mosquito, and there’s interest from around Latin America. None of this would have been possible without a supportive environment in media, public opinion and among academic leaders.

In March 2016, the Aedes do Bem content hub ranked 14th place in Google’s listing for the search query “Aedes do Bem”. Eight months later, in November, the same search term returned the content hub in first place. We achieved an estimated 245.5 million impressions in tier 1 media, a $13.3 million ad value equivalency.

The PR Lions are about using communications to solve big challenges. There are few challenges bigger than the fight against a devastating disease, and few tasks harder than persuading the public that a genetically modified organism could be the solution.

Our strategy involved speaking with people on the streets, in their neighborhoods, and at local shopping centers. We worked Congressional hearings, city government meetings, and neighborhood voter associations.

In Brazil, we created and deployed a branding strategy for the new technology through PR and content work. The goal was to promote the product as a safe, effective and environmentally friendly solution for vector control.

Our media targets were the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal – and the Key West Citizen. Our target audience was the Minister of Health in Brazil – and Maria Pereira, who runs a tobacco stall in Piracicaba where the mosquitoes were released. Our demographics were anyone who was pregnant...or was the partner of someone pregnant...or their friend or their neighbor or their family. Our demographics were those who have the power to make change, but were held back by fear.

In 2015, Zika virus raged the Americas, causing birth defects in babies and fear and anguish in families. There is no vaccine to prevent Zika infection, nor a cure for those infected. There is only prevention of transmission. Current methods are inadequate. Spraying with harsh insecticides can put human health at risk. Public health measures to prevent disease spread are ineffective. The world needed a solution.