Policy Campaigning
Digital sovereignty, from the debate into procurement
Client
Ecosia · Tutao · Mastodon · Meister
Policy Campaigning
01
Starting point
Ecosia, Tutao, Mastodon and Meister are four European tech companies facing the same structural problem: in politics and public administration, US corporations dominate digital infrastructure. European alternatives for search, communication, social networks and productivity have long existed. They are functional and available, yet they are barely used. What is missing is not the technology, but the decision to switch.
The communications problem was as big as the political one. When tech companies publicly demand that authorities use their products, it sounds like sales. The actual message therefore had to be bigger than the four companies behind it: digital sovereignty as a democratic and security-policy necessity.
02
Approach
We structured the campaign in two phases: first public mobilisation, then a closed format with the decision-makers.
Phase 1: Campaign. Under the claim #OneClickAway we launched a pointed social media campaign. The core message: digital sovereignty is not a utopia. European alternatives exist, they work, and switching is one click away. The campaign reached an audience far beyond the usual policy bubble and won support from the European Parliament — from MEPs such as Alexandra Geese and Axel Voss. Political credibility came from real voices, not press releases.
Phase 2: Sovereign Tech Table. Building on this, we organised the Sovereign Tech Table in Berlin, an invite-only event. Around 40 CIOs and IT managers from politics and administration discussed with the participating companies what digital sovereignty could look like in concrete procurement decisions. Not a lobbying meeting, but a working format between decision-makers on both sides.
03
Outcome
The campaign took a widely discussed topic to where decisions are made: into politics and administration. The public phase carried digital sovereignty into the European Parliament, and the Sovereign Tech Table brought around 40 decision-makers together with the companies to clarify concretely what implementation really needs. Media work alone would not have created this direct access to the people who ultimately decide on IT procurement.
Results in numbers
Similar challenge?
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