We built a multi-channel campaign split into 3 phases — before, during and after the EU elections — laying a strong foundation for Bayer to influence 2025 policy priorities. Our newsroom-led events draw in the hard-to-get policymaker audience that Bayer wanted to attract. An event underpinned each phase, showcasing Bayer as a thought leader pushing conversations on innovation and sustainable competitiveness forward and offering speaking and networking opportunities for Bayer to interact directly with policymakers. With opening remarks from Bayer, the editorial events allowed them to put an individual’s face on their work. Between events, evergreen branded content amplified the human stories of Bayer’s initiatives, bringing a personal connection alongside the policy panel conversations.

We kicked off 2024 with a bang: a photo exhibit inside the European Parliament, the decision-making center of the EU. The exhibit leveraged an online photo essay (https://www.politico.eu/sponsored-content/can-innovation-help-farmers-adapt-to-climate-change/) we had produced the previous year. A photojournalist and producer team spent time with farmers in Poland, Germany and Spain to discover the impact of climate change on their work, the future they see for their families and their industry, and the innovations they’ve adopted to counter high temperatures, unpredictable weather and drought. Under the title “Innovations for sustainable agriculture in Europe,” the opening event included keynotes from MEPs of two parties as well as a Bayer representative.

At the end of the year, we again maximized Bayer’s investment by wrapping up the event series with online content highlighting the top takeaways. Integrating clips of speakers from the events, the content allowed Bayer to highlight the most important messages to them while also reaching a far wider audience than those turned in on the day.

Leveraging promotion on POLITICO.eu and .com alongside social media (paid and organic) via POLITICO Studio and POLITICO Live, our amplification approach was tailored to each phase of the campaign:

1. Phase I: Advocacy and Awareness
   We continued promotion of the existing Drive Sustainable Progress hub/content and set the ground with a pre-election debate on the innovative solutions and challenges needed for a competitive and sustainable Europe.

• Photo exhibit in the European Parliament (January)
• Panel event in Brussels (March) – https://www.politico.eu/event/europes-road-to-sustainable-competitiveness/
• Media amplification

2. Phase II: Brand Visibility around EU elections
   During this phase we maintained Bayer’s brand visibility along the exciting transition to a new government. POLITICO had an unmissable elections presence; alignment with it boosted Bayer’s visibility to the new EU political leadership. During this busy period we emphasized brand visibility over thematic awareness.

• EU elections hangover breakfast (June) – https://www.politico.eu/event/2024-eu-election-hangover-brunch/
• Media amplification

3. Phase III: Thought Leadership
   During the final phase we positioned Bayer as a leader starting the conversation on sustainable competitiveness in the US, directly following the US elections and continuing the thematic thread from the European events.

• Transatlantic event (November), which took place in Brussels with speakers from the US and amplified to the US and EU audiences – https://www.politico.eu/event/post-elections-the-transatlantic-quest-for-competitiveness-and-sustainability/ & https://www.politico.com/live-events/2024/11/26/post-elections-the-transatlantic-quest-for-competitiveness-and-sustainability-00001583
• Post-event content wrapping up the year of events – https://www.politico.eu/sponsored-content/creating-competitive-advantage-in-a-greener-world/
• Media amplification

We ran a brand lift study at the beginning and end of 2024 on POLITICO.eu to quantify the impact of the Drive Sustainable Progress campaign. The results showed that Bayer effectively influenced perceptions around its areas of expertise and messaging around innovation.

The campaign effectively resonated with audiences on key sustainability topics, with nearly three-quarters (52% à 72%) of the exposed group agreeing that leveraging innovative technologies is essential for achieving EU Green Deal goals. That’s a 20% uplift on the main goal of the campaign.

Meanwhile Bayer saw notable gains in brand association following media exposure, particularly in human medicines (56% à 80%) and crop protection products (39% à 47%). These results indicate that the campaign helped reinforce Bayer’s expertise in these fields and highlight Bayer’s priorities to policymakers as they set 2025 agendas.

The event series was a huge success. On June 10, a few hours after the polling stations closed in EU member states, POLITICO gathered the secretary generals of four major European political parties to share their unfiltered reactions in front of a full room. POLITICO’s Chief EU Correspondent and Brussels Playbook Writer moderated the discussion, which kicked off with opening remarks from Bayer. The conversation generated outstanding news coverage by POLITICO, as well as European and national media outlets (Italy, Sweden, Germany, etc). Half of the audience online and in person came from the government sector.

The transatlantic capstone event, held just weeks after the US elections and moderated by POLITICO’s chief policy correspondent and host of EU Confidential, brought together high-level policymakers for the panel, including Jan Dusík, deputy director general for Climate Action in the European Commission. Guests watching online (24.5k) came from across the EU, UK and US, effectively reaching Bayer’s primary and secondary target audiences.