The subject of digital infrastructures – traditionally a core focus of the Association’s communications – was again one of eco’s top media topics in 2024. Through targeted and well-founded background information and expert commentary – particularly in the context of the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures and the topic of energy efficiency potentials of data centres – a significant number of media clippings were generated.

A study commissioned by the Alliance and carried out by the German Economic Institute (IW Köln) on the Spillover Effects of Data Centres: The Backbone of the AI Revolution in Germany was successfully placed in the media, especially around the German Federal Government’s Digital Summit in Frankfurt am Main. The study reinforced the Alliance’s narrative that data centres are the foundation of digital infrastructure and a growth driver for the German economy.

Making artificial intelligence (AI) tangible was the objective of the German-language “KI Future Tech” campaign, launched in 2024 in cooperation with Microsoft Germany and conceptualised and implemented by the Association Communication team. The centrepiece of the campaign was the joint “KI Future Tech Summit” – a discussion event where representatives from industry, academia and politics exchanged views on the importance of AI for the competitiveness of Germany’s digital economy, as well as current political and regulatory issues.

In the lead-up to the event, successful Microsoft AI customer projects were showcased in short video reports. Supported by one or two special episodes of the eco podcast “Das Ohr am Netz” (“An Ear to the Internet”) and complementary online communication, this high-impact 360-degree campaign demystified AI and made it tangible. Its success led to an agreement with Microsoft later that year to extend the campaign through 2025.

In addition to traditional media work, the Association’s social media communication continues to grow in importance. In 2024, significant increases in follower numbers were achieved on LinkedIn (up 22 per cent). Authentic live impressions from eco event formats and trade fair and conference appearances came more strongly into focus. Moreover, we increasingly implemented demands on socio-political issues in social media-friendly formats and prepared quotes from leading figures in the Internet industry on relevant topics for eco’s social media channels.

LinkedIn also emerged as our strongest social media channel in terms of reach – total impressions were 63 per cent higher than the previous year. LinkedIn also saw positive development in average engagement rates and thus the number of user interactions per post. By contrast, all key performance indicators (KPIs) on Twitter/X declined compared to the previous year.

The eco podcast “Das Ohr am Netz“ (“An Ear to the Internet”), which was relaunched in September 2022, continued to perform well in 2024, increasing its play counts by around 12 per cent year-on-year. “Das Ohr am Netz” offers eco member organisations and their topics and speakers an ideal platform and is increasingly being booked directly by members for campaigns and speaker placements.