Space

Creating awareness for impactful space projects

© Thales Alenia Space Master Image Programmes

The European Space Agency (ESA): An intergovernmental organisation dedicated to space exploration and research.

The organisation

Partnership Projects: A programme within the Directorate of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA) at ESA, fostering collaboration with industry and commercial entities to develop and deploy innovative space missions and systems, promoting the growth of the European space sector and its global competitiveness.

The programme

Generating awareness around the most important satellite projects of the Partnership Projects programme among the following audiences:

  • Decision makers (European Entities, Governments, Politicians)

  • ESA Member States Delegations

  • ESA Management & ESA staff

  • Space Industry

  • General Public

The challenge

Strategy & Copywriting

Space

Deliverables

© Airbus

  1. Define target group segmentation.

  2. Establish an online presence for existing and upcoming Partnership Projects in order to maintain awareness

  3. Define, create, and disseminate core messages

  4. Target the different audiences with custom paid campaigns on LinkedIn and Twitter

Execution

  1. Showcase the benefits of the projects for each target group

  2. Establish the TIA directorate as an attractive collaboration partner

  3. Strengthen the authority of the TIA directorate and the Partnership Projects programme in order to secure future funding

Inviting governmental funding and industry collaborations

Key campaign messages

The ESA Partnership Projects (PP) aim at growing Europe’s Space product portfolio, increasing job opportunities, European market share, and international collaborations.

Economic growth

As a trusted partner, PP enable European businesses to get involved in highly innovative and sophisticated satellite projects without bearing the full risk they would have to take if they were not partnering with ESA.

Trust & Risk-sharing

PP follow a flexible co-management approach, tailored to commercial best practices, while deploying more lenient standards in comparison to the rest of the ESA directorates.

Better efficiency

Introducing important satellite projects to the right audience

Copy: A few selected examples

Several Twitter and LinkedIn posts were created and promoted to the relevant target groups. As the content is technical it was important to keep the messaging clear in order to maximise engagement. Some of the posts had the goal of introducing Partnership Projects as a programme, while the rest focused on specific satellite projects that the programme co-developed and helped launch.

Key benefits: awareness and education of the target groups on the projects, increase in authority of the programme and ESA directorate, attraction of prospective future partners as well as governmental funding in light of of the upcoming ESA Ministerial Council.

Twitter post introducing Partnership Projects and their socioeconomic benefits to the European Union.

Target group: government

Target group: industry

LinkedIn post focusing on the benefits of risk-sharing, trustworthiness, and higher efficiency.

Target group:
government & industry

LinkedIn post highlighting the technology behind one of the projects, enhancing the reputation of the Partnership Projects programme as a trustworthy partner.

LinkedIn post establishing Partnership Projects as an attractive collaboration partner for non-governmental space companies.

Target group: industry

LinkedIn post inviting privately-owned spaceflight companies to collaborate with Partnership Projects.

Target group: industry

Record funding for TIA at the ESA Ministerial Council Space19+

The result

Ministers with responsibility for space activities in the Member States within Europe decide on ESA programmes and funding every three years.

The 2019 council meeting, named as Space 19+, was held in Seville, Spain, and resulted in ESA’s Directorate of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA) receiving a significant budget increase of over 35%. A total of 1.5 B€ was allocated to telecommunications projects within ESA.

“With a very successful Ministerial Council behind us, we are looking forward to a promising and exciting future in which we will shape and support innovation, not only in satellite communications but also in the down-to-earth business applications of space.”

- Magali Vaissiere, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA)

The ESA TIA management team at Space19+

© ESA