Although Swiss citizens vote four times a year on the same topic, the way the issues are framed varies from a language region to the other. Running a national campaigns involves finding a consistent framing that can be adapted to an asymmetric landscape. Involving a multilingual grassroots community at different campaign stages can make it easier to find a common ground as soon as possible, and enable a consistent flexible framing.

Points for discussion

Culture

• Asymmetric general education of the target audience
• Ideological polarization along territorial/linguistic lines
• What formal/informal (t-v form) means in different language communities
• Swiss-German German story-telling vs. French KISS (or is it the other way round)
• Working culture (procedures, punctuality, politeness)

Communication

• Terminology
• Timing
• Multilingual communication

Logistical challenges

• Physical meetings (Geneva/Lausanne vs. Zurich/Bern/Basel/Olten)
• Multilingual calls
• Different habits (who has a GA? who hasn't?)

Technical challenges

• (Don't) let 100 software solutions bloom