Time for European marketers to rethink their US-built tech stacks
From national security to cloud computing, across Europe governments and businesses are rethinking their reliance on US-built technologies, writes Steve Kemish, CEO of Intermedia Global.
Geopolitical tensions, an escalating trade war, sovereignty concerns and regulatory pressures are all forcing a difficult conversation: how much control should be ceded to tools created in another market, shaped by another set of customer behaviours, or designed with a different set of values?
It’s an issue that brands have had to confront for some time in terms of where their data is stored, but strategic autonomy is becoming a broader issue for the marketing sector. The reality is, martech stacks built on American compliance models and customer expectations are no longer a safe or seamless fit for many European businesses.
And as AI begins to reshape the industry and regulatory complexity deepens, marketing leaders need to plan beyond the uncertainty and rethink their technology foundations.
Tech entrenchment
Over the past few decades, European marketing teams have invested heavily in platforms either developed for or by the US. Global licences, procurement decisions made from headquarters in the United States, and the natural dominance of American tech brands - most of which are exceptional products in their homeland - have led to a situation where most martech stacks were never really considered with overseas realities in mind. This may have helped European businesses get as far as they have, but the cracks are becoming clearly visible.
Compliance models built around opt-out standards rather than opt-in consent, data storage practices that assume relaxed localisation rules, and align to customer experience shaped by US buying habits are all embedded in the systems many marketers rely on today. Combined with years of fragmented, short-term tech buying, sprawling integrations and mismatched data standards, we are left with marketing departments wrestling with slow reporting, clumsy workarounds and operational risk.
Meanwhile, Europe's growing digital sovereignty movement, led by tougher regulations around data localisation and compliance, is reshaping how businesses must think about their technology. To further complicate matters, wider geopolitical tensions are forcing businesses to examine supply chains, data flows and vendor dependencies with fresh eyes.
The risks should be raising alarm bells not just in the marketing department, but in the boardroom. Platforms built with US compliance in mind can create real regulatory exposure for European businesses. Data that flows too freely across borders, without clear localisation controls, can trigger investigations and fines. Fragmented tech stacks that cannot easily adapt to new privacy regimes or regional AI regulations leave marketing teams exposed as well as slow to react.
Meanwhile, a poor marketing experience (MX) for internal teams – battling messy integrations and slow systems – drags down decision-making, damages the customer experience at the front line, and can degrade morale. And as the use of AI accelerates across marketing functions, the need for clean, structured, and trustworthy data has become essential. AI models are only as good as the data they receive, and without robust foundations, marketing automation and personalisation efforts will falter.
Time to think differently
I have witnessed firsthand the growing dissatisfaction among European marketing bosses with US-centric products. For instance, a well-known intent data platform, originally designed for the US market, has really struggled to deliver the same outcomes in Europe, as the underlying data models and market contexts do not easily translate. Yet it remains the most well-used product of its type.
Meanwhile, a lesser-known European-built alternative, launched in Italy, has begun to gain some traction precisely because it is shaped around local market realities. Yet for many organisations, US-based procurement processes and a lack of visibility of local options have left them locked into tools that are not the best fit for their needs. They’ve made do for many years, but now – given the confluence of all that is happening – I sense change will become systemic.
European marketers now have an opportunity (and a responsibility) to think differently. Building a future-proof marketing stack does not mean throwing away everything and starting again. It means taking a strategic approach to reviewing and rationalising existing tools, identifying where local needs are not being met, and where compliance risks may be lurking. It means prioritising proper integration over piling on more platforms, investing in the plumbing – the APIs, data management and governance structures marketers too often neglect - that make seamless marketing operations possible.
It also means insisting on clear, agreed data standards across the organisation, so that systems can talk to each other cleanly and reports can be trusted. And crucially, it means focusing not just on customer experience but on the internal marketing experience too. A well-integrated, fit-for-purpose martech stack leads to faster, smarter decisions, happier teams and better outcomes for customers.
The geopolitical landscape may feel remote from the day-to-day pressures of hitting marketing targets. But it is shaping the rules of engagement, whether marketers acknowledge it or not. Those who seize the moment to modernise their technology foundations with sovereignty, compliance and operational agility in mind will not only avoid future risks - they will be better placed to thrive.
This is not a blunt anti-US stance; there will continue to be many excellent US tech integrations, just as there will continue to be many great US tech innovations. It is, however, a long-overdue reckoning for the marketing world’s bloated and dysfunctional stacks – something that can only be fixed with regionally strategic thinking and action.
