My wish for Amsterdam

amsterdam&partners

Cause

After almost 2 years of working on the renewed story of Amsterdam, it is time to tell the story in the city to the residents. It goes without saying that the people of Amsterdam are the first to embrace the story. One of the reasons why we are working on a renewed story of Amsterdam is that the city will be 750 years old in 2025. Those two benchmarks, the renewed story and the upcoming anniversary call for once again to rekindle pride in the city among all Amsterdammers, by means of an activation that enthuses them to make a positive contribution to their beloved city, in a more inclusive and sustainable direction.

Goal

Objectives within the brand campaign were 'visibility', 'connecting' a 'soft introduction of the renewed story', 'increasing the brand awareness & adoption of Iamsterdam and Uitinams .' It was important that the renewed story of Amsterdam was supported by input from residents. The multimedia 360-degree campaign has used channels such as trams in Amsterdam, TV, Direct mail, Outdoor, Boomerang maps, Print, Online, Social. In addition, a number of partners of the municipality have projected the campaign at unique locations such as the Stedelijk and NEMO.

Idea

To let the people of Amsterdam express their pride and wishes for the city, amsterdam&partners is launching a video-driven image campaign with an authentic character. Everyone is familiar with the image of a postcard from the city. An old-fashioned banner with the text “Greetings from Amsterdam”, often supplemented with the coat of arms of the city, over one or more photos of Amsterdam sights. In addition, many greeting cards are still sent during the holidays, with which people give someone a nice wish for the new year. In this campaign, the people of Amsterdam create greeting cards for the city.

Video

The main message of the campaign is a compilation video of dozens of Amsterdammers from all over the city expressing their wishes for the city. These wishes together form a grand wish in the edit, where people seem to finish each other's sentences or seem to respond to each other. A video in which positivity and authenticity predominate, but critical notes are not muted. People expressing their wish on the street hold a frame, which gives the impression of the layout of a greeting card. At the bottom of the list is a text with “My wish for Amsterdam”, accompanied by an I amsterdam logo. Because the Amsterdammers themselves hold a frame, they actually create living greeting cards of a part of Amsterdam, in which they themselves play the leading role. This framework creates a recognizable campaign image that can be used in various ways.

Instagram filter

An Instagram filter has been developed to make the target group directly part of the campaign. Via this filter you can record a wish in your own environment and share it via Instagram and Facebook Stories. The frame from the videos will appear as soon as you use the filter.

Strategy

Greeting cards are a household name all over the world. The occasion can sometimes change, but a celebration of love, a birth and birthdays are often sealed with a greeting card to the lucky one. Postcards are an equally widespread concept. We take them with us when we visit another city and visitors to Amsterdam still send postcards to their loved ones.

Connect greeting and postcards

Both greeting cards and postcards are therefore positive symbols of connection between people. With a postcard you let them know that you are thinking of a person when you are far away and they get an impression of your (holiday) address. With a greeting card you wish a person a form of positivity.

PostNL's annual greeting card survey

PostNL conducts annual research into postal habits among the Dutch. The 2021 study shows that greeting cards remain unabatedly popular, it is striking that “Dutch people up to the age of 40 in particular have started sending mail more actively in the past year and a half. We mainly send cards on birthdays, as condolence, at a birth and to wish someone a speedy recovery. Resi Becker, director of Mail Netherlands at PostNL: “Mail makes us happy. Almost 90% of the respondents indicate that receiving a card gives a good feeling. A small gesture can mean a lot, the research shows. A card shows that someone else is paying attention to you.”