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Case · Dutch national government

Getting believed when it
really matters.

For the Ministry of Health (VWS) I worked on the vaccination campaign, for the Ministry of Finance on the childcare benefits redress operation. Files where every word carries weight — and where the playing field isn't reach, but whether the message is embraced, accepted: believed.

Ministry of Health (VWS) Ministry of Finance Strategy, editorial & programming Public remit — no ROI
2 ministriesVWS and Finance, each with a task of its own
Trustthe yardstick — not reach, not views
Every word carries weighttone, timing and order decide whether it lands
Two craftswinning trust back and getting people moving
Vimeo compilation coming soon

Compilation: a selection from the work for both ministries.

01 · The work

Making it is half the job

The other half is sending it out: tone, timing, order. Publish one decision too early and you've lost the very conversation you wanted to have.

Airtime and budget weren't the problem. In these files, craftsmanship decided whether a message led to different behaviour.

  • Editorial and programming on files that touch the news
  • What comes when, and in which order
  • Steering by watch time and drop-off points rather than reach
02 · The task

Two files, two crafts

One file had to win back trust. The other had to move people to take a step themselves.

Winning trust back takes acknowledgement, steady pace and promising nothing you can't deliver. Getting people moving takes recognition: people like you, who have already done it.

What they share: neither can be solved with a bigger campaign.

  • One file: earning trust back
  • The other: getting people to take a step themselves
  • In both cases, credibility as a design principle

From the series ‘Werken aan Herstel’, episode 3: Ivar, member of the Serviceteam.

What this work teaches

Government doesn't need to go viral.
Just believed.

A public organisation doesn't run on returns but on a public remit. That changes everything about how you programme: you don't steer by the cheapest view, but by whether the people who need something most believe you.

That calls for an approach that looks beyond your own channel: a story often lands better through organisations that already have an audience's trust than through the sender itself.

Credibility isn't a tone. It's programming.

Do you work for a public organisation?

Public communication is what I most like to put this craft to work for — that's where it genuinely matters. Let me look at how my expertise can help you.

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