Four Dutch artists created unconventional landscape art in a new housing development called Houten Vinex, including dunes, forests, and solitary streetlights. To engage new residents, an agency ran a campaign asking people to submit photos of the unfinished neighborhood. They received photos of measuring non-existent homes and roads under construction. These photos were blended with the artists' work and published in a book called "Saudade" to introduce residents to the art. The campaign was successful in explaining the art to newcomers and creating a sense of community.

1. B2C Campaign Case
Saudade
the birth of a Vinex
Client Personnel: Sjaak Langenberg
Bohemia Personnel: Marco de Boer
Henry Tyminski
Melissa Agostino

2. Situation
Back in 2004 four Dutch artists developed imposing landscape
art for a freshly developed suburb, Houten Vinex. Needless to
say that the art is a bit revolutionary. They created dunes, mini-
forests, useless roads and solitary streetlights and a major sign
announcing the opening of a ‘hamam’.
How can we get the newcomers of Houten Vinex enthusiastic
about this art in their backyard?

3. Target
• Explain the art to the newcomers of Houten Vinex.
• Engage with the target group and let them use
the art as meant.
• Create a community.
Target group
• Inhabitants of Houten Vinex
• SME of Houten & Houten Vinex

4. Strategy
With some art you don’t realize it until someone points it out.
The landscape art by these young artists is just like that. Their
idea of Modern Archeology is to admit and freeze a certain
moment in the development of settlements like a Vinex.
They’ve created a ‘freeze frame’ of the construction of a lane
with solitary street lights and build a dunes out of a leftover
heap of sand. Why? To give the new inhabitants the dream of
how it started.

5. Concept
To engage the newcomers of Houten Vinex we asked them to
send in their pictures of how it was before the streets were
there. With the contest we wanted to receive the pictures of
people measuring their non-existing kitchen, carport and front
door, the unfinished road to no-where and the piles of sand. We
blended these homemade pictures of an unborn suburb with the
art work of the artists. They match seamless.
Through presenting these pictures in the birth book Saudade,
we introduced the art to the inhabitants of Houten Vinex back
in 2006.

6. Visuals
And we call her... Saudade
Media
Campaign identity
Poster
Leaflets
Radio commercials
Website
Book

7. Campaign identity
and pay-off

8. Poster
distributed in local shops

9. Door-to-door leaflet
for people living in Houten

10. Radio commercial
“I saw a street sign...”

11. Website
for getting entries and voting

12. Website
for getting entries and voting

13. Website
for getting entries and voting

14. Website
for getting entries and voting

15. Birth book
“And we call her... Saudade”

20. Results
The campaign was a huge success. Many newcomers of Houten
Vinex send in their pictures. The project ended in 2006 yet till
today people still call the agency to order books.
Sorry folks, the 1,000 copies are sold out.

21. We create believers.
For more information:
Hugo Kalf hugo@bohemiaamsterdam.com
Kyra Roest kyra@bohemiaamsterdam.com
Bohemia Amsterdam
Sint Pieterspoortsteeg 23a
1012HM Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 [0]20 42 33 555
bohemiaamsterdam.com