10,000 Eyes, an Iconic Campaign to Stop Shop Robberies in Rotterdam
The Rotterdam police approached us to develop an urban public awareness campaign that would decimate the number of shop robberies in the west of the city.
The Goal: No More Shop Robberies
Rotterdam’s Delfshaven district was experiencing high numbers of shop robberies — especially during the dark winter months. The Rotterdam police approached us to devise and implement an urban public awareness campaign that would raise citizens’ awareness and make solving crime a collective effort. The ultimate goal was a 100% reduction in the number of shop robberies in the area.
Creating the Talk of the Town
We chose simple, clear and eye-catching imagery to communicate the campaign. By placing thousands of mysterious eyes across the area, we communicated that everyone is looking out for each other. In one night, together with a team of 70 citizens, business owners and police officers, we spread thousands of eyes over pavements, street furniture and even trams. The icing on the cake were two huge eyes of 100 square metres each on the two iconic Europoint towers in the area. In this way, we created an Instagrammable landmark that could be seen from all over Rotterdam.
The purpose and organisers of the campaign were not disclosed in the first week, leading to widespread speculation on the streets and in the media. This provided the perfect moment for the police to organise a press conference to officially launch the campaign. In addition to the urban interventions, we designed a campaign newspaper that was distributed throughout Rotterdam. We also developed a social media campaign that generated wider attention for 10,000 Eyes and its objectives.
The number of robberies dropped to zero
Results We Are Proud Of
The campaign proved a success. The number of robberies in the September—December period dropped to zero. 10,000 Eyes featured in many regional and national media and, thanks in part to its iconic imagery, the campaign reached the majority of Rotterdam’s population. The 10,000 Eyes approach became a blueprint for other social campaigns in the city. In 2012, the campaign was nominated for the Don Berghuijs Award, an award for the most innovative public safety campaign in the Netherlands.
