Ask an Amsterdam Local. They'll Send You to the Stedelijk Art Museum

May. 20, 2026

Amsterdam has a high concentration of museums and cultural attractions. International tourists and Dutch day-trippers visiting the city have plenty of choice, but limited time and increasingly tighter budgets. So how do you make sure that, among all those options, no visitor leaves Amsterdam without experiencing world-class modern art?

• A TRUE MUST-SEE

Amidst the noise of endless possibilities, the Stedelijk has been the modern art museum in the Netherlands for 130 years, with a leading international reputation to match. In its newest campaign, developed together with Amsterdam agency KesselsKramer, the museum confidently claims that position while staying true to its Amsterdam roots. Because for Amsterdammers, the Stedelijk is their Stedelijk — and for generations, the place to experience modern art that changes the way you see the world. 

Gijs van den Berg, Creative Director at KesselsKramer said:

“When you’re visiting a city, there’s nothing more valuable than a recommendation from a local. We translated that insight directly into a campaign that helps people make a choice at the moment it matters most.”

 

By combining the campaign claim with handwritten advice — symbolising a local Amsterdammer sharing tips for the best places in their city — the campaign becomes a personal recommendation for a place you simply shouldn’t miss. The visual identity is direct, quirky and unmistakably Amsterdam.

Darija Kalkan, head of Marketing Communications at the Stedelijk said:

“We’re responding to the need both Dutch day-trippers and international visitors have for confidence in their choices. By combining local recommendations with visibility at key decision-making moments throughout the city, we’re not only guiding people to the museum, we’re also encouraging them to actually visit it.”

 

• DIRECTIONS THROUGH THE CITY

The concept goes hand in hand with the media strategy: the message, presented as personal recommendations, changes depending on the location in which it appears, turning each execution into an actual set of directions.

The campaign appears wherever visitors arrive and make choices: from Schiphol Airport arrivals and train stations, to the streets leading toward the museum, online, in hotels and hospitality venues. Everywhere, the campaign helps guide visitors through Amsterdam towards its destination.

In addition to location-specific out-of-home advertising, the campaign includes digital ads targeting international visitors and day-trippers. Through guerrilla marketing, such as beer coasters in local cafés, the message also appears in popular hospitality venues across the city.

The campaign was developed by KesselsKramer in collaboration with the team at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and runs across Amsterdam and online.