After XXS winning the European tender and creative pitch of Port of Amsterdam last year, the agency is now launching the first campaign around the opening of the largest sea lock in the world. This new lock - Zeesluis IJmuiden - will replace the Noordersluis lock and will be officially opened by the Dutch King Willem-Alexander on 26 January.

The campaign consists of two phases. The first phase focuses on the official opening of the sea lock. In the second phase, from 27 January onwards, various propositions of Port of Amsterdam will be loaded with information telling the story of the sustainable future of the Amsterdam port.

The sea lock campaign makes smart use of media. The locations of the bus shelters in the centre of Amsterdam, IJmuiden and Velzen were carefully chosen. Online banners and social advertising have been purchased in cooperation with Daily Dialogues on the basis of geotargeting and niche media.

"With this campaign, we are giving Port of Amsterdam all the flexibility it needs to communicate consistently about different propositions, through different channels, to different target groups. We have opted for a form that we can make relevant over and over again in a cost-efficient way in order to get the most out of media and resources." says Sanne Tolsma, Managing Director of XXS.

Erik Bruinsma, Strategic Marketer at Port of Amsterdam: "The strategy and creation that XXS has developed fits seamlessly with our new brand positioning in which we want to show with courage and decisiveness that we, as a port, have the ambition to lead the way in the transition to a sustainable society. The new sea lock is used as a metaphor for this. It is great to see how the various agencies within Candid platform work together to achieve the best possible result for us as clients."

The IJmuiden lock complex can be seen as the front door of the Ports of Amsterdam region. It is crucial that the sea locks facilitate the logistic flows to and from the port reliably and with sufficient capacity. The new sea lock is a Rijkswaterstaat construction and part of the country's coastal defences. The new IJmuiden sea lock is also operated by the Harbour Master's Division of the Port of Amsterdam.