It was hot. So hot that my friend Anita left the big, street-facing, first floor window of her Amsterdam apartment open and unintentionally fell asleep. The next morning, she found the footprint-shaped card you see above just inside the window. It says (in Dutch):
This shoeprint could have been from a burglar...
Very effective. Very personal. Much more so than a call the following morning because it's not just saying that someone might have come through the window, but that someone (effectively) did. Now that's channel selection.
And great branding from the Amsterdam police. Anita not only says she will never, ever leave the window open again, but she's showing the card to all her friends. I think because it not only says "We're watching out for you". It displays a sharp understanding of attention and memory. Like a burglar, the message is silent, unobtrusive and therefore, all the more alarming. It makes me wonder (in a good way) about who the Amsterdam police are. It makes them interesting.
Especially since you never see the Amsterdam police anywhere except the Red Light District. A powerful reminder that they're effectively looking over the rest of the city as well.
Posted by: josh | August 10, 2006 at 11:55 AM