Beyond the Billboards: A Case Study on the Rotterdam Municipal Drug Campaigns

Through a comprehensive case study, including an analysis of municipal documents, participatory observations, and interviews with professionals and the campaign’s target audience (recreational drug users aged 18 to 34 from Rotterdam), this research shows how the municipality’s top-down approach, with bold statements, attracted much media attention, but ultimately missed its purpose and failed to reach its intended audience. The study shows that many young people did not feel addressed by the message; they discussed the campaigns, but mainly about the style and tone. No behavioural change was observed, and while a specific technique was chosen to influence behaviour, it seems unlikely that the city’s youth will change their perceptions if the municipal approach stays the same.