UWV

When times are tight

Ask anyone what UWV, the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency, does and you’ll hear: “Benefits, right?”. Well yes, but that’s only a sliver of the whole truth. In reality, UWV is involved in just about every aspect of employment.
We had to find a way to tell the full story. And what better way to do that than tapping into current affairs: the biggest labour shortage in decades.

As part of our newly developed strategy, we opted for an unexpected approach. Not a big brand campaign, but a twofold plan. First we needed to bring the issue to life. Make it about people, not data. And second, we needed to create a platform to discuss solutions. The result: "KRAP" (tight) a short film by legendary Dutch filmmaker Eddy Terstall that premiered at a talk show featuring a range of influential thought leaders.

The film is a mosaic narrative that consists of 4 intertwining stories, showing the various hurdles people are encountering in the current job market. A business owner who can’t find enough people, an injured builder, an HR manager trying to sort out her rota, and a mum looking to rejoin the workforce. Each facing their own challenges. Where their paths cross, we find UWV.

Besides addressing the issue of labour shortage in the film, we also wanted to talk about solutions. That’s where the KRAP talk show came in. An evening, hosted by UWV, to discuss the unprecedented labour market tightness. We invited union heads, the UWV chair, economists, politicians; anyone with an influential position in the world of employment. In addition to being an in-person event, it was also broadcast as an interactive livestream.

Both the film and the talk show hit the mark. By doing so, UWV has demonstrated their versatility, their leading role in the world of work and their ability to proactively search for solutions to problems that concern us all.


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