Emmen deserves the best, Janwillem believes. He is responsible for the cheerful appearance of King’s Day in Emmen

“Emmen simply deserves this,” says Janwillem Naaldenberg. The creative strategist has now lived in Emmen for half his life and is disappointed with how the outside world views his city. “I can really get upset that Emmen is wrongly receiving negative news in the news left and right.”

Secretly hoping for it

Shortly after it is announced that the King is celebrating his 57th birthday in Emmen, Naaldenberg’s phone rings. It is project leader Harm Lassche, who asks on behalf of the municipality of Emmen whether Naaldenberg would like to think about King’s Day. “I thought it was fantastic, I had secretly hoped for it,” says the creative strategist. In this way he can contribute to a positive image of his city.

But explaining what exactly he does is not that easy. With his catering background, Naaldenberg gradually entered the events industry. “What I do is help companies that need extra creativity or a creative strategy to better reach their customers,” he explains.

Packaging

Naaldenberg came up with the new image of Hotel ten Cate. He is also partly responsible for the new identity of the Hello Festival. He thinks about everything that has to do with the appearance and atmosphere of the festival and gives the festival a face. “I take care of the packaging,” he explains of his own work. But the packaging must be coherent with the contents.

After Lassche’s call, Naaldenberg gets to work. He watches the king’s visits to cities such as Rotterdam, Maastricht and Eindhoven and always sees beautifully varied programs and a clear corporate identity. “But I missed the commonality. I wanted to give that a clear role.”

Insight in New York

He works with a few strict frameworks. The royal visit lasts two hours, NOS produces two hours of live television. “You want to do that
on the one hand show that people with a negative view of Emmen are wrong. But it is also the king’s birthday. Party. For everyone, from young to old.”

Naaldenberg finds this togetherness important. But how do you work this out further? He broods over it for a while. In New York he discovers the ‘key’ when he stands in front of a painting by the famous artist Keith Haring in the museum of modern art, MoMa. “His style is a doodle style. You actually can’t not like it. And anyone can draw that way. Then I thought: what if we let everyone make a drawing?

The whole of Emmen doodles

He feels he has a good idea. The municipality is enthusiastic and since then the whole of Emmen has been doodling. More than 4000 drawings are received. They have now been made into flags, banners, cardboard crowns and no less than 1,800 meters of cloth for the crush barriers. “I hope that the king will also start doodling,” says Naaldenberg enthusiastically.

The appeal to residents of the municipality about what the king should see has also not fallen on deaf ears. Hundreds of these also arrive. “From ripe to green. But a lot of things have been incorporated into the program.” Naaldenberg finds it great to see how a wonderful program is created thanks to all the joint efforts.

For the creative person, this also means that he sometimes has to let go of great ideas. For example, releasing hundreds of orange tip butterflies in Wildlands. Too risky. The doors he devised to guide the king to different worlds have become theme squares. It’s part of it, Naaldenberg knows. “It’s a process.”

This also applies to the logo designed by Naaldenberg. The friendly butterfly has gone through a lot of development since the first sketch. He is very proud of the end result. “He has become playful, everyone’s friend – a real character.”

Goosebumps

If you look closely at the butterfly, you will see that the animal is made up of three hearts. These represent Emmen’s core values: space, energy and pride. What Naaldenberg thinks applies to his city actually applies to the logo: “If you are willing to look closely, you will see that Emmen has a lot to offer.”

For the creative strategist, King’s Day has already been a success. “I was at the King’s Games at the primary schools last Friday. Coloring pages of the doodles were distributed there for the children. I had so much fun watching the children enthusiastically coloring those pictures. In that respect, the goal of making something together has been completely achieved. That gave me goosebumps.”