NS Archives - THE GROUNDBREAKERS

RETAILLAND

Giselle Koning — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 08:52:57 +0000

Welcome to Retailland, the magical tropical island where the NS Retail-tribe comes together for a two day staff festival. We transformed the beautiful Werkspoorkathedraal in Utrecht into the summer oasis of Retailland. Visitors embarked on a journey of discovery, exploring all the magical places that a tropical island has to offer.

Upon arrival, you were immediately immersed in the atmosphere by the sounds of a live didgeridoo artist, followed by an impressive Haka workshop. Island guests enjoyed unforgettable performances and delightful treats from one of the many food trucks in the Lost City. In the Jungle, they embraced the challenge of a lasergame challenge, through trees and swinging monkeys on vines.

The Lagoon offered a magical experience, where visitors could float on the ball pit lake while savoring drinks from the wine bar. And finally, they danced away the night at the silent disco submarine on the beach.

We are still enjoying this fantastic staff party on the tropical island of Retailland. We were completely ‘Lost in Retailparadise’ for a while.

Het bericht RETAILLAND verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

TRAINEN MET DE TREIN

admin — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 13:48:48 +0000

Traveling by train to school, work, or for a day out is a normal part of life for many people. However, for those with a mild intellectual disability, traveling by train often causes stress or problems. In the Netherlands, over a million people have a mild intellectual disability and experience difficulties when traveling by train. Sudden changes in the schedule or sensory overload from noise are examples that can cause additional stress for these individuals. Fortunately, NS developed the TrainTrainPackage to make traveling a bit easier and more enjoyable for these individuals. The launch event of this package was organized by The Groundbreakers at a fitting location, the Railway Museum. The day was filled with activities for and by the target audience, a delicious lunch, and inspirational sessions with guest speaker Princess Laurentien were part of the program. The successful event was presented by Tooske Ragas, where the target audience received the TrainTrainPackage from NS top executive, Wouter Koolmees. Making train travel more accessible for people with disabilities through the TrainTrainPackage is an important step that contributes to the freedom and inclusion of this group.

Het bericht TRAINEN MET DE TREIN verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

BIG BAGS, BIG IMPACT

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 15:20:06 +0000

Each day, 11. 000 bottles (!) end up being trash at Utrecht Central Station. Fortunately, from now on there are deposit vending machines where you can hand in your plastic bottle. You can donate your deposit to the Plastic Soup Foundation or receive the deposit directly into your bank account with Tikkie.

NS asked The Groundbreakers to organize the opening of- and activation around the first deposit vending machine. By pushing the bottlecap-button, the curtain made of recycled train material fell down, unveiling the first deposit vending machine at the station. Stakeholders handed in the first plastic bottles, interviews were given to the media and the deposit vending machines were ready to be used for everyone!

To make this huge impact visible and to activate the new deposit vending machines, we create waste pile in the central hall of the station. These big bags contained the exact amount of plastic bottles thrown away daily only on this station. Enthusiastic hosts at the setting informed travelers about the new deposit vending machines. This activation attracted the attention of thousands of passers-by and was picked up many times by the media in their news items, for example this item from NOS. After the successful event at Utrecht Central Station, other train stations followed. Such as The Hague CS, Amsterdam CS, Rotterdam CS and Eindhoven CS. NS has the intention to create deposit vending machines at fifty train stations.

Het bericht BIG BAGS, BIG IMPACT verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

ROLL-IN EVENT

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 10:02:21 +0000

New single-decker trains with a speed of 200 km/h, which accelerate faster than the Thalys and also have a lot of comfort and are easily accessible. That characterizes the ICNG – Intercity New Generation – of NS. The train is equipped with many conveniences such as comfortable seats, media connections, sockets and WiFi. In addition, the train has quiet areas for working or resting and zones for socializing and meeting. Of course, the public presentation of this brand new train could not go unnoticed and that is where The Groundbreakers came into play.

We took on the production of the launch event, registrations went like a train. We realized an appealing meeting point with decoration in the station hall of Rotterdam Central. Friendly hostesses spoke to 3500 interested people and a media moment took place where a young train fan opened the event together with a conductor. The public presentation of the Intercity New Generation was a great success. There were guided tours of the train all day long and visitors could take a train snapshot as a souvenir in the social setting we provided.

Het bericht ROLL-IN EVENT verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

BLIND BOEKENDATE

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 13:09:30 +0000

Blind date... with a book! The Dutch Railways is very fond of reading, because reading is one of the favorite activities in the train. For the National Book Week, with the theme 'First Love', we opened a special pop-up store for NS at the station in 's Hertogenbosch where visitors could go on a Blind Book Date. The books were packaged in recycled kraft paper and labelled with characteristics such as 'adventurous' or 'romantic'. In the Blind Book Date Shop, the public could find a perfect match and go on a date with a free book. In this way, everyone could be surprised and contribute to the sustainable reuse of books. The slogan of the pop-up store was therefore 'Don't judge a book by its cover'. The Groundbreakers took care of the concept development and production of this sustainable brand activation.

Het bericht BLIND BOEKENDATE verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

BRING YOUR OWN

Giselle Koning — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 13:03:28 +0000

Every year, 30 million disposable cups end up in the waste bins at and around the station. These cups cannot be recycled because of the material they are made of. As a result, 80,000 cups are lost every day after one-time use. The Dutch Railways (NS) believes this must change. With the campaign 'Bring Your Own = The Way To Go', NS calls on passengers to bring along a reusable cup when they travel. By taking their own cup with them, the enormous amount of thrown away cups is reduced. An additional advantage for the traveler is that drinking from your own cup provides a 25 cent discount. With this campaign, NS stimulates reusable cups to become the new norm.

The Groundbreakers was asked to develop a mediagenic activation for the launch of this sustainable campaign. To visualize the impact of single-use cups, we placed an eye-catching waste container with thousands of actually used disposable cups in the station hall. Travelers were encouraged to throw away their very last disposable cup. When participants throw the cup into the container, the scenery suddenly comes to life. The mannequin arms with protest signs spontaneously start moving, the lights around the container turn green and the participants are enthusiastically rewarded with the sound of loud applause from within the waste container. The playful brand activation creates awareness, activates the target group to take action and has generated a lot of national media attention.

Met deze activatie heeft The Groundbreakers samen met NS de allereerste Gouden Giraffe voor het meest duurzame evenement in 2023 gewonnen. Lees Read meer over de awardwinst!

Het bericht BRING YOUR OWN verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

OPENING STATION MAASTRICHT

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 12:36:20 +0000

The beautiful Maastricht railway station has been restored to its former glory after a renovation of more than two years. In 1916, the monumental station was taken into use, because of the First World War no official opening took place. Now that the station has been fully renovated, the Dutch Railways asked The Groundbreakers to create and produce the official opening.

To emphasize the monumental hall with its historical elements in the spotlight, a gracious tissue artist formed the opening act. After the spectacular act, the station manager was symbolically handed the key to Maastricht station. This resulted in a beautiful press image, matching the stylish and historic surroundings.

The restoration has revealed hidden treasures, such as a special wall painting, a clock and a fountain to travellers. In honour of the opening, a special route was created in the station to highlight these treasures. Travellers could scan the QR code at these treasures, after which they learned more about the history of the building by watching a video. Travel back in time and experience the history of Maastricht railway station!

Het bericht OPENING STATION MAASTRICHT verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

UPCYCLE SHOP

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 13:41:12 +0000

Using materials, making products and then discarding it again is a waste. And also unnecessary. NS wants to limit the use of new raw materials as much as possible and wishes to use the raw materials that already exist for as long as possible. That is why NS and its partners are producing products from recycled train materials. Think of notebooks made of travel information signs, an emergency brake or meditation cushions made from old train seats upholstery. All these items - and many more - are sold in the Upcycle Shop; a cool pop-up shop at Utrecht Central Station. The past years, The Groundbreakers had the honour to organize the production of the Upcycle Shop for NS. A high-impact brand activation that not only gave materials a second life, but also created awareness.

Ready to create impact together? Get in touch with us!

Het bericht UPCYCLE SHOP verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .

PLAY FOR POWER

Giselle Koning — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 09:50:25 +0000

Onderweg en stroom nodig voor het opladen van je mobiele telefoon? Play for Power! Neem plaats op de energie-opwekkende schommels en laad je telefoon op door te bewegen. The Groundbreakers heeft de merkactivatie ‘Play for Power’ voor de Nederlandse Spoorwegen bedacht en in huis ontwikkeld. De energie-opwekkende schommels op station Utrecht Centraal zijn zeer goed ontvangen door de reizigers en veelvuldig gedeeld op social media. Dankzij de nationale en internationale media-aandacht van onder andere NU.nl, AD, Linda, Metro, RTV Utrecht, Telegraaf, DUIC, Beste Social Media en LADbible hebben wereldwijd meer dan 40 miljoen mensen kennis gemaakt met de bijzondere schommels. Interesse in Play for Power? Neem touch with us!

Het bericht PLAY FOR POWER verscheen eerst op THE GROUNDBREAKERS .