“I like the depth you gain in government”

For over 25 years, we have been connecting organizations with the best marketing, communication, and content professionals. We find suitable assignments or positions for junior, medior, and senior professionals. In Spot On, we would like to introduce them to you. This time in Spot On: Simone van Straalen, Campaign Manager (ai) at the Ministry of Justice and Security.

No government experience

“As a campaign manager, I like to create campaigns that are about something. I find it challenging to be substantively involved for society. That is possible in government and I have wanted to work there for a long time. It is just difficult to get into government, as was the case for me. 

My background and experience are on the agency side. I have been active as a freelancer for over 12 years and have developed campaigns for all kinds of advertising agencies – both large and small. These also included agencies that do a lot of assignments for the government. For example, I worked for an international agency for over a year where ProRail was my client, which is semi-government. But not government…”

Persevere

“I had already been in contact with Babbage for other assignments, I wanted to work for the government so badly. I thought: persistence pays off, don't give up! You really offered an opening. The assignment for campaign manager at the Ministry of Justice and Security came through you and Iwein dared to propose it to me! He brought my CV to the attention of the Ministry.”

From office to government

“At the Ministry of Justice, I am a campaign manager for all dossiers that the ministry is working on. This means that I develop and implement communication strategies and campaign plans in consultation with communication advisors and policy officers. In concrete terms, this means that I develop briefings for the agency based on the communication strategy. I supervise the preparation and development of the campaigns. In this way, I am an intermediary between the policymakers and the agencies.

My experience on the agency side is certainly an advantage in this role. It helps to have the knowledge of how things work on the agency side. That way I can help the ministry develop ideas in the right direction. Before the briefing is sent to an agency, a lot of coordination has to take place to ensure that everything is correct in terms of content. The message we want to communicate from the ministry must correspond with the policy.”

Information and prevention

"I am currently working on the campaign to encourage victims of sexual violence to report it. This is a multi-year campaign and we are now working on the strategy for the follow-up for next year. How we can further deepen the campaign.

In addition, I am working on the follow-up to the campaign against receiving stolen goods. We want to encourage people to check in advance whether a second-hand product has been stolen when they buy it. I am also working on a campaign on home burglaries. When the lockdown is over and people are away from home more often, this will be a very topical problem. Information about burglary prevention will then be very important.

When we think of Justice, we often think of enforcing laws. That is true, but the ministry is also very much concerned with prevention. The campaign on sexual violence focuses mainly on preventing it and finding the right help, which is important for victims. That is very close to my heart, I think it is great to be able to contribute to that.”

Refreshing view from outside

“I often find that the fact that I have no previous experience with the government is very refreshing. I am not prejudiced about the way things can sometimes work in the government. I go for the goal. The people I work with do the same and that works very well. My colleagues at the ministry are very open to new things and enjoy tackling things differently than they are used to.”

Social development

“This assignment is really very different in content than what I have done before. I am closer to the source and work with subjects that affect society, people. When I think back to my work in the agency world, I now look at it differently. It is super fun work, you have a lot of contact with creative people and such a creative environment is very innovative. That is the appeal of working on the agency side. In government, it is the depth that appeals to me. So far one of the more fun assignments I have done!”

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