De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven

Goods are the leading cause of environmental impact for the average Dutch citizen, surpassing driving, housing, eating meat, and flying. As a society, we consume endlessly. The silver lining? Buying secondhand and repairing items is slowly gaining traction. However, a significant portion of Eindhoven residents still rarely, if ever, shop secondhand. We can change that, especially in a city with so many options. Enter De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven, a campaign designed to make choosing secondhand and refurbished goods fun, accessible, and a natural choice. We have been doing this for two years in a row now, together with Eindhoven’s thrift stores and Repair Cafés.

The message of De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven

De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven is wordplay on the Dutch expression ‘de normaalste zaak van de wereld’, or ‘the most natural thing in the world’. Because if you want something to happen, act as if it already is. We believe that choosing secondhand or refurbished is the most natural thing in the world—especially in a city like Eindhoven, where sustainability is a priority. That belief inspired the campaign’s name (thanks to Megawatt). Our mission? To inspire people to see secondhand and refurbished goods as great options—whether for their uniqueness, the stories they carry, the money saved, or the positive impact on the planet.

Collaboration with thrift stores and Repair Cafés

De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven isn’t just a push for a sustainable future; it’s also a tribute to Eindhoven’s many thrift stores, secondhand shops, and Repair Cafés. Eindhoven is rightfully considered a secondhand treasure trove, boasting eight Repair Cafés where residents can fix their broken items affordably. We didn’t want to create a campaign for them but with them. Together with the Municipality of Eindhoven, we invited all the local thrift stores and Repair Cafés to City Hall for a discussion about their organizations and challenges. Together, we crafted a campaign that tells a positive, engaging story—one without judgment—that highlights their best features, while keeping it authentic.

Addressing the challenges

Many thrift stores and Repair Cafés are tucked away in Eindhoven’s outskirts—hidden in industrial zones or community centers. Their challenge was clear during our initial meeting: help us become more visible. The campaign targeted a specific audience: 30- to 45-year-old convenience shoppers. This group doesn’t shop secondhand for financial reasons, preferring the convenience of sites like Amazon, bol.com, and Zalando, with their next-day delivery. While these shoppers occasionally buy secondhand items on platforms like Marktplaats or Vinted, they seldom step into physical secondhand stores. However, they enjoy leisurely shopping trips and care about sustainability—they just need a bit of nudging to make more eco-friendly choices.

Showcasing the best of thrift shops and Repair Cafés

The image of thrift stores among people who've never been to one isn’t great—and understandably so. Many stores are housed in unremarkable buildings and have chaotic interiors. But therein lies their charm: they’re the perfect spots for treasure hunts. To capture this appeal, we sent photographer Max Kneefel to document Eindhoven’s thrift stores and Repair Cafés. The result? Authentic, professional photos that highlight the warmth and character of these spaces.

Campaign visual identity

We partnered with fffunction.studio to develop a visual identity that reflects the cozy, quirky feel of thrift stores and Repair Cafés while maintaining a fresh, Eindhoven-inspired look. Using modern dark brown and beige as base colors, accented with vibrant shades of blue, pink, and orange, the style communicates the value of secondhand goods. The central concept, “frame-worthy,” elevates the treasures of thrift stores, framing them both literally and metaphorically.

Pop-ups: bringing secondhand and repair closer

With De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven, we aim to make secondhand and refurbished choices feel more natural for people who rarely choose them. One of the most effective ways to do that is by bringing the offerings of thrift stores and Repair Cafés directly to where people already are.

Pop-up at the Heuvel

In 2024, we did this with a pop-up shop in the Stadsstudio in De Heuvel during Climate Week. It offered a low-barrier introduction to secondhand and refurbished goods for our target group, the convenience shopper, to encourage future visits to thrift stores and Repair Cafés. Together with the participating thrift stores, we furnished the shop and fully transformed it into De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven using stickers, posters, and campaign visuals.

Visitors could browse secondhand clothing, home accessories, jewelry, tableware, records, books, and much more. Local thrift stores donated all items, and the proceeds went directly to Stichting Speelcadeau, a toy bank supporting children in the region. Each item featured a “donated by” label, showing which thrift store it came from. Volunteers enthusiastically shared stories about their shops, and many visitors engaged in conversations to learn more about thrift stores and Repair Cafés across the city.

Repair Cafés demonstrated how household appliances can be fixed, rescuing around six crates of broken items from thrift stores that would otherwise have ended up at the waste disposal site. The pop-up also featured upcycling demonstrations, where experts showed how items can be given a second life. At a mini-workshop by Emmaus, visitors made Christmas decorations out of discarded materials, while New Order of Fashion customized clothing, bags, and caps with vibe patches. Visitors could also add a touch of local pride to their newly purchased items.

In total, we raised €2,445 for Stichting Speelcadeau. While we did not track exact visitor numbers, the average price of around €3 per item gives a good indication of how busy it was. This was no coincidence. We advertised extensively on digital screens throughout the city and via social media. The novelty of the pop-up, combined with a promotional cart and street team from De Reuringdienst, gave it an extra boost, resulting in a consistently full shop throughout the four days.

De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven on tour in 2025

Following the success of the 2024 pop-up, we took things one step further in 2025. Throughout November, we travelled across Eindhoven with our pop-up van, stopping at eight locations, ranging from local markets to the TU/e campus. Turning a van into a fully functional mini thrift store and Repair Café is easier said than done, so we teamed up with Studio Sociaal Centraal. They developed a practical, modular design using crates, allowing us to display secondhand treasures and restock them easily throughout the day.

And that turned out to be very necessary, as items sold quickly. A big part of that success was the energy of our shop host, Bjorn Nieuwenhoff, who engaged passersby in conversations about their experiences with secondhand and refurbished goods, yielding many valuable insights.

Inside the van, the Repair Café had its own workspace. Visitors could book a time slot for repairs via an online booking platform, which proved especially popular among people who had never visited a Repair Café and wanted to give it a try. From sandwich grills to power tools, and from retro radios to coffee grinders, almost everything that came in left with a second life thanks to the skilled Repair Café volunteers.

Clothing repair and upcycling also played a role during the tour. Climate mayor Katja Lumme and fashion designer Madelon Hendrix joined us in the van to carry out repairs and host upcycling workshops. After all, it is not only appliances that end up being discarded; clothing deserves a second life, too.

During the tour, more than 1,000 people stopped by to buy items or have them repaired. In addition, many visitors came to take a look, pick up a leaflet, or watch the Repair Café in action. Once again, the campaign supported a good cause. This time, we raised €1,335 for Inloophuis ’t Hemeltje, a day shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Eindhoven.

A lasting impact with an interactive map

To encourage Eindhoven residents to visit thrift stores and Repair Cafés throughout the year, we launched a campaign website in 2024 featuring two interactive maps. One highlights a route along all thrift stores and secondhand shops in Eindhoven. The other shows nearly all repair services and Repair Cafés across the city. These maps are useful both for people looking for a secondhand store or Repair Café nearby and for true thrift enthusiasts aiming to visit as many locations as possible in one day.

Welcome to De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven

To ensure the in-store experience at thrift stores and Repair Cafés aligned with the campaign, we developed a comprehensive campaign kit for them. This included window stickers, banners, posters, and counter displays to transform their spaces into De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven. Since the campaign coincided with the holiday season, we also provided the stores with kraft wrapping paper, gift stickers, and campaign-branded tags. Additionally, we equipped them with a social media toolkit containing images, photos, and example posts, further expanding the campaign’s reach.

In 2025, we expanded this further by creating custom in-store displays for the thrift stores, made from the same crates used during De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven on tour. This created a strong visual link between the pop-ups and the participating shops.

Visibility across the city

During the campaign periods in November 2024 and November 2025, campaign visuals were displayed on digital screens throughout Eindhoven, making De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven highly visible in the public space. The slogans focused on the key values of secondhand and refurbished goods, such as “The best gift tells a story,” “Secondhand plays just as well,” “Give your old items a new adventure,” and “We fix things that are broken.” Many pop-up visitors mentioned seeing the visuals all over the city, reinforcing recognition and engagement.

A Bonk award

As a final highlight, we won a bronze Bonk in 2025, the Brabant Communications Award, in the category Public Communication. The jury described De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven as an enthusiastic and likeable campaign and was particularly impressed that, as a city marketing organisation, we largely conceived and executed the campaign ourselves.

What's next?

In 2026, we will continue to strengthen the visibility and relevance of secondhand and refurbished goods in Eindhoven through more traditional content marketing. Rather than launching another large-scale campaign, we will focus on timely themes such as spring cleaning, students moving into new rooms, and the holiday season. In addition, we will use insights from the research by Studio Sociaal Centraal and Bjorn Nieuwenhoff to develop a practical toolkit with tips and tricks for both Repair Cafés and thrift stores.

Ackowledgements

To increase impact and reach, we partnered with the Municipality of Eindhoven, who enthusiastically supported the campaign by connecting us with thrift stores and Repair Cafés and assisting with the pop-ups. Megawatt developed the campaign concept, fffunction.studio created the visual identity, and Max Kneefel photographed all participating thrift stores and Repair Cafés and produced the campaign imagery. De Reuringdienst built the promotional cart used during the pop-ups.

In 2025, Studio Sociaal Centraal supported the concept and execution of De Normaalste Zaak van Eindhoven on tour, Bjorn Nieuwenhoff was our very charming shop host, and Dominic van Buul provided videography. Most of all, we thank the thrift stores and Repair Cafés themselves. They invested an incredible amount of time, energy, and effort into this campaign.