On 29 November, the director of the Public Relations Department at the Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam), Milou Halbesma, gave a lecture to students from the Faculty of Humanities’ University Master’s Degree in Cultural Management. This is the second straight year that Halbesma has visited the university to discuss the brand strategy that guides her work, and that of her team, as head of the Public Relations Department.  

In her introduction, Halbesma expressed her appreciation for the invitation and reminded attendees that the Van Gogh Museum is the most visited museum in Holland and one of the best known museums in Europe, with over 2.3 million visitors in the past year, 80% of which were foreigners. “Our mission is to try and make the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh accessible to as many people as possible”, she pointed out. 

During her talk, she explained how the work teams at the Dutch museum are organised and focused her presentation on outlining the institution’s strategic marketing and communications plan, aimed, principally, at strengthening the museum’s brand. “We have almost 10 million followers on social media and work hard to ensure our museum remains an excellent brand for Amsterdam”, she remarked. 

Halbesma concluded her talk by inviting the students to visit the museum, and reminded them that “Vicent Van Gogh began painting at the age of 27 and, though he never achieved fame in life, ended up becoming one of the world’s most iconic artists”.