Concerns about the future 

‘Business was going well: we were flying around the world, creating great work, earning enough. Yet we started asking ourselves: what are we actually doing?’ The trigger was that many colleagues were having children, Bas explains. ‘And as a young parent, you worry about your children’s future. That no longer matched what we were doing all day at the office: mainly promoting things that are bad for you.’ 

‘Because the world is on fire, but eighty per cent of advertising in the Netherlands is made for things like fast food, energy drinks and petrol cars. Industries in which a great deal of money circulates, but which, to put it mildly, do not contribute to a better world. And our company was no exception.’ It was time for a change. 

A shift towards social impact  

‘What we are good at is getting people talking about an issue and really bringing about change in society. At that time, we were asked several times to create major campaigns that were less commercial and more focused on social impact.’ 

‘And that turned out to work. So we decided: let us use our toolkit to help make the Netherlands more equal, more sustainable, safer and healthier.’ 

Market leader 

That was quite a step. ‘We work with a team of top talents, and top salaries go with that. So it did take a lot of hard work to make it all add up. But in the end, we have managed it every year. Of course, we are now operating in a much narrower market, so it is less self-evident that work will simply come our way. But by now we are the market leader.’ 

A different view of success 

‘The shift has also changed our view of success, both for ourselves and for the corporate world as a whole,’ Bas explains. ‘In the past, our clients were all focused on making money and creating value for shareholders. But there is also a social role you can take on. What is that role, and what does it bring you as a company? That inevitably changes what success looks like – for us, but also for our clients.’