De Baak uncovers the power of uncertainty in new campaign

De Baak, the leading institute for management training in the Netherlands, has launched a new brand campaign exploring the role uncertainty can play in leadership and personal growth. 

The campaign builds on research from De Baak which found that, in times of uncertainty, people tend to seek clarity and solutions, even though moments of ambiguity, resistance and doubt often create valuable opportunities for growth. 

Created by newly independent Amsterdam agency Dawn, the campaign turns that tension into a simple, yet unconventional invitation: ‘Focus on what’s unclear.’ 

Leaders are conventionally expected to be razor sharp: confident in their decisions and clear on their direction rather than hesitant, insecure or tentative. But De Baak challenges this traditional view of leadership, celebrating the power of being able to admit uncertainty. The moments when we’re questioning ourselves or unsure of the way forward can be some of the most valuable, creating space to better understand ourselves, challenge our assumptions and grow. 

It’s a tension reflected in De Baak’s own research showing that 67% of the professionals surveyed feel the world is more uncertain than it was three years ago, while half say they have a greater need for calm and stability. At the same time, 83% rarely or never step outside their comfort zone, and 32% are unsure how or in what areas they want to develop. It’s this tension that sits at the heart of a quietly confident campaign: not everything that feels unclear needs to be resolved immediately.

De Baak puts moments of uncertainty front and centre in the new campaign. The tagline, focus on what’s unclear, captures that idea, while the visuals bring it to life through a deliberately blurred lens, constantly shifting in and out of focus around the protagonist. The same approach carries through in the photographic elements which unconventionally, features out of focus images.

The campaign was developed by strategic and creative agency Dawn, working with award-winning production company HAMLET and renowned Czech director Jara Moravec to create something slightly removed from the traditional visual language of traditional advertising. Shot entirely on film, the work deliberately plays with focus, light and shadow, embracing ambiguity. The result is closer in spirit to an art house film than a conventional commercial: atmospheric, understated and deliberately open to interpretation.

For Dawn and De Baak, it was important that the work remained recognisably connected to the visual world of their previous campaigns, while giving Moravec the freedom to bring his own artistic sensibility to the compositions, pacing and use of light. Renowned Belgian photographer Stig de Block carried the same deliberately out-of-focus approach into the campaign photography, creating a series of striking images that resist the polished perfection of conventional advertising.

“We’re constantly trying to defy expectations with De Baak. Just like with previous campaigns, we’re sharing a contemporary take on leadership through the tagline and overall message. But the visual aspect is equally important; how do we make that go against convention? By shooting out of focus, we tell the story visually, but also make something that stands out.” Maarten Gooskens, copywriter at Dawn, says.

“In times of uncertainty,  our instinct is often to go searching for answers. We see this reflected in our research too. But through our training, people discover that  ambiguity, resistance and noise can actually offer the greatest opportunities for growth,” Justine Passera, Manager Marketing & Communications at De Baak says. “We want people to recognise the potential in these moments. Uncertainty can be a real source of strength, not weakness.” 

Moravec added: "Shooting a story that’s mostly out of focus is a pretty wild premise. It really messes with your head because you’re having to frame for the background instead of the subject.  It was a really fascinating way to shoot. You block the scene once, then shoot it again and again from different angles. The whole process becomes much more about the composition and the space around the action than the action itself.”