December 20, 2004
letter to a client
Dear H,
I was thinking about our conversation the other day…
When you come right down to it, our businesses are pretty similar. In our own unique, haphazard, creative way, we help people get ahead in business.
Our methods differ, sure, but the end result is conceptually about the same kind of stuff. Clarity, creativity, simplifying, coming up with ideas etc.
The difference is, I have “The Hughtrain” and you don’t.
What is The Hughtrain? Not much, frankly. It’s a mere ramble. A collection of observations, loosely joined.
Still, as messy and incoherent as The Hughtrain is, at the heart of it is a very simple, strong idea:
“THE MARKET FOR SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN IS INFINITE.”
We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary.
We humans want to believe in our own species. And we want people, companies and products in our lives that make it easier to do so. That is human nature.
OK, so is that the deepest, smartest, most profound and revolutionary thing ever said about marketing? Of course not.
However, it is a very succinct expression of my basic belief system. It also “maps” a very clear starting point from where I like to begin creating value for my clients.
Add to that the cartoons and all the other “Hugh” detritus, and suddenly we’re talking about a pretty clear “brand” identity. Not perfect, sure, but hey, at least it all somehow holds together.
The purpose of working with The Hughtrain is to help the brand tap more heavily into its own pre-existing beliefs and values, in order to express itself more clearly to its market. The more clear the beiefs are expressed, the easier it is to make a sale. It isn’t rocket science.
The main belief of The Hughtrain is: that the higher up the spiritual foodchain the brand can push itself, the more relevant the brand becomes to its target market. The more relevant, the more sales, the more long-term customers. Again, it isn’t rocket science.
What we’re talking about is what Mark Earls calls the “purpose-idea”. Mark Earls is a strategy heavyweight over at Ogilvy, and his “Welcome To The Creative Age” is one of the best books I’ve read in years. I suggest you order a copy from Amazon.
[IN CONCLUSION:]
We know what you do, we know you’re good at it, we know you deliver value for your clients.
But what we don’t have is the “purpose-idea” of your company. I suggest our first priority should be to find one.
What’s your company for?
What higher belief is it expressing? Does it actually have one to express? Serious question.
Let me know your thoughts…
Hugh
Q — What higher belief is my company expressing?
A — Without sounding too goody-goody my company is about creating positive tangible impact. Most brands and companies aim to create ‘brand experience’ and hope that this will stick (like mud) in the customers mind.
What my company does is step outside of that marketing trap and operates between the commercial and public sector to create youth projects with aligned values and outcomes.
Of course my arguments are smattered with jargon about ‘differentiating competition’, ‘incresed social reputation’ etc but the belief that drives it is altruistic and humanist at its core.
…has enyone seen my halo?
DK