“There’s a vastness here and I believe that the people who are born here breathe that vastness into their soul. They dream big dreams and think big thoughts, because there is nothing to hem them in.”
― Conrad Hilton
In the days where Hilton was building his global empire of hotels, the brand quickly became recognisable as the luxury hotelier began to leave his mark on the hospitality sector.
Conrad Hilton was a self-made man – creating the brand himself from the ground up, where became famous for his tireless work ethic and apparent disregard for ‘normal’ working hours. As you can imagine, everybody with something to sell wanted a piece of the Hilton brand.
For his next global campaign, Hilton enlisted the help of a highly regarded agency to support his vision and show the world something they had never seen. Something that would draw global travellers to his resorts at the first glimpse of the Hilton logo.
His only advice to the team:
“Bring Me the Moon.”
Seemingly bewildered, the agency’s Creative Director, Don, set his team to work and put some of the industry’s greatest minds to the task of creating the most elaborate campaign they had ever attempted to wow their esteemed client.
The result? A lavish campaign showcasing cultural items from across the globe re-named ‘Hilton’:
in an effort to make the Hilton name synonymous with globally recognised goods and conquer the minds of the consumers. Feeling rather proud of his achievement, Don returned with his proposal and eagerly awaited Hilton’s feedback. His response?
He fired them all.
Hilton stormed out of the room furious that his requests to ‘Bring Me the Moon’ had not been met, and felt that he had not been listened to throughout the process of his biggest campaign to date as Don ran blindly into the sunset with his own ideas.
The key is that Don and his team forgot the very thing that they were told.
Don and his team were so confident that their expertise would suffice to impress their client, to the point where it no longer needed his inspiration – forgetting the very reason they wanted to work together in the first place, the Hilton name.
A Valuable Lesson in Collaboration
Mr Highline takes great inspiration from this story and this ethos is what forms the way we view our client relationships. The value of listening is a highly undervalued skill in today’s industry.
Everybody likes to talk and tell you how valuable they can be; however, the true value lies in having the awareness to listen deeply to your client’s vision and use what you know to become a part of that, not distort it. You cannot sway a visionary.
Hilton held his partners to the same exacting standards in which he held himself and quickly realised that this was not being met, so he infamously made his feelings known.
When you work with a partner who puts your vision at the heart of everything they create, these issues never have the chance to materialise. You can feel confident knowing that your team shares that vision and respects the input that only can bring to life.
We are entering an exciting period of growth at Mr Highline, and we look forward to creating many more successful relationships and inspire something truly unique to you.
By Jonathan Orrells