No California Rolls.

This manifesto was originally published on May 15th, 2016 before The Hub was even an LLC (later a C-Corp). Then, our community of photographers was less than 50 strong, still we felt certain a storm (later called ‘Influencer Marketing’) was coming. Five years later, this piece was ‘right as rain’.

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Year after year, one of the most revered sushi places in New York City is Sushi Sasabune. They don’t boast an innovative menu nor do they have a trendy ambiance, instead, they have what all forward-thinking businesses should seek: authenticity. They are who they are and they make no apologies about it. In fact, Sushi Sasabune takes it as far as having a sign in front of their Upper East Side facade that very plainly reads: “No California Rolls, No Spicy Tuna”. While their competitors pander to Western palates by adding quinoa to their rice and hiphop to their playlists, Sasabune stays true to what their passionate customers have come to expect: flawless, traditional sushi with no frills.

From Nigiri to Normcore, the same logic holds: in an age where transparency and honesty are paramount, your integrity is your lifeblood. As an influencer, maintaining authenticity in the dialogue between you and your followers will assure your success. By contrast, brands that micromanage your creative process, insist on discount codes, or write stiff caption copy are doing it wrong, plain and simple. The posts you do on their behalf will depreciate the trust between you and your followers and will ultimately perform less well (a lose-lose for both you and the brand).

Right now, ‘Influencer Marketing’ is the single most effective advertising method in existence. Campaigns run through influencers see an 11x ROI as compared to other “traditional” digital campaigns and customers acquired through influencer marketing are 37% more loyal. The reason it works is simple: consumers trust their friends more than they trust brands. Therefore, to post branded content effectively, you have to engage with your followers as a friend, not as a brand. Post content that ts your vibe, in a way that feels authentic, and your followers will engage favorably, irrespective of brand involvement.

At H, we uncompromisingly put the integrity of our community first. By working together, adventuring as a unit, and choosing brands that we want to work with carefully, we assure that, as a group, we have control over our own destiny. We will never use discount codes, nor will we work with brands that don’t fit our vibe. H is about community and authenticity before all else – we produce what we want, how we want – no California Rolls.