Hunter S. Thompson: Know Your Audience

Above: Your target audience.

Hat and Cigar: standard observer looking from the outside in.

Gonzo Journalism:

A highly personal writing style breaking the tightly edited confines of traditional media. Stories are given character and personality, often humorous and profane. The author stands as protagonist—we are immersed in the story through their experience.

 
Meet the Father of Gonzo Journalism, Hunter S. Thompson.

 
After modest early success, Thompson received national acclaim for his 1967 book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.

Thompson’s style of grit and realism captivated a national audience. He became a bastion for the underrepresented counterculture rising in 1960’s America.

Hell’s Angels immerses us in the true story of the notorious California motorcycle chapter. The final product is personal, genuine; real. The reader is there with Thompson as he chronicles the authentic experience of life as a Hell’s Angel.

Traditional journalism includes standard research and interviews. While informative, we’re given a surface-level examination in a sterile format.

 
Gonzo Journalism bursts to life on the page. We are alongside the author, experiencing both facts and emotions.

Gonzo Journalism tells the complete story.

How did Thompson accomplish this?

Immersion.

 
Thompson spent a year with the notorious gang, living in their world.

It is this level of immersion which yields so rich, complex, and compelling a story as Hell’s Angels.

Understand your Audience

 
A superficial understanding of your audience is never enough. You must experience active engagement in their work.

Those who know their audience best win. Words and case studies are not enough. You must stand next to them. You must stand with them. You must observe. Engage. Understand.

There is no greater teacher than firsthand experience.

Often the most effective leaders come from the industry they now serve. They understand it fully. They have a degree of insight and forethought that only comes from experience.

A leader who has lived in the world they now serve AND have premium leadership skills is invaluable.

Immersion. Put this principle to work.

Leaders: intern with your audience. Spend a few days not as a “representative”—but as an observer. Most welcome sharing their working culture. You are a student. They are your teachers.

The three-fold benefits:

 
— Empathy with your audience’s needs.

— Understanding where your offering will make impact.

— Unmatched rapport.

Get in their space.

Establish yourself as a welcome guest and the door will always be open. You cannot buy the impact of a positive, authentic relationship. It transcends discounts and clever marketing. It only comes from first-hand experience. It only comes from learning their world, and earning their trust. A priceless combination.

 Immersion.

You are no longer a standard leader.

You are a Gonzo leader.

Gonzo. All-in. You remain relentlessly curious about their world, knowing the more you know the more value you add—and the more results you will produce.

Gonzo leadership.

Stop selling “at” them.

Start growing with them.

Mark Joseph Huckabee