“Don’t believe the hype.” – Public Enemy (1988)

Twenty-four years later, that phrase remains a lexicon in the English language. Recently, I read a pre-release review on our upcoming release, “Headley Grange.” While I understand that everyone’s entitled to his or her opinion, and that I respect all reviews–good, bad, or indifferent–this particular review alluded to the alleged ‘hype’ that’s apparently been created around Headley Grange.

I found this particular portion of that review very interesting. Why? Simply because we have done everything possible here at Crowned Heads to be “anti-hype,” if you will. We have no sales force, reps, or brokers descending upon shop owners telling them that our cigars are the best thing since sliced bread. We have never done an in-store “event” that makes offers of ‘Buy-This-And-Get-This…FREE.” We have run ONE advertisement; a one page faceless Four Kicks ad that we did to support “Cigar Press” magazine that was done largely in part as a token of appreciation to CP for featuring us on the cover of their 5th Anniversary Collector’s Edition issue. We haven’t attached our brand to any celebrities, parties, or ‘tours.‘ We don’t write or mass email ‘press releases.’ You won’t see Four Kicks doing any cross-promotions with any auto companies, watch-makers, or spirits makers. There are no plans in the works for Crowned Heads coffee, wine, or chewing gum. We are cigar brand owners and we focus upon creating the best cigars we can on as consistent a basis as humanly possible, and we strive for a level of customer service that believes we should treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Plain and simple.

In our ‘former lives,’ we worked for a company that became known more for creating hype than creating premium cigars. When we had the chance for a “do-over,” we sat down and carved out our company’s philosophy which centered around the notion that Crowned Heads would always be about the product–not the marketing. We would always begin with a blend we believed in–that we personally enjoyed–and the rest (branding, packaging, etc.) would follow. We would never begin with an ‘idea’ or–do I daresay–a gimmick, and then plug in a blend selected as the best of 4 or 5 sample blends.

I am proud to say that we have stuck to this script, and that we will continue to do so for the duration.

Is Crowned Heads active in social media? Yes. This is how we disseminate our message in a timely and cost-effective manner to those that choose to listen. Do we create a stream of video content? Yes. This is how we try to connect with those following our journey in an attempt to ‘pull back the curtain,’ so to speak, and reveal what is going on at Crowned Heads, what has been done, and what is to come.

Does that create ‘hype?’ I suppose everyone can answer that question differently. And I would expect and hope that everyone will have a varying opinion on this; that is what makes life interesting.

So, know that Crowned Heads will continue down this ‘anti-marketing/anti-hype’ path. Our focus will always be about cigars and the people that support our business. We will continue to make choices and decisions based upon honesty, loyalty, and integrity. True, it may be contra to what is thought to be the ‘tried and true’ way of building a premium cigar company–but it is OUR way. And please “don’t believe the hype.” If you want to purchase and smoke our cigars–great. Hope you enjoy them. If you don’t, there are a plethora of other excellent cigars out there: Tatuaje, Illusione, Epernay, Room 101, Drew Estates, Curivari, Emilio, AJ Fernandez, Padron, Fuente…and the list goes on. It’s a great era to be a cigar enthusiast.

Smoke somethin‘ good!

Jon Huber
Crowned Heads