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Brand Identity
July 12, 2024

Making a Message: Cogent Hire

Cogent Hire does credit hire the right way. And that means starting with a strong, memorable message to underpin their whole brand. That’s why they turned to HNW.

Message is the heart and soul of brand. Industry experts, agency leaders and leading CEOs know that putting message first is the only approach that delivers the best results for their marketing.

HNW have codified a unique message first marketing approach, and we’ve used that to help forward thinking brands grab attention and drive interest in their products and services. 

Brands like this one.

The Brand: Cogent Hire

If you don’t work in the vehicle insurance sector, then the only way you’d have heard of Cogent Hire – or the credit hire industry as a whole – is if you’ve been in an accident and needed a replacement vehicle. 

But if you do work in that sector, then you’ll likely have heard of this start-up that’s aiming for nothing less than changing the way an entire industry works. Gaining traction with insurers, repairers, electric vehicle experts and the wider automotive sector, Cogent Hire shows that a strong message really helps your business thrive.

The Message: Collaboration. 

It’s impossible to drive real, meaningful change if you’re going to say and do the same things as everyone else. 

When Cogent Hire entered the market, they knew the challenges any credit hire startup would face. A lack of trust between insurers and credit hire companies (CHCs), who had built a reputation for opaque pricing and difficult working practices. Increased friction between CHCs and repairers and body shops, who often felt exploited and unsupported. And a reputation for being fractious, difficult to work with and wedded to outdated working methods.

Cogent Hire would approach things differently. Their methods would be focused on transparency, fairness, and reducing friction. They would keep drivers at the heart of everything, and work for the best outcomes for policyholders while also looking out for repairers and insurers.

Their marketing needed to reflect this difference.

Cogent Hire isn’t a company that puts their own interests first. They bring respect, support and transparency to a whole supply chain. 

In our discussions with Cogent Hire’s leadership team, one word was mentioned over and over again. A word that would become the cornerstone of every single asset we’ve created for the company since its inception in 2020:  

Collaboration

Cogent Hire’s message wasn’t dreamt up in a workshop, or imposed on them to create an edge for their marketing. It’s a clear, simple reflection of everything the company is trying to do. To work with everybody involved in getting a driver back on the road after an accident. Insurers, repairers, manufacturers, and the driver themselves.

To bring all that expertise together for a single goal.

To work together to get people back on the road. 

It sounds simple. It almost sounds obvious. But in the world of Credit Hire, it’s a word that grabs attention and drives genuine change. 

Collaboration. 

The Voice: Warm Energiser

Cogent Hire’s voice was revealed by running a tone of voice workshop with the brand’s key decision makers as part of our message first process.

Over the years, every single person in the business has bought into that tone, and HNW has run multiple training workshops to help everyone bring that upbeat, high tempo style to their written communications.

Bringing together two tonal pillars, even Cogent Hire’s voice pays off on that message of collaboration. Warmth allows them to reassure drivers at a stressful time. Nobody sets out wanting to work with a CHC – they’re referred to one after something bad has happened. That supportive friendliness is key when dealing with unhappy, even upset customers and starting a relationship on the right foot.

And energy helps create the feeling of Cogent Hire as a problem solver, here to reduce friction for insurers and repairers, moving everything quickly towards a positive conclusion that benefits everyone. Especially drivers. 

A focus on building trust, moving forwards, and looking after everyone involved in a case. 

After an accident, we all want to speak to a warm energiser

The Deployment: Beside You, With You, For You

Because Cogent Hire invested in message first from the very start, that key tenet of collaboration runs through the company like a stick of rock. When new starters are handed their copy of the employee handbook, the first thing they learn on page one is that collaboration is key – explained in an authentically warm and energetic way.

That message of collaboration runs through every single email the company sends, every word on the client portal, every blog, LinkedIn post and flyer. It’s even embedded in the pitch decks they take to meetings.

And because the message of collaboration is so open and welcoming, Cogent Hire can put their own message forward even when they’re talking about strategic partners.

And because a message of collaboration needs to bring in the audience to work, it allows Cogent Hire to be a little knowing in some of the things they say. When they say something that seems like a cliche, they’re able to poke fun at it. Genuine warmth, as the reader brings their own knowledge to collaborate on the joke.

This focus on collaboration also lets Cogent Hire go out and speak directly to key members of their supply chain. Repairers are busy, under pressure from insurers, and often treated poorly by CHCs. By deploying their message in a warm way in print adverts, Cogent Hire can immediately explain to repairers and other members of their supply chain that they’ll be supported and valued.

THE KEY MESSAGE:  Collaboration

Primary strapline:     Beside you, with you, for you

Company mission: To do credit hire the right way, working in partnership to solve
problems head on, and deliver greater transparency and more
effective customer care.

Supporting messages: Driven to be different

A different kind of credit hire company

We’re here to do things the right way

We don’t hide the truth, we own it

Your collaborative credit hire company

In less than five years, Cogent Hire has gone from a challenger startup to a leading name in a competitive industry. That success is down to the drive, determination and hard work of the expanding team, but also their willingness to invest in marketing that will give them an edge over their competition. 

By understanding what makes them different, putting that at the centre of their external marketing and their internal culture and communications, Cogent Hire are standing out from the crowd with an inclusive message that means they own the concept of best practice in their industry. 

The power of the right ideas, backed by the right message.   

Putting your message first is so clear. So effective. So what are you waiting for?

Author:
Andrew Nattan
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July 1, 2024
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