In the third quarter of 2014, Harley Davidson sales beat an already strong previous year…

Harley isn’t just an iconic American brand, it’s also a fantastic case study of successful marketing.

They’ve managed to stay relevant and build a huge brand despite a changing marketplace and an aging buyer demographic.

Let’s take a look at how they became THE legendary American motorcycle – and how they’ve managed to stayed on top…

Becoming An American Icon

Harley Davidson is one of the few brands that has managed to achieve truly iconic status – and they’ve done it without having to resort to wall-to-wall, in your face advertising.

But Harley Davison hasn’t always been the corporate success it is now…

Twice the company flirted with bankruptcy – before adopting the marketing strategy that has led to outstanding and consistent growth. Even more impressively, these results came through in a highly competitive market, against aggressively marketed and less expensive Japanese motorcycles.

Harley Davidson understood the benefit of social branding well before it became just another buzzword…

As a brand, they offer an emotional appeal to rebellion and freedom. Owning a Harley Davidson isn’t just about having a motorcycle – it’s about belonging to an elite group of people with a shared set of values.

Because the company was able to market itself as more than a motorcycle company, they have the capacity to expand into a range of other products. In much the same way that Apple is synonymous with a certain approach to design, so is Harley Davidson…

This allows them to offer a much wider range of products – everything from food to fashionable clothes…

Identifying Their Unique Advantage Point (UAP)

Harley Davidson has definitely succeeded in identifying their Unique Advantage Point…

While competitors were able to innovate faster, and sometimes produce more technologically advanced motorcycles… they couldn’t replicate the sense of tradition and craftsmanship that Harley Davidson offers.

Clyde Fessler, VP at Harley Davidson, described Harley Davidson’s strategy like this:

“We turn left when they turn right. Let’s be the alternative and do the things that they can’t do… And that became our strategy in everything we do, and still do.”

At the same time, they didn’t just lean back and rely on the company’s history to set them apart (after all, nostalgia will only get you so far).

They also made sure to provide customers with the best quality experience. After some early problems, Harley Davidson also became dedicated to producing the highest quality machines on the market, and those improvements helped to stop the loss of customers to competitors.

Responding To Changes In The Market

Even an iconic brand like Harley Davidson can’t rest on its laurels. They quickly realized the need to broaden their appeal – without losing the biker “edge” – to target the “9 to 5” crowd.

Harley Davidson needed to revise their strategy again to ensure that they retained a preferred image with younger consumers – an audience that hasn’t grown up with the same brand associations as their baby boomer predecessors.

Create An Outstanding Experience

Finally, Harley Davidson’s greatest advantage has been the feeling of getting on a Harley and hitting the open road.

As the company’s CMO remarked:

“We think the best form of advertising is great experiences spread by word-of-mouth.”

Harley Davidson’s history and name recognition have helped them an awful lot along the way, but make no mistake – their success is based on real strategy, real elbow grease, and most importantly, providing a product and experience that their customers fall in love with time and time again…

In your corner,

Charlie