5 Tips To Create A Legendary Brand: Taking Notes From Harley-Davidson

Written by: Noel Powers, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

“Whenever freedom speaks to you, you think: Harley Davidson.”

-Tim Drennon of Classicmoto-cycles.blogspot.com

Years ago on summer vacation, I had a moment that imprinted on my mind forever. As I put my car in overdrive on the country highway, the wind blew just right, lifting the frame, fluttering my hair… I felt the purr of the engine and my mind expanded into the clear blue sky. It was a moment of suspension, where I was open to all life, knowing all was possible, each mile bringing a new horizon into focus and although I had never ridden a motorcycle before, I could pin the sensation: When you feel the freedom of the open road, it’s a “Harley moment”.

Fast forward fifteen years to the present, as a marketing content specialist and business vision coach, I recognize the power that legendary brands like Harley-Davidson command on the collective subconscious by evoking the visceral reaction I experienced in my “Harley moment,” and think about how the company accomplished the ability to tie their brand inextricably to the emotion of freedom. In my book Vision-Driven Profit I examine how the founders of Harley-Davidson (and four other companies) became America’s best-loved and most profitable brands by following a formula of turning inspiration into vision, and conveying a strong, visceral message that created an unrivalled zeal and loyalty among its customers that transformed the company into a living legend.

As a business leader, the best way to ensure your company’s success and recognition for ongoing growth and market dominance is to look beyond the simple explanation of your company’s reason for existence and ask the question: How do I create a brand that people love the most?

To answer the question, you may benefit from insights from the founders of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, the visionaries behind the legendary brand that has been the best-loved among freedom-lovers for nearly 120 years.

5 Tips to Create a Legendary Brand: Harley-Davidson Style

1. Embrace your story. Harley-Davidson (H-D) is the true grit story of how two best friends and three brothers created a motorcycle in a wood shed and fought as the underdog against unscrupulous industry giants to become America’s largest and best-loved motorcycle company in 17 years. It’s a story of spirited youths seeking to make their good name, proving their bike was the best, providing a racing spectacle on the most powerful bikes in the world. Theirs is a fiery and heart-warming tale of a growing circle of friends and brothers throughout the world, covered in grease and mud, all rugged individuals fighting the odds-on and off the track. The culture of Harley-Davidson draws from its underdog inheritance, daring you to make the bold move when your back is against the wall.

Your story may be completely different. What’s important is that it’s yours. What lessons shaped your life philosophy? How do those lessons apply to your company ideals? Story-telling is one of the highest forms of marketing because it moves beyond the intellect of your audience to the part of their mind that drives decision-making, where emotional engagement leads to action. Great brands gain loyal, lifelong customers not by marketing what they think people want to see and hear but by relating the story of who they really are so their customers trust the individual behind a company and see themselves as added characters in an ongoing saga. Referring to your story often in all your communication can significantly improve emotional engagement and by extension commitment and loyalty among all your stakeholders. If you make it a priority to share your dreams for your company, your struggles and victories, and the ideals that are distilled from them, you may discover a hidden story with an amazing visceral message that can elevate your company in the eyes of your customers from just another competitor into a beloved brand they can’t live without.

2. Provide vision and a commitment to excellence: Paint a picture of the future your company will create, then decide the specific ways your company will commit to excellence to make that picture come to life. Walter Davidson reflected, “Other companies already make motorcycles, we need to make the machine that can go anywhere”. From its first bike design in 1903, all the way to the present, H-D has committed itself to creating the most powerful and durable motorcycle in the world. Bill Harley was an engineering genius who led the company’s design department with a commitment to continuous innovation. After a 40-year career, his office is considered the inner-sanctum of American motorcycle design. His inventions garnered 86 patents in his name and set the standard for both stye and performance in the motorcycle industry decade after decade, reflecting a company-wide commitment to excellence that made the founders and the company the standard-bearers of motorcycles in the mind of their followers.

3. It’s beyond business, it’s culture. A news article of the time captured the appeal of the motorcycle experience, “The freedom of speed provokes a new kind of wildness.” Artur Davidson believed that H-D would graduate from the upstart underdog of its industry to beating its competitors by focusing on the culture and loyalty of the fans of motorcycles. He famously stated, “The fans of this sport have been underrated for too long”. Every aspect of the company was geared toward growing a culture of loyalty and defining the style behind the rugged individual that loved the freedom of speed. That focus is what grew H-D from start-up to the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the U.S. and abroad with the most loyal motorcycle enthusiasts in the world. The idea of producing a unique culture flows into the next philosophy of the legendary brand-

4. Do what no one else is doing. Artur and Walter Davidson created what they called the “Harley experience”, instead of competing in other people’s races, they commanded attention for the company by hosting frequent Harley-Davidson races. H-D races featured crowd-pleasing elements that were new to the industry: Free beer, cheerleaders, and a sponsored race crew with celebrity riders called The Wrecking Crew, complete with their “Hog” photo-pig. H-D was also the only company with member riding clubs, merchandise, and dealership loyalty programs.

5. Go everywhere your customers go. The success of brand visionary Artur Davidson teaches you to see opportunity everywhere. You must see your product as a superior lifestyle. If you pursue every opportunity to weave your brand into the fabric of everyday life you will become inextricable from the personal identity of your customers. H-D bikes were originally designed for daredevil racers and a small group of racing enthusiasts but Artur was forward-thinking in simultaneously growing the H-D sport while partnering with key industries in need of motor vehicles. He successfully got the USPS, police departments, and the military to use Harley-Davidson bikes, growing the recognition and love of the brand as an icon of the growing American experience of personal transportation as the central feature of its culture. The HOG and the heroes: When General Pershing expelled Pancho Via from American soil and pursued him through the rugged terrain of the Mexican desert, his forces rode Harleys, evoking the thrill of the chase among the public. To aid the victory of World War One and grow loyalty among America’s soldiers, the company created a free mechanical training program that taught them how to maintain their own bikes, a skill that saved countless lives in battle. When American soldiers returned from the war, they only wanted Harleys. An army captain walked into Bill Harley’s office one day to shake the hand of the man whose bike saved the life of his entire battalion. He rode a mangled Harley out of suppressive fire in one of the deadliest engagements in France just in time to relay the message that saved his unit. He gave Bill his battalion flag, signed by every member of the unit; The wide-winged eagle of the flag graced his wall for 30 years and is still present on H-D logos and merchandise today. Three days before the war ended a U.S. soldier rode over the German border, the first American to do so since entering the conflict. When the armistice was signed, the image of his ride on a Harley became an icon of the bike and brand, “Freedom on two wheels”. In 1920, the Harley was the most-loved motorcycle in the United States because it had gone everywhere Americans had been.

Forever Free

In 1936, at the end of his career, Bill Harley contemplated deeply on what his legacy would be. The Great Depression had ravaged all of the world’s economies. Motorcycle sales had all but disappeared; H-D was forced to close down its factory and was nearly out of business. In the darkest hour of his life, the inspiration that hit the engineer in 1903, struck again. Bill Harley once again saw a vision of the future in metal with the Harley logo on it: the “Knucklehead.” Its powerful engine was a product of an unrivalled commitment to excellence through innovation, a complete reinvention of the motorcycle, capable of driving 100 miles-per-hour. A few years later, the Knucklehead was the bike of choice for the racer who rode over 1,000 miles in a single day, the first in history; new freedom founded by Harley-Davidson. By dedicating all the resources left in the company to what may have been its final innovation in the “Knucklehead”, the founders secured their place in the future, not only did it survive, but Harley-Davidson once again set the standard for the entire future of performance motorcycles.

“The Knucklehead is Bill Harley's greatest legacy. That his direct influence still beats in the heart of every air-cooled big twin Harley-Davidson on the road today. The mystique and spirit of Mr. Harley lives on as an intangible ghost in the machine and his Promethean presence looms large and continues to influence motorcycle design today (Tim Drennen of Classicmoto-cycles.blogpost.com)”.

It is nearly 120 years since the founding of H-D, providing a vantage of how legends are made from brands through visceral appeal. Harley doesn’t just sell bikes; it is the authority that pronounces the style of freedom. The original and lasting power of the vision behind the Harley brand is evident: Riders are still known throughout the world as the most loyal to a bike brand, many of whom have the company logo tattooed on their bodies! The alliance between the company and veterans is among our nation’s strongest cultural ties. The Wrecking Crew is a common theme on merchandise and a popular name for riding groups. And just like my perfect moment on vacation decades ago, anyone who experiences the bliss of freedom flying over the pavement, knows it’s a “Harley moment”. If you’re interested in providing the vision to grow your company into a legendary brand through amazing visceral appeal, download the free PDF of tips from my up-coming book: Vision-Driven Profit: Lessons from the Leaders of America’s Best-loved and Most Profitable Brands (Available on Amazon in February 2022).

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Noel Powers, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Her lifelong passion for helping entrepreneurs unlock their potential by discovering their vision and leadership style inspired her to create NFactor Coaching, combining the best practices from her 20 years of training and teaching in some of the world's largest business training circuits, including BNI and Peak Potentials. Noel takes clients through a unique Vision-to-Profit process, identical to the thinking and habits that led many of the leaders of today's top companies (like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Sarah Blakely) from inspired start-ups to industry dominance. Noel facilitates this process, teaching Entrepreneurs and CEOs the unique traits (she has coined "E" traits) that UNLOCK their power to instantly lead and grow their companies with Vision with a convenient, online Trademarked 12-Week Shakedown. This interview with Coach Noel will share powerful tips that help you employ the human elements of Visionary Leadership to build a brand people want to buy so that you can transform your company's vision into profit.