Harley's Road: The Direction of the Legendary Brand in the Tides of the Times
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I. The Origin and Development of Harley
In 1903, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 21-year-old William Harley and 20-year-old Arthur Davidson created the legendary Harley-Davidson brand in a small wooden house. Since then, it has been like a spark, igniting a magnificent flame in the world of motorcycles. Now it has been marketed to more than 200 countries and has over 5,000 employees.
Harley motorcycles possess unique charm. The metallic texture, elegant lines, fascinating color combinations, as well as the distinct contrast between electroplating and black paint, along with the scalding exhaust pipes and the deafening yet "musical" roar, all perfectly match men's fantasies about power and freedom. Since its inception, Harley-Davidson has become a symbol of passion, freedom, courage, and individuality. Its motorcycles, components, apparel, and other diverse products are deeply loved by consumers worldwide. The unique culture and riding experience it advocates have won the hearts of countless people.
II. An Analysis of the People Attracted by Harley
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Three Categories of Audience Groups
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Brand Supporters: They regard Harley's brand concept as something sacred, like a panacea that can solve all desires and concerns in life. For them, Harley provides a means of identity recognition and serves as a moral compass in life. They are completely loyal to this brand.
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Industry Insiders: In the context of Harley, this refers to biker gangs and their supporters. They are like the authoritative referees in the civilian world and an important pillar of the brand, exerting a great influence on brand supporters.
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Brand Followers: This group gets excited about the brand value that Harley generates among supporters and industry insiders. They use Harley's concept as a topic of conversation with friends and colleagues or as a label for themselves. These three groups are interdependent and together form the extensive consumer group ecosystem of Harley.
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Brand Supporters: They regard Harley's brand concept as something sacred, like a panacea that can solve all desires and concerns in life. For them, Harley provides a means of identity recognition and serves as a moral compass in life. They are completely loyal to this brand.
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The Distinction between True and False Biker Gangs
True biker gangs are mostly from the working class. They are fully dedicated to riding Harley motorcycles, have a thorough understanding of professional knowledge, and possess the biker gang spirit, which can be regarded as a continuation of the American Western pioneering spirit. Riding Harley has become an integral part of their lifestyle. On the other hand, false biker gangs are mostly from the middle class.
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Profiles of Atypical Brand Consumers
From celebrities like Putin and Elvis Presley to ordinary "Shanghai uncles", Harley fans span all classes, age groups, and social statuses. They all share the common trait of loving Harley. Regardless of their occupations, they take pride in being Harley riders and jointly cherish the love for leisure and adventure spirit, as well as being passionate about Harley's products and riding experiences.
III. Reasons Why Harley Attracts People
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Product Characteristics: The appearance of Harley as a heavy motorcycle, its loud noise, and unique design elements such as the aforementioned metallic texture, lines, and color combinations, all remind people of power and freedom, satisfying people's subconscious materialized imagination of these two traits.
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Brand Symbolism: Since its establishment, it has carried symbolic meanings such as passion, freedom, courage, and individuality. Coupled with the unique culture and riding experience it advocates, Harley-Davidson has become synonymous with the freeway, raw power, and good times. It is not only a means of transportation but also represents the pursuit of the spirit of exploration, enabling the soul to achieve freedom and triggering the deep desires and yearnings within customers, thereby establishing a strong emotional connection.
IV. The Relationship between Harley and Its Consumers
The Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) was founded in 1983. Since then, its scale has been continuously expanding, from the United States to the international stage. Now it has become the largest motorcycle organization sponsored by a manufacturer in the world. It is a gathering place for Harley enthusiasts, where people exchange experiences, share lives, and resonate emotionally. It is like a warm home and also a kind of belief.
The relationship between Harley and H.O.G. is quite unique. Harley plays a more motivating role rather than a controlling one in the club. Brand executives, employees, and enthusiasts interact on an equal footing and jointly create the brand culture. This relationship, based on deep emotional bonds and common values, is fundamentally different from that of ordinary brand communities. The community is the core of Harley's corporate strategy, and all business models revolve around serving the members of the community.
V. Thoughts on Harley's Direction in the Current Era
Harley-Davidson has unique core values, with personal freedom being the foremost. Its employees and dealers are deeply involved in customer-related activities and experiences. Unlike Japanese motorcycle owners who focus on functional benefits, Harley owners pay more attention to emotional and self-expression benefits. The feelings conveyed by its brand, such as masculinity, love for the United States, and the pursuit of freedom, satisfy consumers' emotional needs.
In today's highly commercialized and interconnected era, a brand like Harley does express people's longing for primitive emotional needs. However, it is not easy to maintain the brand's idol aura. On the one hand, the brand needs to continue to grasp cultural intuition, play the role of a cultural pioneer, and enable consumers to better experience and share the brand concept through ritual behaviors, so as to maintain its idol aura effect. On the other hand, it is necessary to manage the three pillar groups well and promote H.O.G. as a corporate strategy.
I can't help but wonder, with the passage of time, whether the cultural values, free will, and emotional benefits that Harley has had since the 1980s will still possess the same powerful idol attraction as before? Perhaps, to keep the concept of an idol brand up-to-date, it is necessary to find a precise balance between the core consumer group and the adherents of the brand concept spirit, and continuously create new concepts that meet the needs of the times. Only in this way can Harley, this "Mecca" of the brand, remain undiminished in the tides of the times.
Just as the wheels of time roll forward, every brand needs to adapt to the trends while adhering to its own characteristics and soul. Harley-Davidson, as a legend in the motorcycle field, carries not only the function of a means of transportation but also a culture, a spirit, and a lifestyle. On its future journey, it needs to both respect and inherit traditions and be brave enough to break through and innovate to meet the needs and preferences of the new generation of consumers. For example, in this digital age, could it be possible to expand the scope and forms of H.O.G. activities through online platforms, enabling more Harley enthusiasts to participate more conveniently and enhancing the interaction and stickiness between the brand and consumers? Meanwhile, with the deepening of the concept of environmental protection, while maintaining its characteristics such as powerful engine performance, could Harley also make breakthroughs in environmental protection technologies to meet the requirements of sustainable development of society? These are the directions that Harley needs to think about and explore on its way to the future. Only in this way can it continue to write its own glorious chapter in the ever-changing era.