Harley-Davidson is one of the world's model companies. In fact, it currently has more than half of the market share of motorcycle manufacturing in the US and is the fifth largest manufacturer worldwide. And it is because in its more than a century of history it has managed to promote much more than a product. Who has not ever been attracted to a Harley? Let's stop to think why ...
The company has created a whole universe around its brand, without having been able to do anything to avoid great competitors such as the American Indian or the Japanese Honda, Kawasaki or Suzuki. Harley Davison is not just a motorcycle brand. It is a lifestyle, marked by freedom and rebellion, which began in a humble shed in Milkwaukee, in Wisconsin (USA).
Since 1903, when William Harley and the brothers Arthur Davidson, manufactured the first motorcycle, the American company has managed to overcome endless obstacles, starting with the Great Depression, and ending with the increasingly fierce and more prepared competition.
n a short time, these visionaries got a distributor in Chicago and just one year after it started, there was the first victory of one of their motorcycles in a 15-mile race. In 1906 they already had 6 operators and their own catalog of motorcycle models and the following year, with the official foundation of the Harley Davidson Motor Company, the company tripled its workforce.
En 1910 está fechado por primera vez el uso del logotipo de la barra y el escudo, hasta que fue patentado sólo un año después, justo antes de la inauguración de su fábrica principal en Milkwaukee.
Since its inception, Harley Davison has managed to carve out its own identity, inspiring millions of motorcycle enthusiasts around the world. At the beginning, the competitions and careers were the springboard for the brand, but then the associations would arrive, currently having a multitude of fans who have founded clubs, both followers and owners, spread throughout the world.
The brand bearer of freedom, which Hollywood has managed to reflect in renowned films such as Easy Rider. An icon for the most authentic bikers. The custom world also owes much to Harley, whose customizations are authentic works of art.
Another aspect that has influenced most so that Harley Davison has become such an important company, for the history of even the US, was his collaboration with the US Army, of which he was his official motorcycle supplier. There were more than 15,000 units that the army commissioned the Milkwauke brand during the First World War. The brand even created an exclusive department for the training of military mechanics who will keep their machines ready.
Already in World War II Harley Davidson returned to serve the allies, this time, with the manufacture of almost 100,000 motorcycles. Until then the growth of the brand was brutal. In 1943 she was awarded the first of her four awards for excellence in production during the war stage.
But not everything was going to be a path of roses for the company. In the late 60s, Harley Davidson saw his production very depleted due to a loss of reputation after the purchase of the company by American Machine and Factory. Lower quality models were created that could barely compete with the Japanese, so it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
t was then that the company turned its way of thinking and introduced an evolutionary design on its motorcycles, ceasing to imitate the competition. Another key of his reflote was the price and the consequent success of preserving the value of his motorcycles over the years, and even increasing it. The rivals, meanwhile, were devalued right away.
Over time, the company has been growing thanks to original designs and technological innovations, such as its first motorcycle with V-Twin engine (1909), with two cylinders separated at an angle of 45 degrees, which have managed to raise it to the highest, or the construction of the typical tear-shaped fuel tank.
At the same time, different marketing techniques have been implemented that, although criticized by many, have so far given the key to strengthening their empire by opening the market to different types of audiences.
Perhaps one of the less applauded decisions of the brand, but it is possible to say of the most successful ones, was in the creation, in 1983, of the H.O.G., the Harley Owners Group, which allowed the connection of clients from all over the world. It is thanks to the work of HOG precisely that Harley-Davidson extends its tentacles to a large part of world society, through the organization of charitable events and mass rallies in which the spectacle and solidarity are assured.
At present, the HOG is made up of more than one million owners from 25 countries, a circumstance that has allowed the company to save a lot on advertising investment, since the HOG functions as a direct channel to the target audience.
One of these most famous and massive events worldwide is the Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, whose premiere was even celebrated by the brand with the launch of the FXB Sturgis model. In this type of concentration, the brand takes the opportunity to strengthen its relationships with customers and, of course, to promote itself.
But the Harley Davidson brand does not end on motorcycles, but there is a diversification strategy behind, which brings a whole universe of biker details, from The Harley Davidson Traveling Museum, which shows historical pieces of the brand and various objects of interest, even the garments that exude daring and rebellion.
It's that simple. Just as Harley Davidson has earned his popularity and admiration among the motorcycle fans: making it the fans themselves who are responsible for promoting the brand. Without a doubt, there is no better publicity or better ambassadors.
