Raul got me thinking about what we're talking about with his coment about the BMW Ad. I'm involved in advertising...in my world, we call that mental inage you get of quality Branding. Branding is what makes you think of a Harley when you hear a loud Muffler attached to a V twin. Harley has patented that sound. Branding is what makes you think of the Nicest People on a Honda.
Branding is who a company chooses to market to. In the Early 60s, Honda chose those nice people, and when you think of it, they really haven't strayed too much from that.
What Harley did when they bought back the company was brilliant. Harley had the reputation as an old fashioned company. Bikes with Character, ridden by characters. The rep got even worse when they were bought by a bowling company and they gained the rep of being ugly (I think the bowling fashion sense infested the bikes) and leaking oil.. The company needed a total makeover to survive. The Branding of Harley had slipped over the years and needed redirecting.
First, they fixed the mechanical problems (well some of them) and most importantly, identified who they wanted to sell them to. They knew that to make any money, their bikes were going to have to be more expensive because they were built in the US. They couldn't compete with Japanese pricing. So they created the impression of quality, enhanced with a strong dose of the "Made In USA" neo patriotism that was becoming popular at the time....it said, and I think a lot of Harley owners believe that it doesn't matter if it doesn't run perfectly, it's "Made In America", it's our only bike, and I'll stand behind it no matter what..."I'm Proud to be an American, even if my bike runs like Crap"..is the motto..but it's worked, and now, there is an ilk of "Riders" (if you can call them that) who see a Harley as a status symbol...like a hot car or a yacht..it has nothing to do with how it rides or runs...It's funny, there is an interview with Sonny Barger, one of the founders of the Hells Angels in which he talks about how Harley has tried to distance itself from them...he said he's never bought a new Harley, and thinks he'll never have to because soon, all the Yuppies will go back to their Yachts and Sportscars or what ever is trendy, so there will be more lightly used Harleys available than he could ever use!
Honda, on the other hand, has positioned itself as a practical, well made economical machine, that will not get you dirty and stinky and will get you women that you can take home to Mom. Hondas have always run well and I think most Honda riders ride because they love to ride, and I know a whole lot of them like to ride really long distances...because they can!
Branding is really facinating. In My business (
www.greenfrogphoto.com), we have worked long and hard to develop a reputation of quality, but we also started with an unforgetable personna..we use a little frog..and we spread it everywhere! It draws people back..it's kind of silly, but it's like one of those pop songs that you can't get out of your head.
One of our clients was Baker Drivetrain. Bert Baker was a Tranny designer for GM for 15 years. he decided that he didn't want to wear neckties anymore, so he designed a far superior Transmission than Harley ever did and markets it to the high end custom market. Notice, on the walls of every chopper show out there, in the background is a huge Baker Drive Train banner.
I've gone on too long...
