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rowing your brand is about knowing what you stand for and what you mean to people, and delivering more of those things in ways that liberate you as a business instead of constraining and confining you.
A year or two ago, we settled on a crystal-clear understanding that Harley-Davidson delivers dreams of personal freedom. Period. This is what we stand for. Everything we do needs to deliver on that purpose for our riders, our customers.
We did not appreciate the power of the brand and what it could be because we were a little too literal about what it meant to people. If your brand means “air-cooled, push-rod, 45-degree, V-twin classic motorcycles,” it’s pretty constraining. If your brand means personal freedom, it might be overwhelmingly liberating. Do not constrain yourself to simplistic or literal interpretations of what your brand is. Focus on what the brand can do, not what it can’t. Realizing this was a big moment for us, allowing us to think bigger about what the brand can be and do.
| Matt Levatich '94 President and chief operating officer, Harley-Davidson motor co. As Harley-Davidson races in a new direction with Project LiveWire, its first electric motorcycle, Matt Levatich steers the company toward the future. |
Project LiveWire is, in fact, the most radical demonstration of that for us. At the center of our brand is this idea of rebelling, daring to be different. The electric move says to people we’re not standing still; we’re willing to take risks. It isn’t some dichotomy in the marketplace. It’s part of the family, part of the sport and part of the brand. Before we launched LiveWire, it seemed antithetical. Now it seems like a natural progression for Harley-Davidson and an obvious, brilliant move. This doesn’t happen without a lot of smart people within this company really understanding the brand meaning and delivering on it.
It’s always a challenge for a very strong brand to evolve and maintain its relevance, edge and power in the marketplace. We love the challenge. There’s more excitement in the walls of Harley-Davidson now than there’s ever been in the 20 years I have been here.
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