Happy One Hundred

Don’t be surprised if you notice a jump in the number of “hogs” joining you on the roads this month.

For you minivan and Beemer types, “hogs” is the affectionate term Harley-Davidson riders have coined for their motorcycles. More than 150,000 Harley-Davidson fans and owners are expected to make their way to Harley’s Milwaukee headquarters (otherwise known as “Motorcycle Mecca”) for the company’s three-day 100th Anniversary Celebration on Aug. 30.

Much like Harley-Davidson’s 95th anniversary blowout, the Centennial Celebration will feature parades, music, test rides, exhibits and weddings (seven couples are scheduled to take their vows at the Harley-Davidson Centennial this year).

Unlike the 95th celebration, which was a one-week bash hosted at Harley headquarters, the centennial is an 18-month global carnival that was five years in the making. “We started planning [for the centennial] the day after the 95th,” says Harley-Davidson VP-Marketing Joanne Bischmann.

The centennial was broken down into three phases, starting with the Open Road Tour, a global nine-city travelling festival billed as ‘The World’s Largest Rolling Birthday Party,” which kicked off in July 2002. The tour made stops in cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo and Barcelona before wrapping up in Hamburg, Germany, last month. “This gave people who couldn’t make it to Milwaukee the chance to interact with the Harley brand and find out what we’re all about,” Bischmann says.

This month, Harley-Davidson shifts into high gear with the Ride Home Tour, a caravan in which Harley-Davidson riders are taking four different regional routes around the country, all leading up to the big bash in Milwaukee.

For Harley-Davidson fans who can’t make the centennial party — or just need a warm up — Harley is offering four Exclusive Parties along three of the Ride Home routes, such as a stop at the Harley-Davidson Café in Las Vegas on the Southwest Ride Home; a party at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville on the South Central Ride Home; and a stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where riders take a lap on the “Brickyard” before having dinner with Harley-Davidson executives on the starting line in pit row.

Letting customers get face to face with decision-makers at Harley-Davidson has been a key point of the tour. “We’ve got a huge team and we do a lot of execution through agencies [such as Pentagram and And Entertainment] but most of the on-site staffing is Harley-Davidson employees,” says Gaye Littell, co-president of Open Road Events and a veteran party planner of Harley’s 95th anniversary. “Harley-Davidson wants its employees to interact with its customers.”

From Aug. 11 through Sept. 6, fans riding through the home stretch in Wisconsin can stop at participating dealers across the state for the Passport to Ride sweepstakes. Each dealer is assigned a number of points, ranging from one to four. Consumers who collect 12 points can submit their “passport” for a drawing giving away a 100th Anniversary Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 motorcycle.

Friends in High Places

While Harley-Davidson’s 95th anniversary had sponsors ranging from AT&T to Taco Bell to VH-1, the company narrowed the field this year to sponsors with which it had either a special or existing marketing relationship.

Harley-Davidson’s next-door-neighbor (literally right across the street in Milwaukee), Miller Brewing — which is also celebrating the 100th anniversary of its Miller High Life brand this year — signed on as a corporate sponsor. Harley-Davidson and Miller Brewing Co. have a marketing relationship going back 10 years. After partnering on Harley’s 95th anniversary celebration and running annual programs for the last five years, “We decided to look for more ways to emphasize the durability and power of our relationship,” says Miller spokesperson Scott Bussen.

This spring, Miller Brewing announced it would help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Harley-Davidson with a series of on-pack, online and live-event promotions. To start, Miller offered commemorative Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft 24-ounce cans featuring a look back at Harley-Davidson history, with images of Harley’s first model in 1903 as well as the 100th Anniversary Fat Boy motorcycle.

Miller is also giving away 100 Harley-Davidson motorcycles through sweepstakes on millertime.com or through local radio promotions.

In August, Miller will award trips to the “Party of the Century” at Harley-Davidson headquarters. Zipatoni, St. Louis, handles.

Ford Motor Co. and Harley-Davidson first teamed up in 1999 and, with Ford celebrating its own centennial this year, the auto giant was a natural fit. Ford will host an Exclusive Party on the Northeast Ride Home route this month, with Harley-Davidson CEO Jeff Bleustein leading a parade from Ford World Headquarters to the Ford Test Track. Attendees can take a lap along the track, check out classic and concept cars, and be among the first to check out the Ford-built special edition 2004 Harley-Davidson F150 truck.

Harley-Davidson has again partnered with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Harley raised more than $1 million for the group with its 95th celebration) and a group of MDA Heroes will lead the Harley Davidson 100th Anniversary parade in Milwaukee on Aug. 30.

Another Harley-Davidson partner, Motorola, is offering a Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary Edition Mobile Phone, available at participating Harley-Davidson dealers and at motorola.com.

Striking a Chord

Harley-Davidson customers are some of the most loyal out there and the company has been riding high on that loyalty. In 2002, motorcycle sales nationwide were up 9%, the 10th straight year of growth, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council. Harley-Davidson and BMW continue to lead the pack and set sales records.

However, economic hardship caught up with the motorcycle industry in 2003 and Harley-Davidson may not be immune. Motorcycle sales fell 3% in May, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, and Harley-Davidson’s stock took a hit despite the company’s insistence that demand for its bikes continues to outpace the rest of the industry.

To keep riding high, Harley-Davidson will have to appeal to a new generation of bikers. “Harley is a dramatic success story and their management has always been on target about communicating with their core audience, which is baby boomers,” says motorcycle industry analyst Don Brown. “They love this stuff, they love going to the rallies. The problem is the demographics for motorcycle buyers are changing. Harley buyers have always gone for nostalgia but the overall motorcycle audience is changing. For the first time, Harley-Davidson executives are starting to acknowledge that.”

With Harley billing its centennial celebration as a way to not only celebrate its past 100 years but usher in its next 100, Bischmann sees it as an opportunity to start wooing a new demographic. “We were expecting a 60/40 split between Harley enthusiasts and those who’ve never been on a bike before,” says Bischmann. “It seems to be skewing about 65/35. We’re also getting a lot of families [attending the Centennial events], which is great. This shows that Harley-Davidson is a brand with many facets.”

Say It’s Your Birthday

Plenty of other brands are marking their own milestones. In June, Ford Motor Co. wrapped up a year-long celebration with The Road is Ours 100th Anniversary birthday bash in Dearborn, MI, which drew more than 250,000 attendees. “When you realized that this was larger than a Super Bowl, you got an idea of the logistics that had to come together,” says Gary Nielsen, executive director, Ford Centennial Operations.

• Chevrolet’s Corvette rang in its 50th anniversary also in June, featuring the National Corvette Caravan travelling across the country to converge on Nashville for the two-day party.

• This year, Binney & Smith will release a series of collector tins for the 100th anniversary of the Crayola brand, as well as let consumers vote for new colors.

• December 2003 marks the centennial for the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk and an endless stream of aviation companies and associations are paying tribute, ranging from the First Flight Centennial to Countdown to Kitty Hawk.

• Meanwhile, Coors Light is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Silver Bullet with a P-O-P campaign and concert sponsorship paying tribute to 25 years of Hip Hop. Last month, Coors Light introduced collector edition cans featuring the four icons of Hip Hop and signed on as title sponsor for the U.S. tour of rapper Nelly, which kicked off July 10.