Posted: Aug. 23, 2008
Harley-Davidson Inc. is poised to do something this week that many businesses could only dream of — deliver a sequel to its 100th anniversary celebration that roared through Milwaukee only five years ago.
Not to be eclipsed by the centennial, the party that begins Wednesday night and continues through Aug. 31 will have its own identity, including a Bruce Springsteen concert and the recently opened Harley-Davidson museum that was only a concept on paper five years ago.
“I think some cynics in the marketplace might say they’re trying to make up for the Elton John fiasco” in 2003, when the British pop star was the surprise headliner and bombed at the 100th anniversary party, said Dennis Garrett, an associate professor of marketing at Marquette University.
A HOG Wall of Ink tattoo contest, martial arts fights and a “hot model” competition are reminders that the 105th anniversary bash stems from Harley’s macho culture that has generated billions of dollars in sales for the company.
It’s hard to say whether the four-day event will attract as many bikers as the 100th anniversary – attended by more than 200,000 people from around the world. Yet Milwaukee-area hotels are nearly sold out, and tourism officials are sending people to Illinois for a place to stay this week.
Early estimates by Harley and tourism experts are that at least 125,000 people will be here for the 105th anniversary party. Harley had 120,000 two-day tickets available for the events at the Summerfest grounds Friday and Saturday, and most of those tickets have been sold.
“We have seen a few room cancellations at the airport and downtown hotels. But we are anticipating a huge crowd,” said Doug Neilson, president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee, the city’s tourism agency.
Not to be eclipsed by the centennial, the party that begins Wednesday night and continues through Aug. 31 will have its own identity, including a Bruce Springsteen concert and the recently opened Harley-Davidson museum that was only a concept on paper five years ago.
“I think some cynics in the marketplace might say they’re trying to make up for the Elton John fiasco” in 2003, when the British pop star was the surprise headliner and bombed at the 100th anniversary party, said Dennis Garrett, an associate professor of marketing at Marquette University.
A HOG Wall of Ink tattoo contest, martial arts fights and a “hot model” competition are reminders that the 105th anniversary bash stems from Harley’s macho culture that has generated billions of dollars in sales for the company.
It’s hard to say whether the four-day event will attract as many bikers as the 100th anniversary – attended by more than 200,000 people from around the world. Yet Milwaukee-area hotels are nearly sold out, and tourism officials are sending people to Illinois for a place to stay this week.
Early estimates by Harley and tourism experts are that at least 125,000 people will be here for the 105th anniversary party. Harley had 120,000 two-day tickets available for the events at the Summerfest grounds Friday and Saturday, and most of those tickets have been sold.
“We have seen a few room cancellations at the airport and downtown hotels. But we are anticipating a huge crowd,” said Doug Neilson, president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee, the city’s tourism agency.
An oldie but a goodie
In some ways, the timing of Harley’s pep rally couldn’t be better as the world’s largest manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles struggles with the sputtering economy and the graying of its customer base.
Harley has plenty of baby boom customers to last another 10 years, but an increasing number of them will soon be trading weekends on a motorcycle for weekends with the grandkids. Big parties such as the 105th celebration help send the message that Harley is still young at heart.
One of the boomers riding to Milwaukee this week is Terence McElwee, a 59-year-old attorney with the University of Georgia Research Foundation. He bought his first motorcycle after attending Harley’s 100th anniversary celebration, on foot, while he lived in Racine and worked at Marquette University.
“I just kept wishing that I had a bike during the 100th,” McElwee said.
This will be the Milwaukee native’s third long-distance motorcycle ride, covering about 1,500 miles round trip.
“My riding buddy is Ross McConnell, attorney and retired Air Force pilot. We both started riding Harleys in the last five years, part of the graying of the biker world that is often blamed for the recent and rapid rise in motorcycle fatalities. We’re both single and never expected to be dating, riding a Harley and living in the South as I approach 60,” McElwee said.
Thousands of new bikers will be coming to Milwaukee this week. For them, riding into the city where Harley-Davidson has its headquarters will be an emotional experience, said Genevieve Schmitt, founder of WomenRidersNow.com, an online magazine about women motorcyclists.
Schmitt’s first trip to Milwaukee was in 1998 for Harley’s 95th anniversary party. The Montana motorcyclist was skeptical of the hype surrounding that event but was impressed by the throngs of motorcyclists and the deep sense of Harley heritage in the city.
Schmitt is coming back for the 105th anniversary events.
“I was high on Harley for weeks after the 95th-year celebration. There’s something about having tens of thousands of people in one location, celebrating a common interest, that results in continued brand loyalty,” she said.
The company has hosted a big party in Milwaukee every five years since its 90th anniversary in 1993, and there were smaller events before that. It’s become a five-year tradition that could be continued in 2013 even if the events cost Harley millions of dollars each time.
“We really haven’t gone down that road yet,” but the pattern is there, said company spokesman Bob Klein.
A regular event
Some question whether Harley can throw an anniversary party every five years without the event getting predictable and stale.
“I understand why they’re doing this, but I think the formula needs to be mixed up a little after this year,” Schmitt said, adding that Harley’s new $75 million museum is important to the success of the 105th anniversary.
Once every five years is probably enough for an event this large. Otherwise Harley risks diluting its brand rather than reinforcing it, said Mark Goff, a Milwaukee public relations consultant who tracked media coverage of the 100th anniversary.
“You don’t want to wear people out” with anniversary parties, Goff said. “I don’t think anyone at Harley is pretending this is the 100th anniversary part II. This event might not be as international . . . like having the three Japanese guys rolling their bikes off a Boeing 747″ they rented to attend the 100th celebration.
Already, though, thousands of Harley riders are on the way here as part of organized rides that began in 105 cities.
Some are Wisconsin natives living in other places, coming home to visit family, friends or their old hangouts.
“There’s no better feeling than pulling into Milwaukee with other bikers and seeing all of the people on highway overpasses waving flags,” said Patrick Jarvis, a Milwaukee native who now lives near Albany, N.Y.
“It just sends goose bumps up and down your spine,” he added.
Jarvis will cover more than 3,000 miles in his trek to Milwaukee. He doesn’t like “straight lines,” so he’s taking a long route through Canada and around the Great Lakes.
‘Family reunion’
Dave Hirschi, a Milwaukee native living in Austin, Texas, also is coming to the anniversary party on his Harley.
“I am sure when I get on my bike and drive down Lake Drive, a swell of emotion will come over me. It will bring back a million memories of summer days and nights, riding my bike down the road. There was the cool breeze you felt as you got close to the lake, even when it was in the 80s just a few blocks away . . . driving past the spot where the ‘Outlaws’ hung out at night, then on past the place where the hippies played Frisbee. I am looking forward to having my Texas wife experience the sights and sounds of Lake Drive,” Hirschi said.
Harley hasn’t yet said whether it will have a similar event in 2013. Yet most riders don’t need much of an excuse to party in Milwaukee once every five years, especially if there’s something new to bring them back here.
“It’s like a family reunion. You don’t have to wait 25 years to get the cousins together,” said Kevin Brandt, creative strategist at Core Creative Inc., a Milwaukee advertising and public relations firm.
“I would guess that before the 105th is over, people will be talking about what’s going to happen five years from now,” Brandt said.
For riders, the trek to Milwaukee is almost as important as the destination.
“I get on the bike to escape from work and life’s pressures,” Jarvis said. “It’s not just about the party. It’s about the people you meet. You find old friends at these gatherings, and you make new friends too.”
