The three models of community have helped Harley focus its efforts around the community-building initiatives likely to have the greatest positive impact.

Jump also came up with numerous ideas for new services offerings and a lightweight metrics system to help compare and evaluate brand community health and track overall progress.

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Harley-Davidson has benefited from a strong brand community more than any other company in the world. But even the best in the world has room for improvement and new capabilities. Harley worked with Jump to reinvent the company’s approach to brand engagement and craft a strategy for extending and strengthening the Harley rider community.

Strengthening the brand community

Harley-Davidson is one of America’s most unique and enduring brands. It also has one of the strongest enthusiast communities in the world. But the company didn’t know exactly how to extend and build that community, or how to evaluate the impact of their efforts in that arena. Harley-Davidson wanted to continue to serve and build its community in a thoughtful way that was based on a deep connection with people.

Decoding the implicit rules that make Harley communities work well

Harley and Jump set out to decode the different types of communities that existed under the Harley umbrella, and then develop a metrics system to gauge the health of those communities. In particular, the team hoped to come away with a new strategy for brand community engagement. The team studied the dynamics of groups including the Red Hat Society, Burning Man, Weight Watchers, Fantasy Football, and other community-based brands like Apple and Disney to discover the implicit rules that governed these communities.

Guiding community growth

Harley and Jump uncovered three forms of community engagement: Pools, Webs, and Hubs. This insight has helped Harley focus its efforts around the community-building initiatives most likely to have the greatest positive impact. The Jump team then developed three strategic imperatives for using services to build community and a set of design principles for implementing each imperative. Across numerous projects, Jump has partnered with Harley to help it expand its connection to the communities that are the backbone of its business.

Related posts:

1. Extending Harley-Davidson’s Brand Community
2. Innovation Expert and Former VP of Harley-Davidson Joins Jump
3. Four Opportunities to Strengthen a Brand Community
4. Getting Brand Communities Right
5. The Power of Community in Marketing