Harley-Davidson Hands Its Global Media Business to a Joint Venture That Did Not Exist Fourteen Months Ago

Harley-Davidson has picked Horizon Global as its global media agency, putting one shop in charge of media strategy, advertising budget allocation, campaign planning, and performance measurement across North America, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The motorcycle maker ran a competitive review that lasted several months before landing on Horizon Global, which only exists because Horizon Media and Havas bolted themselves together into a joint venture a little over a year ago specifically to go chase accounts like this one.

The pitch for Harley-Davidson was consistency: one global media approach, one measurement framework, and presumably one invoice, while still letting individual markets target the riders and would-be riders who actually live there. Marcus Fischer, Harley-Davidson's chief brand officer, framed the move around the company's mission, saying, "At Harley-Davidson, it's all about bringing joy and confidence to the world of motorcycling." Bob Lord, Horizon Global's interim CEO, credited the brand with turning its customers into a lifestyle and said the agency's job now is to help that lifestyle grow in ways clients can actually measure.

The win is a meaningful proof point for Horizon Global, which was built explicitly to out-pitch the WPP and Omnicom-Publicis-scale holding companies by combining Horizon Media's US independence with Havas's global footprint. For Harley-Davidson, it is the latest move in a brand reset that has already included a new global riding campaign and a cheaper, paint-stripped motorcycle built to chase riders the company has never had. Centralizing media is the unglamorous part of a brand turnaround, but it is usually the part that decides whether the glamorous part gets seen.

Source: PR Newswire

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →