BMW’s motorcycle division was the top selling – and most expensive – brand in Europe. An enviable position it did not possess in the United States. Instead, to the mainstream American riding public, BMW motorcycles were seen as technologically advanced but cold and detached.
While riders all around the world have a deep, emotional attachment to riding, many riders elsewhere see their bikes as their primary transportation. For Europeans, BMW’s technical, engineering-oriented advertising resonated. In the USA, motorcycles mean freedom, escape, and camaraderie. The appeal needed to be far more emotional. In effect, we had to change the emphasis from The Ultimate Riding MACHINE to The Ultimate RIDING Machine. That meant using more evocative headlines and imagery across national advertising, social media, dealer communications, digital, direct mail, video, and events.
