Established brands have a recognition advantage, but that doesn’t mean consumers feel connected to them. And when competitors rely on similar messaging, standing out can become increasingly difficult.
For Verizon and Harley-Davidson, addressing those challenges has meant rethinking how they position their brands and approach creative work.
During separate sessions at the ANA Masters of Marketing conference, executives from the two companies discussed efforts to break from longstanding industry conventions. While Verizon leans into pop culture and unconventional advertising to move beyond its transactional image, Harley-Davidson returns to its roots to make motorcycle culture more welcoming.
Their approaches differ, but both point to the importance of simplifying brand messaging, challenging creative norms and reexamining how marketing teams work.
Simplifying the Brand Message
For Verizon, a major messaging challenge has been moving beyond its identity as a utility that consumers need rather than a brand they actively choose.
The wireless industry has long emphasized network reliability and speed, but those messages have become increasingly hard to differentiate, according to Leslie Berland, Verizon’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
Complicated pricing and offerings have also contributed to the problem.
“When you confuse people, when they have to do a lot of work to understand what you’re trying to say, it erodes trust over time,” Berland said.
Verizon has responded by simplifying its offerings, including introducing a plan — aptly called Simplicity — that eliminates activation and upgrade fees and expands its loyalty program. Those changes have also given the company new messages to emphasize in its advertising.
At Harley-Davidson, the challenge has been reconnecting with an identity that executives felt the company had drifted away from.
Marcus Fischer, Chief Brand Officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company, described an effort to bring “joy and swagger” back to the brand after years of marketing that he characterized as dark and intimidating.
The company distilled its new global brand platform into a single word: “Ride.”
“We don’t have owners; we have riders, and that is a big difference,” Fischer said.
The distinction emphasizes participation and belonging rather than simply owning a motorcycle. It also sends a clear message to employees, dealers and consumers.
Breaking From Familiar Creative Conventions
Both companies are also challenging how their industries traditionally advertise.
For Verizon, that has meant looking beyond conventional wireless marketing and tapping into entertainment, creators and online fan communities.
Berland described an approach that focuses on identifying the right cultural moment, talent and message, sometimes developing campaigns quickly to capitalize on emerging conversations.
One example was the company’s “Simplicity as Sexy” campaign, which used actor Stephen Kalyn and a provocative social media rollout to promote a wireless plan.
According to results presented during the session, the campaign generated more than 114 million views and 4.75 million engagements, with 85% positive social sentiment.
Across several social campaigns discussed during the presentation, Verizon reported 413 million views, 9.5 million likes and 1.2 million shares with less than $1 million in media spending.
The approach also requires marketers to understand the audiences they’re trying to reach rather than follow popular trends.
“I don’t believe that you can outsource understanding culture and conversation and nuance,” Berland said.
Harley-Davidson, meanwhile, is challenging a different convention: the intimidating image that has long been associated with motorcycle culture.
Fischer said the company’s previous advertising often reinforced that perception rather than communicating the enjoyment of riding.
“Nobody needs a motorcycle. You want one, and if we’re going to have people want something, we should probably show them having a good time, not being angry, not being brooding,” he said.
The company’s newer creative emphasizes smiling riders, shared experiences and a more welcoming community. Fischer described the shift as moving “from intimidation to invitation,” an approach intended to help broaden the brand’s appeal.
That effort is still in its early stages. Fischer pointed to positive reactions from employees, dealers and consumers, but did not provide detailed performance results demonstrating the campaign’s longer-term business impact.
Rethinking How Marketing Gets Done
For both executives, changing the way their brands appear to consumers also requires changes within their organizations.
At Harley-Davidson, Fischer emphasized the importance of securing internal support before introducing a new brand direction to consumers.
The company rolled out its “Ride” platform in stages, beginning with employees, followed by dealers and then consumers. The launch included new materials across factories, dealerships and corporate communications, with the goal of aligning the organization around a consistent message.
“Your internal audience matters. It matters the most. That’s really where everything has to start,” Fischer said.
Verizon has taken a different approach to organizational change, focusing on making its creative operations more agile.
Berland described building an internal creative team and partnering with smaller agencies. The company is also reducing traditional approval processes to respond more quickly to cultural moments.
She stressed that organizational complexity can undermine creative quality. “There are too many steps, there are too many processes, there are too many approval layers, and it ends up definitely slowing you down, but also diluting the work,” Berland said.
The executives also discussed using artificial intelligence to speed up marketing processes. Verizon has used AI for brainstorming and creative development, while Harley-Davidson is applying it to asset creation and message targeting. Both emphasized the continued importance of human judgment.
For marketing leaders considering similar changes, Berland encouraged them to examine the processes that shape how work gets produced.
“I would look very inward on how we work, and I think that’s not talked about enough,” she said.
