Triumph's history is not short on emotion or theatrics. Founded in 1887 by a German immigrant to England, the company began life as a distributor and later manufacturer of bicycles. It launched its first motorcycle in 1902. By the 1920s, production ran full steam and the company diversified into automobiles. Eventually, it split its car and motorcycle operations into two separate companies.

Edward Turner took control of the latter and steered the company to several highly successful products, such as the 500cc Speed Twin, the Thunderbird and the Bonneville, or "Bonnie," as it is affectionately called by enthusiasts. In the '50s and '60s, a stream of celebrities including Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, James Dean and Bob Dylan all drove them, sealing their cult status.

By the early '70s, competition from a new wave of Japanese motorcycle competitors resulted in bankruptcy for the company. The British government stepped in and created the Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT) Group to salvage the various brands. A spinoff plant created a workers' cooperative and acquired the rights to produce Triumph motorcycles.

However, the new organizational form experienced inefficiencies and financial difficulties, and eventually shut down in 1983. That same year, a real-estate developer, John Bloor, bought the manufacturing rights to the venerated, yet slightly dented, Triumph name.

Rise from the Ashes
In resurrecting the brand, Bloor set out to achieve the same quality as the Japanese. In doing so, he ordered the construction of a state-of-the-art production plant, and steadily built up a strong management team, often tapping talent from outside the motorcycle industry.

Despite building momentum throughout the late '80s and '90s, Triumph's acceleration again skidded to a halt when a fire ravaged one of its factories in early 2002. Luckily no one was hurt, but the company lost 20,000 bikes in production and the plant had to be rebuilt.

Six months later, the company resumed production in a reconstructed factory and heralded a new beginning. The company used the opportunity to conduct thorough internal and external analyses and to focus on essential questions: Who are our customers? Who should they be? What is the brand all about?

Soul Searching
The reevaluation process spanned 18 months and came upon several important discoveries, of which one of the most pronounced was that the company wasn't taking full advantage of the passion that people had for their Triumphs.

To address this issue, the company delved deeper into the soul of the brand and distilled three core elements: character, a heritage that is raw and cool; connected, that special feeling of riding a Triumph; and truly sexy, due to the provocative design and engineering.
Between 2002 and 2006 the product mix changed drastically. Each of the 13 models was targeted at addressing a specific need for one of Triumph's six consumer segments. For example, whereas only 4 percent of Triumph bikes were considered to be in the "urban sports" category in 2002, nearly half of the sales came from that category by 2007. The company also developed accessories and fashion goods, at one point collaborating with the designer Paul Smith.

The Road Ahead
Triumph also conducted extensive studies to understand how to boost profitability among dealers - largely independent shops. Triumph hosted in-depth product training on the functionality of each newly released bike. The company also collected statistics on buying behavior to inform each dealer on consumers within their district.

Everything was backed by promotion, though instead of expensive advertising vehicles like TV, the company engendered a sense of community through its fan network, the Riders Association of Triumph, or RAT pack. Its new tagline, "Go your own way," reflected the individuality and originality of the brand.

The rebirth era of 2002-2007 produced a revenue lift, yet Triumph executives want to continue paving smooth roads for the future. How can they make the most of their dealer network? How to improve the low conversion rate of consumers from "consideration to purchase" to actual purchase? And even though one of their bikes has appeared in Mission Impossible, it was felt that this PR opportunity was not fully leveraged nor managed proactively. How best to tune up the "marketing engine"? All this, while staying true to the long, sometimes wild and never impossible history of a British icon.