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Pete Nowaskey founded Pistol Pete’s Custom Cycles in 2004 to build high-performance custom Harley-Davidson® motorcycles. Located in Menomonie, Wisconsin, his shop also offers service and repair work to local and regional customers. However, he is moving toward national awareness.
Pete contacted Mediarail to develop a brand for his new line of high-performance motorcycle suspensions. At that point, he was unsure if it should be a different brand or fall under the umbrella of Pistol Pete’s. He completed the initial marketing questionnaire, and Mediarail researched the motorcycle industry and the current performance suspension brands.
A three-day exploratory session was scheduled with Pete and take a tour of his performance shop.
The session with Pete revealed far more information about his preferences and business strategy than was in the questionnaire and phone calls leading up to the meetings. During one of the sessions, Pete stated, “Honestly, I didn’t care what the name was; I wanted to build high-performance motors and work on bikes.” The direction became clear as we worked through his personal and business goals. Clearly, a high work ethic and delivering exceptional quality and performance reflect Pete as a person, not a company. As we ended the day’s session, Pete remarked, “I believe that every bike that leaves my shop has my name on it.”
On the final morning, Mediarail presented its strategy. First, Pete’s motorcycle services and performance parts should fall under a singular brand. Secondly, a business rebrand, including a name change, is needed before launching the new products nationally. A rough concept for the logo mark was presented, including a brief session on font and color theory. Following the presentation, Pete stated, “I would never have thought to move to a new name, and I would not have picked those colors on my own, but it seems so clear.” He approved the new direction, and Nowaskey Extreme Performance was born.
The initial phase for the rebrand included a new logo mark, website development, package design, experiential marketing components, apparel, and vehicle wraps. The website was developed as a brochure site to showcase Pete’s previous custom work and service offerings. The next step was to add an eCommerce platform as the new products became available.
To build brand awareness, Nowaskey Extreme Performance put together a race team to compete in the Bagger Racing League and MotoAmerica circuits to race in the Bagger GP class.
Website traffic and online sales have increased by over 200% in the last quarter. The growth is partly due to the addition of digital advertising campaigns, experiential marketing, and racing exposure. For example, 90% of the users on the website are new.
Currently, more new products are in production, and a dealer network is under development to carry Nowaskey performance parts.
