Harman Doubles Down, Wins Customers

Gambling analogies spring to mind when thinking about what Harman International is doing — doubling down, upping its ante, putting its money where its mouth is.

The makers of Revel, Mark Levinson, Lexicon and JBL Synthesis began talking about an aggressive marketing effort aimed at expanding its client base during the depths of the recession. That’s a gamble.

“We did double-down. We saw a huge opportunity and invested in it. We took the opportunity while others retreated,” says Marc Kellom, VP marketing for Harman High-Performance Audio/Video.

Harman’s goal was to increase its brand identity among luxury consumers.

Rather than market exclusively to audiophiles, the company pitched its brand to discerning, upscale consumers — the fine wine-drinking, premium cigar-smoking, Armani-wearing and Lexus-driving crowd.

So it wasn’t a surprise that Harman parked its mobile showroom outside the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, March 18-21, at Pier 94 in New York. During the first day of the show, a trade-only day, Harman hosted a steady stream of architects and interior designers.

Often conduits to luxury consumers, the architects and designers sat through a two-channel demo of Mark Levinson components powering two Revel Ultima Salon2 speakers and an 11-channel JBL Synthesis room featuring two K2 speakers.

Kellom says Harman is seeing penetration with architects and designers, which are doing a good job of educating their clients about Revel, Mark Levinson, Lexicon and JBL.

“These brands are really powerful, but they can be way bigger than they are,” Kellom says.

In general, Harman’s plan to expand its audience is working, according to Kellom. “We’re feeling the results.” He won’t share numbers, but “I will say we outperformed the market in 2009.”

Educating luxury consumers that aren’t technology enthusiasts — OK, the Bose crowd — about Harman’s brands can only be good for CE pros.

Harman, meanwhile, is seeking new dealers to bring along for the ride. “We’re looking for good dealers that want to grow with us,” Kellom says. “Good dealers that understand that business can’t be done the way it was done 10 years ago.”


Harman's mobile showroom, parked outside the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, March 18-21, at Pier 94 in New York.