Davidson Park

Case Study

Market Strategy
Experience Design

How we made NEW possible

With NEWaukee’s support, Davidson Park has seen thousands of visitors and become a key destination in the City of Milwaukee for locals and tourists alike since its opening on June 24, 2024.

How it connected

The Harley-Davidson Foundation, which owns Davidson Park, engaged NEWaukee for services including, but not limited to, event planning and production, content strategy and creation, public relations, media buying, organic and paid social media management, and photography and videography.

Growing awareness and visitation rates for the Harley-Davidson Foundation’s newly constructed park.

Davidson Park is a 4.8 acre public park located on Harley-Davidson’s campus in Milwaukee’s Near West Side neighborhood. Built by the Harley-Davidson Foundation in response to community feedback, the park features green space, free amenities, and unique design elements like built-in motorcycle parking.

The park is intended to serve as a free community gathering place, which reflects Harley-Davidson’s dedication to making the Near West Side better for all.

Key Insights

NEWaukee met with the Vice President of the Harley-Davidson Foundation to outline the organization's goals for Davidson Park and its programming. Key insights included:

Programming led by NEWaukee should be accessible and open to the public.

Proposed activities at Davidson Park should align with the Harley-Davidson Foundation’s areas of social impact: collaborative partnerships in their home neighborhood, the Near West Side of Milwaukee, investments in youth programs that foster STEAM innovation, and empowering employees to be champions of impact in their local communities.
Harley-Davidson Foundation leadership wants community members to not only know that the park is available to visit, but also that community members can easily rent the park to use the space for their own events.

Engagement Challenge

Ahead of the grand opening of Davidson Park in June 2024, Harley-Davidson Foundation leadership approached NEWaukee to design public events, identify strategic local partnerships, and lead marketing and PR campaigns to grow awareness and public usage of this new community asset.

Engagement Solution

Since the start of our partnership, NEWaukee has provided services including:

Planning and producing events at Davidson Park including three days of activations for Harley-Davidson Homecoming, monthly summer Movie Nights, Rev & Rumble Boxing Night, a Pumpkin Party fall festival, and sporting event watch parties, among others.
Supporting the creation of processes for park rentals by community members
Launching and managing the @DavidsonParkMKE social media channels
Launching and promoting FriendsofDavidsonPark.org
Writing press releases and pitching to local media
Managing community partnerships with more than 50 local organizations
Capturing high-quality custom photography and videography
Designing creative materials, for both print and online use, that align with brand guidelines to support ongoing initiatives
Leveraging digital advertising to grow awareness for public events