Harley Davidson Case Study - Building Brand Communities

CASE STUDY Building Brand Community on the Harley-Davidson Posse Ride... What are the benefits of long rides as Posse, for customers of Harley Davidson HD?. Question 1 Benefits of long

CASE STUDY

Building Brand Community on the Harley-Davidson Posse Ride

What are the benefits of long rides as Posse, for customers of Harley Davidson (HD)? Evaluate the relational effects based on Exhibits 7 and 10, which refer to pre and post evaluations.

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 1

Question 1

 Benefits of long rides such as Posse for customers?

 Discover landscape  broadening the horizon

 People with the same interests  social satisfaction

 Thrills and excitement

 Memorials (t-shirt, tattoo’s, etc.)

 Get away from their stressed lives

 ‘Feel free’

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 1

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 1

 Very satisfied with the Harley

 The ride was tremendous

 However, augmented product evaluated less

 Customers feel not that ‘heard’

Can the Harley Owners Group’s (HOG) Posse be characterized as a community? Question 2

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 2

 Community?

 YES:

Question 3

If so, is the community static or dynamic? Support your answers with data from the Posse event, referring, for example, to day-to-day changes!

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 3

 Dynamic

 Varied structure

 Spontaneity, dynamism

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 4

How would you evaluate the interaction between HOG managers and customers?

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 4

 a ‘close-to-the-customer’ philosophy

 as a ‘togetherness’-way

 come closer due to complaints and feedback

 business-related; learning experience, user-experience, feelings towards the brand

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 4

 current customer-management interaction in line with the stated goals of HOG

 positive influence on the places which they visit

 improves the Harley Davidson lifestyle experience

 brings the company close to its customers

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 4

 The HOG has an essential role of developing the

community

 Initiator and organizer

 HOG should continue

 learn about their customers in a way which is really valuable

 members are spending significantly more money

 community fulfills the goals which are stated for HOG

However; community with hundreds of bikers cannot be

completely influenced

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 5

How would the Posse ride contribute to HD’s corporate goals? How would it contribute to its financial objectives? Should the company work harder to improve Return On Investment (ROI) of the Posse ride?

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 5

 Mission: “fulfill dreams”

 Customer – centric model

 Know the consumer

 Learn about how the consumer interacts with the product

 Establish a tradition – consistency

 $474,000 extra in revenues

 Evaluate dealers

 Identify dissatisfaction

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 6

Should HD continue with Posse and other rides? What role should HOG play in the marketing mix?

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 6

 Should HD continue with Posse and other rides?

 1 Hard-core customers -> valuable firm asset

 2 Checkpoints in the form of dealerships

non-riders)

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Question 6

 What role should H.O.G play in the marketing mix?

 Large WOM function

 Free one-year membership gives a direct feeling of belonging to the Harley community (culture with symbols and rituals)

 Makes it a very strong promotional tool

 Members will spread the word as will the events

Promotion

Group 4 - E Mulder, C Neghina, D Oosterveer, L Partouns, S Voet

Evelien, Carmen, Danny, Luc and Stijn (aka Group 4) thank you for your undivided attention !!