building the harley-davidson brand community

Angela Juang, Bo Brown, Daniel So

Building the Harley-David-son Brand Community

Background & Issues

Objectives

Opportunities

Recommendation

Action Plan

Risk Mitigation

Q & A

Agenda

Background & Issues Objectives Opportunities Recommenda-tion Action Plan Risk Mitigation

The Problem

Less profitability

Negative effect on brand com-munity

Lower cus-tomer loyalty

Less active membership


The Problem

Wou

ld sig

n up a

gain

Wou

ld bu

y ano

ther

Har

ley

Harley

unde

rstan

ds ri

ding

Feel

a sen

se of

kins

hip

Have m

ade l

ifelon

g frie

nds

I und

ersta

nd H

arley

Wou

ld re

commen

d a fr

iend

Satis

fied w

ith H

OG

Harley

repr

esen

ts me

Harley

is pa

rt of

my l

ife

Unique

ly Har

ley ev

ent

Harley

care

s abo

ut m

e

Harley

unde

rstan

ds m

e0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Posse Ride Feedback Statistics

Pre-ride meanPost-ride mean


Background• Harley Owner’s Group (HOG)

• Facilitate lifestyle experience based on Harley-Davidson

• Membership > 500,000

• Destination Rallies

• Rolling Rallies


ObjectivesBuild a

strong brand community

Raise aver-age satisfac-

tion with HOG

Raise active membership

Raise post-event survey

scores

Increase brand loyalty

Increase cus-tomer com-munication


Option 1: Expand Posse Ride

Occupational / Geographical Segmentation

Multiple Posse Rides per year

Increased member satisfaction


Option 1: Expand Posse RideBenefits

• Increased satisfaction in multiple member seg-ments

• Increased customer-management interaction

• Increased ease of coordination

• Increased member participation while retaining exclusivity


Option 1: Expand Posse RideRisks

• Decreased member interest with loss of overall exclusivity

• Decreased member interest with loss of novelty

• Increased planning costs

• Increased strain on management


Option 2: Eliminate Posse RideEliminate man-agement-coordi-

nated Posse Rides

Provide activi-ties to bring lo-

cal chapter members to-

gether

Set up hierar-chical structure to rank mem-

bers


Option 2: Eliminate Posse RideBenefits

• Increased customization

• Increased integration of Harley Davidson in cus-tomer’s daily lives

• More Active Membership

• More brand loyalty

• Less discontentment among members


Option 2: Eliminate Posse RideRisks

• Disregarding the need of members who want exclusivity and prestige

• Lack of interaction among members from different geographical locations

• Absence of management interaction with members


RecommendationEliminate Posse Ride

Empowered members define the brandProcedural Restructure• Chapters organize their own

“Posse Rides”• Chapters register & publi-

cize rides with HOG• Redesign survey

Organizational Restruc-ture• Hierarchical chapter organi-

zation• Point system based on par-

ticipation• Rewards for visiting other

chapters


Action PlanDevelop specifics on membership levels &

rewards

Notify dealers and chapters

Create survey

Initial survey

Evaluate survey results & implement changes

Chapter officer elections

End of year survey

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Months


Risk Mitigation• Uniqueness and exclusivity through the original

• Nature of events organized by local chapters

• Achievement through recognition in the Hogs Tales magazine

• Awarding of points for visiting other chapters

• “Meet the Management” events at key-city chapters

building the harley-davidson brand community

Documents

posse rideoption

posse riderisks

management option

members option

exclusivity option

management events

posse ride angela juang

need of members