Building Brand Community on the Harley-Davidson Posse Ride...

Recommendations: 1.Harley-Davidson should continue to sponsor HOG, and the Posse Rides. 2.More resources should be spent on the Posse Rides to meet the rising expectations of participants. 3.Dealerships should be more integrated into the Posse Rides. 4.The Posse Rides should not be seen as direct profit centers. Reasoning: 1.HOG has been phenomenally successful at attracting members and chapters. From nothing in 1983 it has grown to half a million members in 1,160 chapters. This is the core of Harley-Davidsons market and it is easily reachable through Hog Tales magazine. This is particularly important for Harley given that its customers are so varied making it hard to reach them through traditional marketing methods. HOG overcomes†¦show more content†¦Coordination with local TV and radio should be used to raise awareness and crowds. The dealer network should also be used by the Posse Rides to solve logistical problems such as the T-shirts fiasco. Given that Posse Rides have different routes, most dealers will be able to participate over time. 4. While the visual promotional effect of the Posse Rides should be exploited as much as possible, commercializing them should be avoided. Participants are Harleys best customers and it should take the opportunity to reward them, not exploit them. These people are not stupid and will soon notice if Harley tries to squeeze out every last cent from them. The indirect benefits, such as building brand awareness and loyalty, are much more important than short-term sales. If participants want to shop at every dealer, great, but their direct costs should be kept as low as possible. Given their wide differences in income, raising prices will simply drive off working class participants that blow their annual wad on one rally. This would change the nature of the Posse from an open, inclusive group to a rich, closed one. Over time, as Posse Rides become a feature of Harleys brand, it would depreciate the brand. Posse Rides will also have to maintain their exclusivity if they are to be continually successful. If everyone can get a Posse T-shirt because of merchandizing they will not be worth having to real Posse Riders. Keeping the number of