Harley Davidson

The Posse Ride – A Consumer Field Study

Arush Bhatnagar
Atharv Chauhan
Nitesh Panda
Utkarsh Vardhan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fX-jmGSGNU
 Harley Davidson – The H.O.G.
Community
• Harley Davidson, a giant in motorcycle manufacturing, needs
no introduction!
• Formed Harley Owners Group (HOG) on 1983
• To control the influence of outlaw bikers gang
• Enhance Harley Davidson lifestyle experience and sense of
freedom.
• First year free membership, initial applicants numbered to
33000.
• By 1999, numbers rose to half a million
• One third of HOG members participated in events organized
by them
• Membership renewal rate is 75% per year
• Various chapters, local and international ones.
• Organise programs and benefits to Harley bike owners
• HOG rallies are organised throughout the year
• All international and local chapters reflect local values and
interest but retain the essential ethos of HOG organisation
 Rolling Rallies
• Began with rider’s registration. Had passports and checkpoint concept.
• 1996 Route 66 rolling rally covered the historic highway that connected the rest of America to the
golden sands and Hollywood glitz
• Focus on riding as a major source of entertainment
• For route selection > 'the road less travelled' theme.. more a sense of adventure
• POSSE I
• 1997, HOG national rally was being held in Portland, Oregon, when hog leadership,
Mike Keefe, Joe Dowd decided to ride coast to coast from Portland, Oregon to
Portland, .Maine
• posse oath, tag along, few catch points
• POSSE II
• June 1999, Posse I success paved way for Posse II, this time border to border, South
Padre, Texas to Canada.
• Wide range of people from all over the world.
 Videos

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFHV7cTwm1g
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxMYzIm6MXY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOF7aAVZMqA
 Reasons for Harley Davidson’s iconic status
Building a brand into a cultural icon
wasn’t easy, but the rewards are
immeasurable. Harley Davidson is a
brand that evolved into an icon
organically over time in response to
consumers’ interactions with the brand.
Effective marketing supported that
organic evolution.
• Exclusivity
• More than just a make of motorcycle
• Clyde Fesseler, Vice President of business
development refers to the Harley Davidson
bikes as “iron horses”
• Riders believe that Harley riding and
participating in HOG is a life time
experience
• Lifestyle
• Lisa Landry says “It’s a mystique, a lifestyle
opposed to a brand”
• Culture
• Alan thinks of himself as Harley person, an
unspoken cultural understanding
 Reasons for Harley Davidson’s iconic status

A Social Appeals to Loyal Brand loyalty Focus on Providing a Spontaneity in

statement facilitator individuality customers and high less sense of rides
about who customer travelled freedom
you are retention road and
adventure
 Brand Community
Biker’s Need
• Bikers want to live the Harley Davidson Brand
• Common interest and passion for biking
• Share their feelings/experiences about the ride
• Exclusivity fulfills the esteem needs
Benefits of long rides for riders
• Discovering landscapes – exploring the big
country
• Social facilitators – new friends, better cultural
understanding
• Thrills & excitements – challenging experience
• Spontaneity factor – enhanced experience due to
uncertainty
• Memorials (T-shirts, tattoos etc.) – preserved for a
lifetime
• Freedom spirit – away from the routine corporate
life
 Profile analysis of riders for Posse II
Huge difference in the perceived value of Harley-Davidson
as a brand between male and female as well as their views on Posse
o Male
o American Values/Patriotism
o Social Facilitator
o HD as a lifestyle over HD as a brand
o Female
o Empowerment
o Sense of community
o HD as a lifestyle over HD as a brand
 Building brand community
• Formation of company-sponsored
H.O.G.(Harley Owners Group)
• Enhance Harley-Davidson lifestyle experience
• Bring the company closer to customers
• Neutralize the negative influence of the outlaw
biker gangs
• Free one-year membership with purchase of
new bike
• H.O.G. is supported on local, national, and
international levels
• H-D facilitated local organization in the form of
“Chapters”
• Membership includes-
• Subscription of the company’s ‘Hog Tales’
magazine
• Access to the ‘Fly & Ride’ program(allowing
members to rent Harley Davidsons's at 39
locations throughout the world)
• Rider benefits such as insurance, roadside
assistance, rider-safety education
• Support of rallies that span throughout the
year, around the globe
• Sale of H-D accessories such as T-shirts,
patches, pins, etc.
 Post-
Building brand Pre-ride ride
I would sign for another long distance HOG rally 6.4 7
community-
If I were to replace my bike, I'd buy another Harley 6.4 7
Result analysis No one but Harley could put on an event like this 5.2 5.3
I would recommend this ride to a friend 5.7 6.5
• Rating is on a scale of 7
I feel a sense of kinship with other Harley owners 6 6.3
• Loyalty towards Harley has seen
a rise because of the Posse rally I have made lifelong friends because of Harley 6 6.2
• However, managing such a large- My Harley says a lot about the kind of person I am 5.4 5.5
scale event is difficult
Harley really understands what riding is all about 6.1 5.2
• Some participants were
I really understand what Harley's all about 5.7 5.5
dissatisfied with the way it was
organized-
I am satisfied with HOG 5.7 5.1
• Days run could have been longer
My Harley is an integral part of my daily life 5.3 3.8
• Hotel parties could have been
Harley really cares about me as a customer 5.1 4.8
better coordinated
• Shortage of customized Posse Harley really understands my needs 4.8 4.2
rally Harley Davidson T-shirt
Observational
Techniques – Combination of The idea was to
get a detailed,
The researchers This process can
literature try to go out in explain
Field Study searches,
experience
contextual view
of the product
the field and
interact with the
behaviours in
terms of the
surveys, and field and its usage in users of the usage of the
observations the real world product or product –
service. “to know customers can
about the find both pros and
customer, be the cons of the
customer” product.
 Observational Techniques – Field Study
Pros
• No manipulation of the subjects of study or the
environment
• Researchers can gain insights in the natural
environment in which the product is used
• Field observations are more effective as
compared to laboratory experiments.
Cons
• Helps mainly to describe the usage of the
product, insights from firm’s perspective will
have to be derived separately
• Involves only a limited sample size
• Documenting the observations in details is
difficult.
 CONCLUSION
• HARLEY-DAVIDSON should continue to sponsor the Posse Rides.
• It gives the riders a feeling of brotherhood.
• It spreads a positive word of mouth among potential new customers.
• Harley Davidson should allocate more budget to the Posse Rides.
• Harley Davidson management should try and rectify the issues faced during the Posse
Rides
• Deploy more employees and increase employee participation in such events.