Case Study: Harley Davidson Milwaukee USA (Case Study Sample)

MGMT 2383
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
TOPIC : IDENTITY, PERSONALITY, STEREOTYPING
CASE STUDY : HARLEY DAVIDSON
DONE BY:
MOHAMMED ALSAEED – A00
NAMRATA CHAKRABORTY – A00378450
LIST OF CONTENTS PAGE#
1 Introduction _____________________________________ 3
2 History of Harley Davidson __________________________4
3 Identity__________________________________________5
4 Personality & Stereotyping___________________________6
5 Brand Image – Brand Identity_________________________8
6 Brand Personality___________________________________9
7 Cult Branding______________________________________10
8 References________________________________________11
Introduction
Harley Davidson came into being in 1903 in Milwaukee, USA. The company has been engaged in designing, developing and manufacturing some of the world’s finest heavyweight motorcycles. Within sixteen years of mainstream production, Harley Davidson became the largest motorcycle manufacturer and distributor around the world only to be met by Japanese competition from the mid-1940s.
It is said that a Harley Davidson motorcycle is not just used for the purpose of traveling from one place to another, but that it is also a part of the identity of the user. Despite having had a rough history with financial health, Harley Davidson always stayed afloat the tough competition mainly crediting the brand identity and personality.
The reason why our group chose Harley Davidson as our Case Study is because it is one of the most recognizable brands where identity, personality and stereotyping are involved. There have been multiple motorcycle companies that have tried imitating the "Harley Experience" for their own brands but none created a sense of belongingness that Harley Davidson provides.
Brief History of Harley Davidson
* 1903 - Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by William Harley and Arthur Davidson
* 1920 - Became the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world
* 1935 - Starts licensing blueprints, dyes, tools and machinery
* 1953 - Famous Logo created
* 1971 - First production of snowmobile
* 1986 - Company listed on the American Stock Exchange
* 1998 - Opens first factory outside USA in Brazil
* 2001 - 17 yo Jennifer Snyder becomes first woman to win a Dirt Track Series
* 2009 - Announces expansion to India
IDENTITY The identity of Harley Davidson is maintained mainly through a harmonized appearance in virtually all of the company’s communications both with the inside and the outside world. The company apparently uses words and images that mirror its identity. These can be seen in the company’s ads, documents, press releases, magazines, and other company communications. As a matter of fact, it is tempting to believe that these paraphernalia indeed came from the same company. In other words, the company logo, the layouts, and even the language used in all communications and documents are consistent at all times. Harley Davidson’s focus on identity, therefore, trickles down to consistency.
One unique identity for Harley Davidson is the rule that demands that all photographs in the company’s communications should either feature people and motorcycles, or just people, but certainly not motorcycles alone. This is a form of identity tactic that can be said to be unique to Harley Davidson alone.
Additionally, there is a specific way in which the logo has to appear. It is a requirement, for example, that it should not appear without the Bar & Shield except when certified by the relevant department. Moreover, it is disallowed for the Bar & Shield to be used on any marketing information in the absence of product, service, or business unit.
PERSONALITY
Personality associated with a company is critical in creating a lasting impression especially to its customers. This consequently leads to brand loyalty and even unpaid-for marketing. Harley Davidson is a brand that is believed to be tough, rugged, rebellious, and liberative. For that reason, therefore, the brand has survived numerous instances of cutthroat competition from such competitors as Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Honda. Despite not being the best motorcycle brand obviously, Harley Davidson continued to dominate its own market share simply because of the personalities associated with its brand.
One overarching personality, for instance, is it patriotism to America. This personality came into being after this American brand seemingly withstood competition from other Japanese motorcycle models such as Suzuki and Kawasaki. It is, therefore, not uncommon to see pro-American slogans during Harley Davidson road shows and other marketing campaigns.
Freedom and rebellion are some of the dominant personality traits associated with the Harley Davidson brand as well. In actual fact, rebellion has always been linked with the fight for freedom.
STEREOTYPING
For the longest time, Harley Davidson riders have been stereotyped with the common belief that there is usually one specific way of riding a Harley. This is a fallacy that unfortunately prevents most Harley Davidson riders from experimenting new and unique riding skills and techniques.
This stereotype is even acknowledged by the management itself. In order to address this, the company introduced the ‘No Cages’ campaign that sought to encourage its brand riders to explore even the more.
Harley Davidson made full use of the emotional appeal that identity and personality have on people. They applied it in their marketing and distributing strategies.
Brand Image = Brand Identity + Brand Personality
Brand Identity
Identity of a person gives rise to a sense of belongingness as explained before. One of the most recognisable social groups created by Harley Davidson is the Harley Owners Group abbreviated as HOG.
In the early 1920’s, Ray Weishaar started racing for Harley Davidson for dirt bike championships. After winning, Weishaar and his team would release a hog (which is essentially a pig) into the tracks as victory.
Since then, the word "hog" became associated with large Harley Davidson motorcycles and also went on to refer any large motorcycle whether it belonged to Harley Davidson or not. The term became so very generic that Harley Davidson lost a case in trying to trademark the word "hog" in 1999.
In 2006, Harley Davidson changed their ticker symbol from HDI to HOG (Harley Owners Group).
The HOG is a marketing club created for Harley Davidson users and enthusiasts which promotes not only the product but the "Harley lifestyle”. Currently, there are over 14,000 HOG chapters worldwide and over 1,000,000 members making it the largest factory-sponsored riding club in the world. The group organizes meet-ups at various locations, cross-country riding events and also comes with its own insurance and accessibility privileges according to membership.
The HOG is a sub-unit of the Harley Davidson society that users recognise with according to their shared commitment, love and respect for the brand (Balmer, 2012).
BRAND PERSONALITY
Harley Davidson builds its personality on the identity that its users have. It has come to symbolize freedom, rugged individualism and a sense of rebellion. The brand personality creates a strong relationship between the user and the motorcycle and the user and the company itself (Habibi, La...