Harley-Davidson H-D Connect: Reviving Brand Image Through Co-creation

Abstract

Harley-Davidson (H-D) is a leading motorcycle company that was formed in 1903 in the United States. Recently, the company has experienced several years of declining sales, even while enjoying a fair market share of close to 40% of the U.S. market. The H-D customer base is aging and the company needs to revamp its brand image. H-D already enjoys a loyal customer base and a company-sponsored brand community named the Harley Owners Group (HOG). In 2018, some of the HOG members and a few suppliers, including Panasonic, IBM, and Gigya, were invited to participate in a co-creation event, with the proposal that H-D would diversify into digital space as an outcome of the event. H-D would host an Internet of things (IoT) service named H-D Connect, which would provide customers with real-time updates about their motorcycle’s health and security status. It would use the H-D mobile app to distribute this service to riders, who would enjoy the service through their smartphones. This service would be provided to H-D owners for free for the first year, and then it would become chargeable. At the co-creation event, it was also discussed that H-D should invest in other avenues to improve its brand image. H-D’s decision-makers were faced with dilemmas regarding the direction in which the brand should move, whether the company should concentrate on producing expensive bikes for core bike riders or attract non-bikers through inexpensive products, and how it should attempt to reduce the average age of its riders, which has already surpassed 45 years. Students will be asked to share their perspective of which other avenues H-D could use to recover its image, which new products it should venture into, and which new markets it should explore.