Building Brand Community on the Harley-Davidson Posse Ride

HOG builds brand community and dispels the old image of Harley owners as Hell's Angels gangs. In fact, Harley has been so successful in building its brand that BusinessWeek ranks it as the 44th most valuable in the world. Retaining Harley owners is clearly lucrative; Harley estimates that active HOG members spend an extra $850 a year with the company. This translated into over $140 million, money that can easily be spent elsewhere by less loyal customers.
2.Given that HOG serves to retain and reach customers by building a brand community, the Posse Rides serve to create a brand within the brand. Lisa Laundry describes Harley as "a mystique, a lifestyle as opposed to a brand." This kind of awe is mixed with a cultist sense of community, a dollop of patriotism and Americana, and commitment to riding to create your average Harley rally pilgrim. The Posse Rides focus on the latter part of that physiological make-up, on the hard-core riders.
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