Read the articles:
Hagerty, James R. (2011 October 31). Harley, WIth Macho Intact, Tries To Court More Women. Wall Street Journal.
Johnson, Robert (2011 December 19). The Good Life: When Heaven Is a Harley: The 50-plus crowd is having a belated romance with motorcycles. Wall Street Journal.
Respond to each of the given directives and/or questions:
Assume that you are the newly hired product manager for the brand/product/good described in the articles. The VP of Marketing wants a report regarding how this product or service has been branded.
Rather than write an essay, write a memo to the VP of Marketing that answers the following questions. Do not include extraneous information (such as day the company was founded). The VP is busy! S/he wants a memo that's easy to read and logical.
(1) The readings above discussed brand and brand personality. Based on those readings:
What is the personality of the branded product? One way to answer this question is to ask, "If this brand were a person what would it look like? Would it be a tall man in a conservative suit and tie? A young girl in a suggestive outfit? What music relates to your brand?
Remember that the brand personality is not the same as the target market's personality. If you're not clear, review the readings.
Would the brand be...
i. ...singing and/or dancing?"
ii. ...walking?
iii. ...sitting?
Explain why you believe this personality represents the brand.
(2) How do you characterize the brand and why? (Refer to above articles.)
Is the brand like an old friend?
A demanding boss?
A friend you've outgrown?
A funny younger sister?
Or ...
(3) Review the above articles to answer these questions.
How do consumers relate to the brand?
Do they feel loyal?
What emotions are involved?
(4) Is there a good fit between the brand personality and the target personality discussed in Module 1 (younger market targeted) Why or why not?
(5) Based on the assigned articles, does it make sense for this company to use celebrities to brand the company or for a particular product? What ONE celebrity might this company use and why? Based on the "Teakettle" article, what are the pros and cons of using celebrities to brand a company/product?