Page 277 - Marketing Management

254 PART 4 BUILDING STRONG BRANDS

Harley-Davidson Founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Harley-
Harley- Davidson Davidson has twice narrowly escaped bankruptcy but is today one of the most recognized motor

vehicle brands in the world. In dire financial straits in the 1980s, Harley desperately licensed its
name to such ill-advised ventures as cigarettes and wine coolers.Although consumers loved the
brand, sales were depressed by product-quality problems, so Harley began its return to great-
ness by improving manufacturing processes. It also developed a strong brand community in the form of an
owners’ club, called the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.), which sponsors bike rallies, charity rides, and other
motorcycle events and now numbers 1 million members in over 1,200 chapters. H.O.G. benefits include a
magazine called Hog Tales, a touring handbook, emergency road service, a specially designed insurance
program, theft reward service, discount hotel rates, and a Fly & Ride program enabling members to rent
Harleys on vacation. The company also maintains an extensive Web site devoted to H.O.G., with information
about club chapters, events, and a special members-only section. 47

A strong brand community results in a more loyal, committed customer base. Its activities and
advocacy can substitute to some degree for activities the firm would otherwise have to engage in,
creating greater marketing effectiveness and efficiency. 48 A brand community can also be a con-
stant source of inspiration and feedback for product improvements or innovations.
To better understand how brand communities work, one comprehensive study examined
communities around brands as diverse as StriVectin cosmeceutical, BMW Mini auto, Xena:
Warrior Princess television show, Jones soda, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers rock and roll band,
and Garmin GPS devices. Using multiple research methods such as “netnographic” research with
online forums, participant and naturalistic observation of community activities, and in-depth

TABLE 9.2 Value Creation Practices
SOCIAL NETWORKING
Welcoming Greeting new members, beckoning them into the fold, and assisting in their brand learning and
community socialization.
Empathizing Lending emotional and/or physical support to other members, including support for brand-related trials
(e.g., product failure, customizing) and/or for nonbrand-related life issues (e.g., illness, death, job).
Governing Articulating the behavioral expectations within the brand community.
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
Evangelizing Sharing the brand “good news,” inspiring others to use, and preaching from the mountaintop.
Justifying Deploying rationales generally for devoting time and effort to the brand and collectively to outsiders
and marginal members in the boundary.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Staking Recognizing variance within the brand community membership and marking intragroup distinction and similarity.

Milestoning Noting seminal events in brand ownership and consumption.
Badging Translating milestones into symbols and artifacts.
Documenting Detailing the brand relationship journey in a narrative way, often anchored by and peppered with milestones.
BRAND USE
Grooming Cleaning, caring for, and maintaining the brand or systematizing optimal use patterns
Customizing Modifying the brand to suit group-level or individual needs. This includes all efforts to change the factory
specs of the product to enhance performance.
Commoditizing Distancing/approaching the marketplace in positive or negative ways. May be directed at other members
(e.g., you should sell/should not sell that) or may be directed at the firm through explicit link or through
presumed monitoring of the site (e.g., you should fix this/do this/change this).
Source: Adapted from Hope Jensen Schau, Albert M. Muniz, and Eric J. Arnould, “How Brand Community Practices Create Value,” Journal of Marketing 73 (September 2009) pp. 30–51.