Harley Davidson Memorandum on Issues Relevant to the Public Relations Planning Process

From: Harley-Davidson Motor Company. PR Team- C. Martinez, F. Odom, and G. Chan

RE: Reflections on PR plan

This memo contains our presentation of observations on our PR plan to be developed for our hypothetical client, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company

Interesting Facts and Information Discovered

Over the past century, Harley-Davidson Motor Company has proven its worth as a resilient enterprise and gone on to become one of the most popular motorcycle brands around the globe. Nonetheless, it increasingly became fundamental to our public relations (PR) team to gain a better comprehension of its standing in contemporary society. It is for this reason that we embarked on a fact-finding mission that led us to various periodicals instrumental in enabling us learn more about nascent issues cropping up by the day.  Moreover, this process would further aid us in demystifying real issues facing the firm in a business environment that is often plagued by a plethora of challenging forces. Motorcycle aficionados now have to contend with the possibility of not being able to swing their legs over Harley Davidson bicycles in future owing to the prevailing status quo of a decrease in sales all across the United States. The public relations (PR) team is emphatic in its proposition that a global expansion of its footprint coupled with a simultaneous diversification campaign will ultimately help the brand regain its lost glory.

Harley-Davidson has experienced a decrease in sales in the United States and begun to expand internationally in an attempt to diversify their public.

Most Challenging Key Public

            We firmly contend that the most challenging key public force facing this lifestyle brand has been an aging demographic. It is for this reason that we are of the opinion that they will soon come a day when these motorcycle owners will be unable to ride their bikes, a situation that would prove catastrophic. Early signs of this impending disaster are already being witnessed in low numbers of new customers and a drop in annual sales. Economists and other related pundits have recently underscored the importance of reversing this trend since it could very well end up being its Waterloo. Young adults are a prospective target market and the reason why Harley Davidson has to painstakingly focus on creating a cult following among these individuals while developing personal relationships.

Easiest Plan Objective to Accomplish

            The easiest and most viable objective at this particular stage would be to develop marketing campaigns mostly targeting young adults. It is worth acknowledging that a large number of those owning products from this particular brand are aging individuals and the main reason why the clientele may be dying off slowly. Seeking out new customers would be one of the surest strategies of ensuring that the brand survives, especially if the focus is on the aforementioned demographic group.

An increase in the number of awareness campaigns is a technique that would ultimately result in cumulative benefits for the company. One of the surest ways of ensuring that this dream becomes reality is by creating a brand experience. The end situation will be that a majority of young adults will now develop a strong relationship with the brand, establishing a connection and ultimately increase overall sales. We, therefore, intend to forge a lasting long-term relationship with persons from this particular stratum of the society, creating a new breed of enthusiasts.

Hardest Plan Objective to Accomplish

            We believe that the most difficult objective would be to be to overshadow commercials and campaigns from foreign competitors such as Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, which often provide cheaper options to our target consumer. It is for this reason that we note that these brands serve as tangible threats that may seek to influence the same target market as the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Moreover, the recession also presents an additional set of challenging circumstances since the purchasing power of the target population would be adversely affected. Individuals would, therefore, find it difficult to purchase Harley-Davidson motorcycles due to a scarcity of disposable income to be spent on a luxury item.

Most recently, a movement of individuals seeking to reduce their carbon footprint has lashed out against the continued use of fossil fuels. If embraced by the masses, this ideology would be detrimental to the Harley-Davidson Motor Company since these individuals may, altogether, cease to use the motorcycle as a form of transportation. Additional, an increase in the price of fuel has proved a limiting factor that has made the Harley-Davidson less efficient and unnecessary. The result would be a loss of loyal customers, reducing the amount of revenue earned by the firm.

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