REQUEST USERNAME/WRITER: bolavens
BRANDED PRODUCT: HARLEY DAVIDSON
Read these articles (these are the same articles you analyzed for CASE1):
Hagerty, James R. (2011 October 31). Harley, WIth Macho Intact, Tries To Court More Women. Wall Street Journal.
Available on 2011 December 22 in ProQuest via the Touro College eLibrary.
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.
Available on 2011 December 22 in ProQuest via the Touro College eLibrary.
Respond to each of the following 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) Our background readings for module 2 discuss 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 the Fournier article.)
Is the brand like an old friend?
A demanding boss?
A friend you’ve outgrown?
A funny younger sister?
Or …
(3) Review the Fournier article.
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 you discussed in Module 1? 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?
Expectations with regard to your References and Defense of Your Positions:
To make it easier for you instructor to grade your paper, it is expected that you will use the above directives and/or questions as titles placing your responses to those directives and/or questions below each.
It is expected that you will back up your positions or opinions with references to the required readings found in Background1-2 and Ongoing Useful Resources. In using those references, it is expected that you demonstrate your understanding of the concepts presented. Therefore, rather than grade on how much information you find about the product that is the subject of CASE2; the emphasis in grading your paper will be on your defense of the positions you take with regard to the issues in the above directives and questions. In effect, you are expected to write clearly, simply and logically. And, in terms of that logic, remember that:
(1) the “why” is more important than the “what,” and
(2) the defense of your positions on the issues is more important than the positions you take.
It is expected that you will NOT repeat or quote definitions. Your use of the required readings to support your opinions (that is, contentions or positions) should demonstrate that you understand the concepts presented in those required readings.
It is expected that you will paraphrase the facts you find into your own words and ideas. In other words, use quotes sparingly. And, as a rule of thumb, quotes, if absolutely necessary, should be not much longer than 5 words.
It is expected that when you write an academically-oriented paper of this type, much of the information you uncover will be facts about the product. Even if you paraphrase those facts, you should cite in your text the source for those facts and link those citations to references at the end of your paper.
