Harley Davidson Case Study

Question 1: Do you believe brand communities like Harley-Davidson result in greater involvement with the brand?
I believe brand communities like Harley-Davidson result in a greater involvement with the brand because many people come together for one reason and that is to ride their motorcycles. It brings together people that follow the same biker culture, these people could be from diverse ethnicities, cities, and even from different countries.

Question 2: What elements of the Posse Ride do you believe enhance the meaning of the brand for the riders?
Riding bikes together with other people is one of the elements of the Posse Ride that I believe enhance the meaning of the brand for riders because riders feel a sense of comfort and a sense of power when they ride their bikes along with a crew. It also enhances the brand because when people see a bunch of riders they can easily recognize that they are all riding Harley-Davidson's and thus shows that they are proud of what they do and the brand thy represent. The riders and the brand become one.

Question 3: Should Harley-Davidson get more involved in the ride or would that dilute the ride’s meaning to the participants?
I believe Harley-Davidson should not get more involved because the whole motto of being a biker is going on adventures by yourself. Just one person and his bike. The whole motto of enjoying your bike. Harley-Davidson should just keep the current involvement in the Posse Ride and leave it at that. Bikers enjoy being around people with the same interest in the bikes and culture but sometimes too much involvement could hurt the whole idea of going on an adventure by yourself.

Question 4: In addition to experiences such as the Posse Ride, what other ways could Harley increase involvement in the brand?
Other ways that Harley could increase involvement in the brand is by hosting concerts because this biker culture connotes the idea that they are into rock and metal music. A tribute concert to the many years of Harley Davidson riders with a whole lineup of rock and metal bands as well as a bike show would be a plus.

Blackberry or Fail-berry?

When Research In Motion (RIM) introduced the original Blackberry, it was a success because of the way the phone was made. It appealed to businesses because of how easy it did the job from delivering emails, sending text messages to making calls.

RIM will release their new Blackberry Z10 phone and it will be available on the AT&T carrier on March 22nd. Consumer behavior shows that there has not been much fuss about this new smartphone because of the advertisements for Samsung. Blackberry Z10 lacked advertisement and because of this, the new smartphone is not very anticipated by consumers who are either for the new proposed Galaxy S 4 or own an iPhone.

Lack of advertisement in the United States is definitely crucial, a country where advertising is ubiquitous and where consumers could be obtained. This is why Samsung has made a good number of ads, which is raising expectations for their new phone.

The Blackberry Z10 has been released in the United Kingdom, Canada and India and consumers have already had negative opinions about this phone. One negative thing about the Z10 is the maps feature because it does not even compare to Google Maps. Other consumers are skeptic of  the new design because it looks nothing like the original Blackberry. Although this phone has not yet been released in the United States consumer behavior shows that this phone will not come close to the smartphones from Samsung and Apple.

Getting Rid of Plastic

We are indeed hurting the environment because of the amount of litter that we humans create which ends up in the ocean. Plastic bags and foam foodware are two types of litter that is often found in the ocean. This type of litter is a danger to marine life because many animals die from eating plastic or getting trapped in it. In order to reduce the amount of debris a proposed ban has been brought up. As a result the South Orange County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has created a campaign to ban plastic bags from supermarkets and ban foam foodware from restaurants. The main focus of this environmental campaign is to make our oceans cleaner for sake of animals and the environment. The theme of this campaign is "Rise Above Plastics" This campaign uses social media to advertise their ideas, vision and missions statement. Facebook is a main social media site that this campaign uses.

facebook.com/surfrider  

These are some of the ads on the Surfriders Foundation Facebook page. The first ad promotes the common litter found in the ocean which includes items made up of plastic. The second ad for this campaign promotes the idea that surfers are helping out because they too, care for having cleaner beaches and oceans.

  

This campaign also used the social site YouTube to advertise how many animals die because of our litter. 

Women in Advertising

Advertisements portray stereotypes about women, which are usually used to sell products for men. The stereotypes that have been created for women are: the homemaker, the mother, the sex object, subservient femininity and powerless. Stereotypes of women in advertisements still exist and it is changing because now we see ads that portray women positively. Ads today tend to portray women as objects that can obtained if a man is to buy a certain car, cologne or alcoholic beverage.

In this advertisement for Burger King a woman is surprised at the size of the new burger but it clearly shows that a woman is portrayed as a sexual object. This ad definitely tries to show a negative message about women.

Not only have ads created stereotypes about women but they have also showed how women are supposed to look like to be desirable by men. Women in fashion, music, and television are usually thin, tall and blonde. This gives of the stereotype that only good looking women can get a mans attention. Women are portrayed as serving  men or trying to impress men. On the other hand there has been may recent ads that show women having power and independent from men.

In this Nike ad we see a woman who is shown as strong and determined. Most Athletic women  are portrayed as having power because they too can play sports as good as men.

Stereotypes in Advertising

While advertisements are meant to persuade consumers to buy a certain product, not only is the product and a message being portrayed but they make also portray stereotypes in their ads. Stereotypes in ads may include certain characteristics of a race of people.  Stereotypes could be negative or positive but often they are negative characteristics that are portrayed in advertisements. It should never be right to racially stereotype for advertising purposes, Everyone is able to see an advertisement since it is public. If an ad had a racial stereotype the company responsible for making it public will cause many people of that race to be upset and that will be bad for sales of their product, idea or service. Racial stereotyping is not a thing of the past, it's a thing of the future because it will always be present. Just as comedian stand-ups began with jokes about stereotypes, advertising and stereotypes go hand in hand one way or another because it brings humor to people who see it and understand it. Advertisers do have ethical responsibilities but they put them in the back of the heads because what is more important is selling their products or services.

In this Italian advertisement for a detergent the stereotype that is portrayed her in the color of skin. In this case this stereotype is mostly positive because it depicts people with dark skin as muscular. The message in this advertisement is that "once you go black, you never come back"

In this advertisement for Tecate beer, the stereotype in it for this particular beer is that beer is like a woman but more specifically a "Latina" since the beer is imported from Mexico. The stereotype here could be that only Mexican beer could get you a "Latina".

Denotation Vs Connotation

People are easily persuaded by advertisements whether on television, on print, or even in the outdoors. We are surrounded by advertisements but people have not taken the time to analyze them and decode the message. The goal of advertisements is to inform people of their product and why its better than the competition. Not only are advertisements trying to sell more products but a message is usually associated with the product in an advertisement. A semiotic analysis is done in order to understand the message in an advertisement.

In this print advertisement for Burger King we see a suitcase, a bag, and a gym bag. This part of the semiotic analysis is called the denotation or literal/obvious/common sense images in the advertisement. The other part of the semiotic analysis is called the connotation or socio-cultural/personal associations; in other words the message behind the advertisement. Here the suitcase, a bag, and a gym bag represent a hamburger, a bag of fries, and a soda. This advertisement may connote the message of Burger King having restaurants all over for people that are traveling or the message that Burger King has fast service for those who are constantly on the move.

In this television advertisement for Old Spice the denotation is that we see a doctor who is talking about body odor and not being a real doctor. We also see a nurse and doctor showing affection to each other as well as the doctor going to the operation room and putting a stethoscope on a patient's nose. The message that this advertisement is trying to connote is that this deodorant is like a prescription drug for people with body odors except you do not need a prescription for it since its on you if you want to smell good.

In this outdoor advertisement for McDonald's the denotation is that we see two advertisements next to each other, both have the McDonald's logo on it. One ad has an arrow with 200m while the other has 197m. The message this advertisement is trying to connote is that a McDonald's restaurant is just up ahead in a few meters. It can also connote the message of McDonald's being a common restaurant, therefore there is always one around.

Brands, Brands Everywhere.

Brands and Logos are different. Logos represent a product but brands are represented by the people who wear them. Brands have taken over our lives because we always have to get clothes and shoes with specific brands or else we are a nobody and have no style. Every time I go to the mall for example I always go look for specific brands. This is true for most people, brands make up their image. If you are into rap music you will most likely wear brands such as Rocawear, Jordan and New Era. If you like skating you'll most likely wear brands like Vans, Obey, and Mitchell and Ness. If someone looks at what brands a person is wearing you can instantly see what they are into. Brands also include food for example McDonalds, a person will most likely go eat there than a random burger place because most people eat at the most popular restaurant. The more talk there is on a certain brand the more it gets popular.

A brand that makes my image are the Levis 511 skinny jeans. I've never bought any other jean brand because this brand make up my image of being a skater. Here is a commercial for these jeans.