Harley Davidson Media Plan

Alison Teadore | Elizabeth Gulino | Sophia Hadeka
Derek Howes | Madelyn Turkington

About Black Sheep Media 1
Mission Statement: Black Sheep
Media strives to provide creative
solutions, specializing in new
media, to its clients through in
depth research and innovative
strategies.
Black Sheep Media

Table of Contents2
Executive Summary
Situational Analysis
Competitive Analysis
Target Audience Analysis
SWOT
Connection Idea
Objectives and Strategies
Media Mix: Television
Media Mix: Magazines
Media Mix: Out of Home
Media Mix: Social Media
Media Mix: Experiential
Reach, Frequency, GRPs
Geography
Budget
Scheduling and Timing
References
Appendices
Meet the Team
3
4
10
16
19
21
22
23
25
27
28
30
31
33
34
36
37
38
44

Executive Summary 3
Over the years, Harley-Davidson has developed itself as a American-made brand with loyal customers and name
recognition. This iconic motorcycle brand has established itself as a competitive threat in the industry. Recently,
the entire motorcycle industry has suffered from an aging customer base. Their typical consumers may be on their
last bike or only be interested in purchasing one more. For that reason, many motorcycle companies have tried to
change bike designs and develop campaigns that pull this younger market in. Harley-Davidson has had a difficult
time attracting Generation X and Generation Y consumers because, they have developed a “your dad’s bike”
image. No millenial is going to want to buy, use or ride anything that their parents like.
As a result, Black Sheep Media has created the following plan that aims at lowering the age of their consumers
by targeting 30-40 year old males and females. Over time, this campaign will eventually break down barriers and
reach younger and younger audiences. The creative execution of this campaign is “How far will you go?”. It will
soften and rebrand the Harley-Davidson image to attract those 30 and 40 year olds. The plan will reach them
through television in both national and spot commercials, magazines, out of home, social media and experiential
applications.

Harley-Davidson is a brand that is viewed as the epitome of American culture.
Founded in 1903 by William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, Harley-Davidson
survived the Great Depression to become one of the top leading motorcycle
manufacturers in the world. Why? Because they sell more than just a bike, they
sell a lifestyle and make no mistake, style is just as important as speed to this
group of riders. Its loyal following of consumers, referred to as HOGs (Harley
Owners Group), have given the brand its admirable reputation and allowed them
to expand to feature museums, merchandise, and even video games. With its
headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and plants all across the United States
and abroad, Harley-Davidson has positioned itself as a classic, a truly American
manufacturer.
While Harley-Davidson is a household name, their sales have declined in recent
years. Their retail sales of motorcycles have declined 21% worldwide and 28%
in the U.S. This is on par with the 21% industry wide decline in heavyweight cruiser style motorcycles. However, future projections
indicate an anticipating shipping of 260,000 motorcycles to dealerships worldwide.
Harley-Davidson is looking to engage with Generation X and Generation Y consumers. They want to break the image that Harley is
“your dad’s bike” in order to peak their interest and boost sales. Harley-Davidson is also attempting to gain more traction with the
African American and Hispanic communities.
In an effort to reach these new audiences, Harley, like many other motorcycle companies, has been developing new youth-oriented
bike models. They have also set an objective to use new media and heavy social media integration into a targeted campaign.
Situation Analysis4
Brand Analysis

Situation Analysis 5
Despite Harley-Davidson’s iconic brand image, it appears that sales have decreased over the last few years. The brand owns half of
the U.S motorcycle market, but sales of the vehicles have dropped 5.7% in the past year domestically.
Younger consumers view Harley-Davidson as a brand for older adults, like their parents or grandparents and, therefore, may be fearful
of embracing that image for themselves. Harley-Davidson’s bikes are known for being loud, muscular, and powerful but trends have
shown that younger consumers prefer lighter, sleeker bikes. However, Harley-Davidson isn’t the only motorcycle brand experiencing
this dilemma.
Harley-Davidson is a brand that its consumers are loyal to. Their target audience is currently Baby Boomer middle class white
Americans. Since Baby Boomers are currently aging out, Harley-Davidson needs to expand its appeal to reach a lower aged target
market.
For the 2018 season, Harley-Davidson has a wide variety of bikes available for purchase on their website as well as a customization
option. There are motorcycles manufactured just for beginner riders become more advanced the more experience a rider has.
Harley-Davidson currently competes in the category of high performance motor vehicles. The steady decline of motorcycle purchasers
and the long life cycle of a bike puts the entire motorcycle category at risk. Younger generations, like generation X and Y, are no longer
as interested in purchasing motorcycles compared to the generations before them.
One main reason for the decline in category sales depends on younger generations like Millennials and Generation X. The current
median age for a motorcyclist in the U.S. is 45 years old. Most motorcycle riders are currently aging out of the category, either
becoming too old for motorcycles or having other responsibilities like a job and a family. Unfortunately the younger generations have
not shown as much interests in motorcycles to keep the industry steady (Appendix A and B).
Current Brand Situation
Current Category Situation

The Harley-Davidson consumer is loyal to the brand and the image that goes along with it. The bikes are masculine, loud, and
unapologetically American aesthetic which attract the consumers who are drawn to that image. The Harley-Davidson consumer isn’t
only paying for the motorcycle, but the experience and community that comes with owning one of their bikes. Customers are okay
with paying for an expensive bike because it comes with the Harley-Davidson name, reputation, quality and community. The 2018
Harley-Davidson line-up consist of over 30 bikes in six categories. The categories include H-D Street, Sportster, Softail, Touring, CVO
and Trike.
A high performance motorcycle like a Harley-Davidson provides consumers with a different kind of bike than its competitors.
Consumers that purchase Harley’s are drawn toward the loud and heavier bike compared to the sleeker bikes of their competitors.
Cost of Bikes
The average cost of a beginner motorcycle is between $5,000 and $10,000. The biggest bike Harley-Davidson currently sells costs
$16,000. The customization options on Harley-Davidson’s website are endless and can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
To compensate for these potentially high costs, they also sell used bikes.
Harley-Davidson’s main competitors are Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki. Yamaha motorcycles can range from $4,200 to $17,000,
Honda motorcycles can range from $3,000 up to $24,000 and Kawasaki can range from $3,699 to $55,000. It appears that Harley-
Davidson bikes, compared to these three brands, has competitive pricing.
Cost of Time Acquiring Product
A consumer can either buy a Harley-Davidson online, or in person at a dealership. The cost of acquiring a Harley is slightly higher for
consumers because they can’t simply stumble on a dealership. Typically, they must take time out of their lives to research the different
kinds of motorcycles Harley-Davidson has to offer and decide which one is the best for them. The cost of acquiring a motorcycle
is even higher if the consumer decides to take a trip to the dealership for the purchase in which they will also like to test drive the
motorcycles, ask questions and negotiate the price.
Situation Analysis6
The 4 C’s: Consumer Wants and Needs
The 4 C’s: Cost

Harley-Davidson mainly gets their information out to consumers using their own website. On it, they list their entire lineup of bikes
available for purchase for the 2017 and 2018 seasons as well as the features of all of the motorcycles. The website also has tabs for
customization to build your own Harley, scheduling a test ride, rider classes, events, museum information, community forums and
shopping. Most importantly, the site allows you to find a dealer near you.
They interact with consumers through events and organized conventions like Daytona Bike Week and Harley Owners Group (HOG).
HOG connects the brand to their consumers by sponsoring bike rallies, special promotions, charity drives, and meetings between
those involved in the group. When a consumer purchases a Harley, they are automatically inducted into the Harley Owners Group.
Harley-Davidson currently has 2.4 million Instagram followers and 399,300,000 Twitter followers. Their current slogan on their
Instagram profile is “All for freedom, freedom for all” with the hashtag #FindYourFreedom. Harley-Davidson also posts their
advertisements on their YouTube channel which is currently highlighting their “Rev up the Holidays” and “Own the Holidays” campaign
and their #FreedomMachine campaign to promote their all-new 2018 Sport Glide.
Harley-Davidson motorcycles can be found across the country in numerous dealerships and also around the world. They can be
purchased online or in person at a dealership or distributer. Their website allows people to enter their zipcode to find the dealer
nearest them.
Dealerships are located in all 50 states across the U.S. and Mexico. The states with the most dealerships include California, Florida,
Illinois, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
The 4 C’s: Communication
The 4 C’s: Convenience

The sale of motorcycles across the U.S has declined in recent years. Motorcycles were very popular with the older generations when
they were younger. As they are now getting older and the life span of a bike is rather long, it’s up to the motorcycle companies to look
to a new audience: Generation X and Y. The problem is that younger generations haven’t caught on to the lifestyle despite the steps
the motorcycle category has taken to attract them, user younger people in their advertising and changing their design of the bikes
to be smaller, lighter and sleeker looking. Only 18% of people 30-39 currently own a motorcycle. The younger audience, especially
Generation Y is cost conscious and likely just starting out in the workforce with little expendable income, lot of student loan debt and,
therefore, no way use for a motorcycle.
There is a correlation between parents who ride and whether or not their child will ride. Typically, if your parent rides you will ride. With
that being said, Generation X and Y tend to distance themselves from the likes and interests of their parents and Harley has a “your
dad’s motorcycle” image. This is a major discouragement for younger people to purchase a bike for fear of look like their parents
without a noticeably significant change in image and bike design that gives them something all their own.
In the last few years, there has also been an exponential increase in many major cities of people using ridesharing companies like
Uber and Lyft to get from place to place. As a result, people are not buying their own vehicles for transportation as often, especially
younger people right out of college who move to a big city. For some consumers this means they don’t have to spend money on their
own vehicle or transportation but for motorcycle companies, like Harley-Davidson, this could be an opportunity. Having your own
transportation can be more convenient and safer than ridesharing and motorcycles can get you where you need to go for a lower price
and less hassle than a car.
Economically, many people are trying to be cost conscious and practical. At most, a standard motorcycle can fit two people. It’s a
likely possibility that part of the audience Harley is requesting that we target already has a family and children, which would not make
a motorcycle a practical first choice for transportation, let alone safety. Additionally, in an effort to be more economically practical and
environmentally conscious, people have started carpooling or using public transportation which is not ideal on a motorcycle. Harley-
Davidson motorcycles, however, are fuel efficient and have low emissions.
Situation Analysis8
Economic and Societal trends

Harley-Davidson’s headquarters is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The brand is sold nationally and internationally, but it’s strong
American image places most of its popularity in the US market.
In order to engage our target market with our brand, our campaign includes DMAs in cities, and their surrounding areas, with year-
round warm climates primarily in the west. More specifically, we will be targeting cities like Atlanta, Seattle, Phoenix, Sacramento, San
Diego and San Francisco. We wanted to target DMAs that yielded high BDI and CDI index numbers. To push the brand back into the
norm, we are targeting areas where the motorcycle industry is doing well and Harley is also succeeding. The few DMA areas that may
have a more seasonal climate, will have more seasonally focused timeline, heavying up in the warmer months. We believe that this
media plan and marketing strategies will have the more potential to persuade our target audience in these geographic regions.
We also want to focus on geographic areas where our target audience would have to means to store a bike, whether it be in a garage,
driveway or storage unit. Therefore, a city like New York City would not be ideal, where parking and storage is incredibly limited.
According to primary research, consumers in San Francisco are 20% (CDI 120) more likely to purchase a motorcycle than the average
consumer while they are also 71% (BDI 171) more likely to buy a Harley.
Other key markets include Atlanta where consumers are 19% (CDI 119)
more likely to purchase a motorcycle than the average consumer and
18% (BDI 118) more likely to purchase a Harley. Consumers in Seattle
are 13% (CDI 113) more likely to purchase a motorcycle than the
average consumer and 39% (BDI 139) more likely to buy a Harley. In
Phoenix consumers are 52% (CDI 152) more likely to buy a motorcycle
than the average consumer and 19% (BDI 119) more likely to buy a
Harley. Sacramento consumers are 36% (CDI 136) more likely to buy a
motorcycle than the average consumer and 20% (BDI 120) more likely to
buy a Harley. Finally, consumers in San Diego are 62% (CDI 162) more likely to
buy a motorcycle and 47% (BDI 147) more likely to buy a Harley.
Geographic Information

Black Sheep Media has chosen three chief competitors for Harley Davidson: Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha. They were chosen
because they all have the top market share in the motorcycle industry. Each of these primary competitors is facing the same issues
with trying to reposition themselves in a way that appeals to millenials. They are all undergoing design changes to make their bikes
lighter weight and sleeker looking to reach the same demographic. Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha all offer a variety of different
motorcycles and sport bikes like Harley does. Overall, these companies are Harley’s primary competition because they sell similar
products, target a similar audience and face similar issues with declining profits. We researched each company in comparison to
Harley and took note of their sales numbers, media mix, previous ad campaigns and spending, and share of voice.
Competitive Analysis10

11
Overview:
Honda Motor Co., a company based in Tokyo, is Japan’s second largest
automaker and the world’s largest motorcycle producer. In 1937, Honda began
as a piston ring company but after the war in 1946 they began motorizing bikes
with war-surplus engines. A short two years later, they changed their name to
Honda Motor Co and began producing motorcycles. Their line of motorcycles
runs from scooters to super bikes which accounts for 14% of their net sales.
Net sales of Honda motorcycles increased 9% in 2015. This was largely due to
a growth in sales in India and Vietnam and as such has decided to focus a lot of
their promotion efforts in these areas where motorcycles are a popular mode of
transport. Of the households that own a motorcycle, 28.5% are Hondas and of
those that are planning to buy or lease in the next 12 months, 5.1% would buy or
lease a Honda.
Media:
Honda Motor Co. has created a number of campaigns to promote their
motorcycles. In 2016, the released the “Express Yourself” campaign to promote
their 2017 Honda Rebel. The name of the bike as well as the content and creative
of the campaign targets a similar younger audience that Harley Davidson is
also trying to attract. It can be seen here. Most recently, Honda released the
#WhatLiesBeyond campaign which is a series of five videos aimed at driving
excitement of the global unveiling of the 2018 motorcycle. This campaign also
targets a similar, younger audience that this plan is striving to hit and its content is
very relatable to that target. It can be see here.
Honda Motor Co. Honda Media Mix
Cable TV: 70%
Spot TV: 0%
Network TV: 14%
US Internet: 7%
Magazines: 9%
Hispanic
Newspaper: 0%

Overview:
Yamaha, another Japanese company, focuses primarily on ATV off-road vehicles
and snowmobiles and the sale of popular sport boats in the North American
market. In 1977, the North American subsidiary of the company was established
to expand Yamaha’s motorized sports products after it gained a lot of attention
at the Catalina Grand Prix in 1958. The company also operates in Europe, Asia
and Oceania. Like the trend that Honda has seen, Yamaha motorcycles are
performing favorably in the emerging markets of Vietnam, Philippines and Taiwan.
Of the households that own a motorcycle, 15.6% are Yamahas and of those that
are planning to buy or lease in the next 12 months, 3.2% would buy or lease a
Yamaha. In 2015, Yamaha Motors parented with leading exhaust manufacturer,
Yoshimura R&D of America, to deliver a new line of high performance, emissions-
complaint, slip-on exhaust systems custom engines for their sport bikes. In
the same year, they also partnered with REV’IT! to create a custom line of high
performance motorcycle riding gear for Yamaha owners.
Media:
Recently Yamaha has released the “Born Tomorrow” campaign which spreads the
philosophy that “some revel in the past. Others live for tomorrow.” This campaign
is aimed at the release of the new Yamaha XSE700. The brand also uses the
Yamaha Faster Sons philosophy which highlights the retro, iconic styling paired
with modern technology and incredible performance. In these series of videos,
Yamaha takes a different approach by leveraging the father and son connection of
riding motorcycles. This is something that other companies have not touched on
for fear that younger people won’t want to emulate the image of what their parents
have. All of the video from this campaign can be seen here.
Yamaha Yamaha Media Mix
Magazines:61%
US Internet: 36%
Outdoor: 1% Spot TV: 2%

13
Overview:
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is also based out of Tokyo, Japan. The focus heavily
on aerospace, shipbuilding and construction machinery and operate in Japan,
the US , South American and Asian countries. The company was established
in the US in 1966 in a warehouse in Chicago. They soon realized there was a
demand from US riders for more excitement in their products and, as a result, they
developed a pair of potent rotary valve twins, The Samurai and Avenger. From
this moment on, Kawasaki was building its image around high-performance fun.
Of the households that own a motorcycle, 11% are Kawasakis and of those that
are planning to buy or lease in the next 12 months, 1.7% would buy or lease a
Kawasaki.
Media:
In 2013, Kawasaki released the “Live the legend” campaign, which was developed
in collaboration with Disney’s The Lone Ranger. This campaign was an attempt
to reach independent, adventurous, rebellious people, similar to those depicted
in the movie. The campaign focused primarily on a video series that showed the
transition from the film to scenes from modern day adventurers with Kawasaki’s
Terryx4 Side x Side, KX motocross, and Ninja Sportbike. In conjunction with
these video, Kawasaki also created materials featuring Johnny Depp and Armie
Hammer, from the film that were places in dealerships around the country. A
custom designed Ninja ZX-6R was built and put on display at the world premiere
of the film and was later auctioned off to benefit the American Indian College fund.
To round out the campaign, Kawasaki also sponsored a sweepstakes, “Live the
Legend Adventure”. The video campaign can be seen here.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kawasaki Media Mix
Network TV: 33%
Outdoor: 1%
US Internet: 10%
Local Radio: 2%
Newspaper: 2%
Magazine: 33%
Cable TV: 18%
Spot TV: 2%

There has been a lot of focus in the motorcycle industry on the overall look of the bike. Over the last few years they have become
sleeker and much more technologically savvy. The overall design of the bikes is much simpler and the engines size is decreasing.
In an effort to tap into the millennial and female untapped markets, many companies in the industry have been creating smaller and
cheaper bikes. Honda created the Rebel, a lighter-weight bike that starts at $6,000. Kawasaki developed with Ninja 300 which carries
to similar feel to its larger bikes but is a much lighter weight bike and starts at $5,000. According to Bloomberg, the sales of these
bikes are responsible for a larger percentage of motorcycle manufacturers overall sales.
Industry Trends
Total ad spend
Harley-Davidson
$97,237,000 $24,104,000 $20,072,000 $12,963,000
Honda Motor Co. Yamaha Kawasaki Heavy Industries

15Competitive Analysis
Share of Market Share of Voice
Insights: Harley-Davidson clearly has the market advantage
in terms of sales. The nine other motorcycle brands that
make up the other category range in market share form 5%
to 1% and, collectively, they can’t even catch Harley. Honda,
while not that close of a second place, is inching its ways
towards Harley in recent years because of their product
quality and the downturn of the motorcycle industry.
Insights: Here it appears that Harley-Davidson dominates
the share of voice with its ad spending. There can be a
correlation drawn from its high market share to their high
share of voice. the $97,237,000 that they spend in various
media appears to be beneficial to their sales numbers.
Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha appear to be roughly equally
sharing the rest of the share of voice.
Harley Davidson: 35%
Other: 28%
Kawasaki: 9%
Yamaha: 13% Honda:15%
Harley Davidson: 63%
Honda:16%
Kawasaki: 8%
Yamaha: 13%

For Harley-Davidson, Black Sheep Media decided that the primary audience to target in this campaign is men aged 30 to 40.
Currently, they are attracted the same customer: older white males so there is a lot of room for them to expand in terms of age, race,
and gender. Harley is looking to create a campaign that primarily reaches Generation X and Y. We feel that, based on primary and
secondary research, 30 to 40 year old men and women are the best segment to work with for this campaign.
The 30 to 40 year old segment consists of people who are likely already established financially, have settled down or are close to
settling down, and have a house of their own. In other words, they are ready to make a purchase of this magnitude without worrying
so much about other life factors. This audience has already graduated college and been in the workforce for 5-12 years. They live and
work in and around a major city with a warm climate. Using brand and category index numbers from above, Harley will want to target
DMAs like San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Phoenix and Atlanta because they have the most potential for the industry and
the brand. These established adventurers’ will most likely be using their Harley to commute to work on days where they don’t have
a special client coming in or a big presentation. They will also likely have already owned a bike or know someone that owns a bike. If
they already own a bike, they may be transitioning from a sport bike to a motorcycle to take longer rides with more comfort. In this age
range people tend to be more relaxed because they have job security and most likely have already started a family. On the other hand,
they are also very adventurous trying to hang onto and regain their youth. They are still young enough to take their spouse on a scenic
drive or a date night using their Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The secondary audience that Black Sheep Media has identified for this campaign is women. With feminism and female empowerment
growing, there has been an increase in women wanting to buy and ride motorcycles. This audience will also have the same
characteristics as the ones listed above. Women are making more now then they ever were before and have more buying power to
make their own purchases.
Target Audience Analysis16

Target Audience Analysis 17
In order to gather more information about the target audience we created, we looked at the four spreadsheets provided to us by media
flight plan. There was data from a survey about each motorcycle brand crosstablulated with household that own a motorcycle, if they
plan to buy or lease one in the next 12 months, if they primary rider was 18-44 or 45+. Using the horizontal percentages, it’s shown
that the percentage of Harley owners who are the primary rider at 18-44 is fairly equal to those primary riders 45+. With that 45+
market clearly aging out, we want to use this campaign to increase the number of primary riders who are younger (Appendix C).
In an interview with a consumer behavior researcher and Harley rider, we discovered more information about this demographic. Most
importantly, the way to get a customer to make the conversion and buy a Harley, they typically start by buying the apparel. When you
are young and have the money to buy the cool Harley jacket, hat or button down you are building brand loyalty for when in your 30
or 40 and can afford a bike you know what dealership you are going to first. Another key insight that he gave us was, that when you
are young you are more likely to have a fast sports bike. However, when you get into your 30s and 40s and want to start taking longer
drives you will want to motorcycle with more space and comfort.
Black Sheep Media also conducted of secondary research to gather more insight into the consumers media consumption habits. We
ran crosstabs using Simmons to explore this target audience’s preferences in television, internet and magazines. We found that these
men and women are heavy users of social media and television. The tables showed that of adults aged 30 to 34, 69% of them watch
television during the prime time spot, and 73% of adults aged 35 to 39 watch at that time as well. For women, TV prime time (M-SA
8-11pm/Sun 7-11pm) and TV all day (M-F 6-2am/S-7-1am) are the most important day parts coming in at 75% and 90%, respectively.
For men, the TV all day day-part is the most watched with 85.4% tuning in at that time. For 30-34 year olds, 35-39 year olds and
females and males, situation comedy, reality and general drama are the most popular genres of television to watch (Appendix D). In
term of social media the data showed that 41.1% of 30-34 year olds and 72.2% of 35-39 year olds use social media 3 or more times a
day (Appendix F).
We also found that magazines and radio were not a form of media that our target consumes. When looking at the data on Simmons,
that calculated the percentages for 30-34 year olds and 35-39 year olds with 160 magazines, it showed that there is very low
readership and interest in magazines among this population. All percentages were 5% or lower for people 30-34 and 35-39 who read
any of these magazines (Appendix E).
Primary Research
Secondary Research

John is a 39 year old married man who lives just outside of San Diego, California.
Growing up, he always watched his father speed down the street in his Harley
bike wearing his favorite HD leather jacket. For his 18th birthday, his dad bought
him his very own Harley-Davidson leather jacket and he has since been growing
his collection of Harley apparel. John is now a real estate agent and has an
extensive amount of disposable income. John is looking to feel the exhilaration
and freedom of being young that he feels might be quickly fleeting from him as
he ages further into adulthood.
Tommy is a 30 year old man currently working for a marketing agency in Atlanta,
Georgia and has a well established income. After college, he put all of his focus
into building his career and now that he has, he wants some excitement in his life.
His office is just outside the beautiful city of Atlanta and for the last two years, he
has been picturing a shiny and sleek new motorcycle in the roomy parking lot of
his office building. He likes to keep up with current fashion trends while keeping
his edgy style, and is looking for a new accessory that will help make a statement.
Target Audience Analysis18
Profile #1 | meet John
Profile #2 | Meet Tommy
Lucy is a 35 year old women with a husband and three kids, living just outside of
Phoenix, Arizona. She is a mechanical engineer who is looking for a new group
to call friends who she can spend time with when she wants to blow off steam.
She has recently decided to take longer drives around the state of Arizona to clear
her mind away from the stresses of work and family but her sport bike is not built
for such adventures so she has been considering upgrading to something more
comfortable.
Profile #3 | meet Lucy

19
Strengths
Opportunities
Weaknesses
Threats
• High brand loyalty
• High market share
• Diverse range of strong products and customization
• American made
• Speed and sound
• HOG family
• High share of voice
• Declining sales in the U.S.
• Expensive
• Dated logo and overall brand image
• “your dad’s bike” perception
• 2018 bikes
• Owning your own transportation in places
where owning a car can be difficult and public
transportation is popular
• 30-40 year old market- an untouched and valuable
wealth of potential customers
• “Old” brand perception
• Declining category
• High concentration of competition
• Lack of millennial interest in motorcycles
SWOT Summary

20
The challenge the Harley-Davidson currently faces is the general disinterest that millennials have for motorcycles. Harley-Davidson
holds a large majority of the current motorcycle market, but unfortunately the decline in sales among all motorcycle brand has been
closing that gap. Harley-Davidson is being rejected by the young population and only has sustainable consumers who are aging out.
The question that arises from the issue at hand is, how do we lower our consumer age at a constant rate, to make motorcycles a
regular transportation accessory in the minds of the average consumer.
The current average age of consumers for Harley-Davidson products are early 50-year old white males. This demographic are the
sons of those who owned motorcycles when they were more of a normal customer of motorized vehicles during the birth of the baby
boomer generation. As they had bikes handed down to them by their fathers, in stitched itself into the fabric of their lives. The current
target market population of younger riders do not want to be a part of the clearly defined biker culture that has emerged around these
products, and have other wants that they want to have met when purchasing a new vehicle.
The truth about the Harley brand is that, even though it markets itself as a blue collar brand, financially it is truly a luxury brand for
many. This is thought of as one of the major reasons that Gen Y’s are not picking up motorcycles as quickly as previous generations
have. Having grown up in the recession, spending habits of millennials were heavily impacted for the rest of their lives. Millennial
consumers have the choice of choosing between an expensive, loud bike or a new Ducati sports car for the same price, and the few
millennials who have the money seem to be choosing the car that has more utility.
Aside from finances, which is a near unavoidable variable in the sea the determines whether someone will purchase a bike, millennials
care less about heritage than generations past. The ‘10 years-old off the assembly line’ look that Harley goes for when making their
bikes is appealing to the same old demographic as it has been for the past twenty years. Millennials prefer a minimalistic design that
stresses innovation rather than heritage.
Key Challenge
Key insights
SWOT SUMMARY

21Connection Idea
We want to set a challenge for this 30 to 40 year old demographic to push themselves further, travel farther, be more adventurous and
live life to the fullest with the “How far will you go?” campaign. In addition to attracting new HOG riders, it will encourage current sport
bike users to upgrade to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. It will stress the comfort and ease that a Harley-Davidson bike will provide in
order for you to enjoy the fresh air and sounds of the great outdoors whether they are traveling to work or across the country. Harley
will take you there and Harley will take you far, but how far you’ll go is up to you. How far will you go?
How far will you go?F

22
This campaign was created to increase brand awareness and reposition Harley-Davidson in the motorcycle market. The following
objectives were developed to accomplish this goal:
• Reposition brand in motorcycle market to drive in Gen X and Y
• Increase brand awareness by 30% among target
• Increase store/site visits by 25%; 40% in spot DMAs
• Increase sales in apparel by 10%
Objectives
Media Mix
Objectives & Strategies
Television 40%
Events 15%
Social
Media
15%
Magazines 15%
Out of Home %15

23
This media plan will purchase television spots in national and spot markets. The spot markets will be in the selected DMAs mentioned above:
Atlanta, Seattle, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco. The use of spot markets in additional to national spots wil be better or
targeting and increase response rates. This will also help to focus the budget where Harley-Davidson will see the most return on their money.
Based on research Black Sheep Media has selected five shows during the early morning, late news, late fringe, prime time, weekend sports
and Saturday Late Fringe in which the campaign will air. We chose to allocate a significant amount of our budget to national and spot television
advertising. Our target audience of adults aged 30 - 40 watch an average of 25.5 hours of television per week. We chose television as our highest
budget allocation because our main goals of the campaign is to increase reach and frequency. All of our advertisements will be :30 and will feature
our creative strategy of How Far Will You Go? to inspire more brand awareness between our target.
Demographic: 18-49
Average Viewers: 10.9 million viewers
We chose NBC’s Sunday Night Football to buy commercial time for because of how
significant their reach is for our target market. Mostly men ages 18-49 watch Sunday
Night Football with an average of 10.9 million viewers. In 2016, it was named TV’s #1
primetime show for the sixth consecutive year. Having our campaign run during this
time will elevate the reach and frequency of Harley-Davidson to the target audience.
Media Mix | Television
Sunday Night Football
Demographic: 18-49 demographic
Average Viewers: 7.89 million viewers | Rating: 2.8
Fox’s Empire is a show that attracts men and women ages 18-49. It has had record
breaking growth, according to Nielsen’s People Meters, and has seen growth in
their audience each episode. Fox estimates that since its premiere, Empire has
accumulated 22.9 million viewers. Our target market enjoys watching Empire
because of its exciting and fun to watch content.
Empire

24 Media Mix | Television
CBS’s The Big Bang Theory is the number one show for all age groups. It’s the highest rated
television show and consistently rakes in millions of viewers. According to Vulture, The Big
Bang Theory accumulated 84.2 million viewers throughout the 2014 season. It’s significant
reach will allow Harley-Davidson to expose itself to an extremely large audience.
Big Bang Theory
ABC’s Modern Family has a similar target audience to The Big Bang Theory. It averages 11
million viewers per episode and brings in the target audience of 18-49 year olds. It attracts
a diverse audience of both men and women and will work well with our planned media mix.
The average Modern Family viewer tends to be more affluent, which fits well with our targeted
demographic of college educated men making $60,000 a year.
Modern Family
CBS’s Survivor has been on air for the past 16 years and has an older skewed viewership,
reaching our target age group of 30-40 year olds. It’s prime time spot on Wednesdays
captures 8.3 million viewers. Our target audience is adventurous, and a show like Survivor is
for consumers who enjoy living life on the edge.
Survivor

25Media Mix |Magazines
We chose to allocate 15% of our budget to magazines based on our targeted age demographic. We chose publications that men ages 30 - 40
years old read and fall into the target demographic. We also added one publication to target our secondary audience, women ages 30 - 40.
Median age of readers: 42.2
Total circulation: 931,558
Forbes targets affluent people in the business industry. Our target, men who make
$60,000 and commuters, read Forbes to keep up with the latest business practices
and trends. Forbes has a few core topics, like technology, finance and luxury lifestyle.
Harley-Davidson riders and owners have disposable income and enjoy living life
luxuriously.
Forbes
52% of readers are ages 25-44
76% willing to pay more for products
77% high income & above average
GQ’s audience is made up of 58% men with 77% of them making an above average
income. 48% of them are ready to pay extra money for a desired brand, which is
why we chose this magazine as an outlet for our advertisements. Our target is willing
to spend more on a luxurious item like a motorcycle and will be attracted to Harley-
Davidson’s status.
GQ

26 Media Mix | Magazines
61% ages 18-49
Esquire is a publication targeted towards men. 58% of their readers are men, and
61% of them are ages 18-49. On their website, Esquire says that it’s for “men who
are ambitious in their lives and determined to shape the world”. Our target market for
Harley-Davidson are go-getters who like to live life on the edge. Esquire’s statement
and Harley’s brand culture match well for our target audience.
Esquire
63% ages 18-49
Total circulation: 2,221,393
For our second target audience, women, we chose to advertise in Redbook magazine.
Most of their audience are college educated, like our target, and have an average age
of 35. According to Hearst, Redbook is a “trusted friend, personal shopper, and stylist
in one”. We want Harley-Davidson to be synonymous as a trusted friend like Redbook.
Redbook
Median age: 36.3
Men’s Fitness has a median age of 35. 63% of them attended college and 59% of
them have an average household income of $60,000, which matches up with our target
market. Men’s Fitness readers agree that brand name is the best indicator for quality,
are thrill seekers, and have disposable income that they use to better their image
and social status. Harley-Davidson is a brand that Men’s Fitness readers want to be
associated with.
Men’s Fitness

27Media mix | Out of Home
We have chosen to place outdoor billboards in our 6 DMA’s during our campaign for Harley-Davidson. Like our television and
magazine advertisements, the billboards will have a pulsing schedule in our chosen months of March, April and May and September,
October and November. Our outdoor billboards will focus on our creative strategy, How Far Will You Go?, and will be placed on busy
highways in Atlanta, Seattle, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.

28 Media Mix | Social Media
29% of adults in our target market actively use twitter. As advertisements on the site are easily passed over by those who do not
intend to see them, we are trying to make the brand’s posts provide something more beneficial to the consumers. This shift will cause
the consumers to seek out the brand rather the reverse, being exposed to advertisements and creating brand loyalty in the process.
To make this shift, we are going to have our posts inform, showcase and interact with active consumers. We will be able to inform
consumers about events near them, scenic routes in their area with the smaller geo-specific accounts, and ways to get involved with
the brand. The showcases will be scenic photos and rides consumers discover with the help of the Harley brand, and will congratulate
whomever’s media got showcased with a gift.
Twitter
28% of adults in our market use Instagram, which is significant, but not as influential as the other social media channels. Through
Instagram we are going to focus on two things. The first will be capturing views and videos of scenic rides that beautify the hobby.
Second will be acquiring influencers who we believe will spread the word of mouth about our brand and encourage more to take up
the hobby and lifestyle. These influencers can be mainly focused on the apparel side of Harley, as wearing a brand is usually the first
step to buying more from the brand. Celebrities, like the Kardashians, have already been seen wearing Harley gear, so we will pursue
their assistance in promoting the brand. Other than high list celebrities, we will look for travel accounts, who typically promote different
vacation destinations. These influencers can also be temporarily provided a bike and branded gear to be visible in their content. Our
goal through this is to get Harley gear into the fashion mainstream, and normalize bike riding as a travel luxury.
Instagram
We chose to put a lot of emphasis on social media in our media plan because of its accessibility by the consumer. With social media
become more and more intrusive in the regular consumer’s everyday life, we are shifting our posts to provide less blatant and irritating
advertisements, and more visually stimulating media content associated with the brand. We also hope to inform the consumers about
nearby events, even if they are not actively seeking the information.

29Media Mix |Social Media
Facebook is currently our most visible social media account for the target demographic. 79% of all adults in the country have a
facebook account that is checked semi regularly. What differentiates these users from youngers ones is, these older users do not
follow many pages and have not been developing an online identity that is as easy to track. This calls for Harley to make a type of
great appeal that deserves it’s page to get views from this market. To get these views we are going to combine our key messages of
‘riding’ and ‘freedom’ with the marvels of current technology. We will use facebook to post very long, 360° camera videos of single
riders going down seemingly never ending roads. We will market is as therapeutic, and it will only increase desire to control the action
in the video and buy a bike for your own. These videos will hopefully become user created after the first couple are posted and
submissions are requested. Users who get their rides uploaded will be allowed to advertise their route, bike type, and charity of their
choice, to further cement the practice of riding as a peaceful one.
Facebook

30 Media Mix | Experiential
These events will be area centric gatherings, promoted on all channels and organized through social media. Harley will pick a scenic
route around one of the target DMA’s on which the participants will ride together. At the end of this ride, the destination will be a party/
barbecue of sorts, sponsored by Harley for all the participants to enjoy. Free Harley merch will also be awarded to participants to
commemorate the event and effectively transform consumers into advertisements for the brand if they wish to use/wear the products/
apparel.
The Harley Parade
These cross country trips will be long trips from DMA to DMA. Promoted nationally through all media channels, these trips will have
many stops to allow for people to join or leave depending on the home location and amount of time the wish to commit to the journey.
Every stop will be predetermined and heavily branded with Harley. Influencers would be on parts to journey, documenting their
experience with all those that follow them. Participants will also be given the option to make teams, where the team that covers the
most mileage will be able to make a large donation to the charity of their choice, as well as getting a photo opportunity while handing
over the check at a later date.
CrossCountryGroupRides
With the help of the organization of social media, and attention getting ability of all other channels of media, we will be hosting many
events in our target DMA’s to help increase consumer interaction. These events will help encourage those who have Harley bikes get
out and be seen riding them, effectively changing the normative view of motorcycle riders. Photo opportunities at designated spots
during these events will also spread the more inclusive brand message we are trying to convey.

31Reach,FrequencyandGRPs
To implement a media plan with 2088 GRPs
using two pulses. The first pulse, from March
through May, will attain a national reach of
75% and a frequency of 3.0, while our spot
markets will have an 85% reach and frequency
of 3.2 during this time. This gives us 225
GRP’s per month during the first pulse. After
this, we will lower our goals to a 55% reach
and 2.2 frequency from June through August,
nationally. The second pulse will be from
September through November, where we will
have both national and spot reaches of 80%,
with frequencies of 3.0 and 3.2, respectively.
We will have 240 GRP’s per month during this
pulse. Finally, we will end the year with 55%
reach during the months of December through
February and a frequency of 2.0, nationally.
Objective
We determined our optimal frequency for this campaign using the Ostrow model. The Ostrow model takes into consideration a variety
of factors, such as Harley already being an established brand with a high share of voice. After doing the analysis, we found that our
optimal frequency is 3.2. The national reach for our second pulse is 5% higher than the first because Sunday Night Football is in
programming and will allow us to easily expand our reach.
Strategy and Rationale

33Geography
To implement the national and spot media campaign we looked at specific DMA’s, mostly in the west, that had high BDIs and CDIs.
Our spot media will focus mostly in the following DMAs: Atlanta, Seattle, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.
Objective
In order to decide what DMAs we would heavy up in, we looked at where the most
potential was based on data provided through media flight plan. The markets with high
BDIs and CDIs offer the most potential for Harley to grow. The high CDI means that the
motorcycle category as a whole is doing well so it would be less of a challenge to get
consumers to convert. A high BDI indicates that Harley, as a brand, is performing well
in that market and consumers are more likely to choose Harley-Davidson. The majority
of these DMAs are located in the western region of the country. In addition to the high
BDI and CDI index numbers, these locations have primarily warmer climates which is
idea for being able to ride for the better part of the year. Using these spot markets in this
campaign to heavy up in local media will further encourage consumers in these area to
buy a Harley-Davidson. In addition, the experiential component of this campaign will be
carried out in some of these specific markets.
DMA CDI BDI
San Diego, CA
San Fransisco, CA
Sacramento, CA
Atlanta, GA
Phoenix, AZ
Seattle, WA
162
120
136
119
152
113
147
171
120
118
119
139

34
We have determined that we will need a budget of $7,100,00 for our campaign. Harley Davidson currently spends $10,664,400
on advertising, so we are proposing a 66% increase in their advertising budget. At Black Sheep media, we believe this increase is
necessary for Harley to effectively rebrand and establish themselves in a market that they have not targeted before. We believe this
investment will pay off because Harley will be able to leverage their new, younger brand image to target the millennial market during
their next campaign. This strategy allows Harley to maintain a youthful image over the long-term, which will be important as the
motorcycle category continues to age and decline. The majority of the budget is spent between March and November due to our
spring and fall pulses, as well as the cross-country charity ride event during the summer.
Television 40%
Events 15%
Social
Media
15%
Magazines 15%
Out of Home %15
TotalBudget:$7,100,000
$1,065,000
$1,065,000
$1,065,000
$1,065,000
2,840,000
Budget

36
To implement a national, twelve-month, pulsing media campaign that will start in March of 2019 and end in February of 2020.
Objective
Black Sheep Media chose to use a “pulsing” schedule because the peak months of our schedule align with the seasons when Harley
products are in the highest demand. These months include March, April, and May, and September, October and November. Being
that motorcycles are weather-dependent, we are choosing to advertise during the mildest parts of the year to attract new riders. Since
all of our DMA’s are primarily in the western and southern regions of the United States, they will enjoy especially nice weather during
the pulses. During the remainder of the year, we will lower our ad spending, although our cross-country charity ride will bolster our
campaign between the pulses in June, July, and August.
Scheduling and Timing

37References
Birichyno. “Come Out Ahead On A Kawasaki.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC1WOaeBSGs.
Duggan, M. (2015, August 19). The Demographics of Social Media Users. Retrieved December 18, 2017, from http://www.pewinternet.
org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/
“Kawasaki’s “Live the Legend” Campaign.” Motorcycle USA, www.motorcycle-usa.com/2013/06/article/kawasakis-live-the-legend-campaign/.
KawasakiTV. “Live the Legend with Kawasaki in collaboration with Disney’s The Lone Ranger.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 May 2013, www.youtube.
com/watch?v=0Rrgx67kPXM.
“Locate a dealer.” Kawasaki, www.kawasaki.com/About/History.
Macedonia, Yamaha Motor. “New XSR700 evolves Yamaha ‘Faster Sons’ promise.” Yamaha Motor Macedonia, 21 July 2015, www.yamaha-motor.
eu/mk/news/index.aspx?id=617343.
Swanson, Kate. “Bloomberg examines motorcycle sales trends.” Powersports Business, powersportsbusiness.com/news/2017/07/06/bloomberg-
examines-motorcycle-sales-trends/.
Stock, Kyle. “Can Millennials Save the Motorcycle Industry?” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 5 July 2017, www.bloomberg.com/news/
articles/2017-07-05/can-millennials-save-the-motorcycle-industry.
“Small Bikes: The Next Big Thing In The Motorcycle Industry.” Manufacturing.net, 11 July 2017, www.manufacturing.net/news/2017/07/small-
bikes-next-big-thing-motorcycle-industry.
Yamaha-Star Motorcycles: #GetLost Campaign (Broadcast/Print) - eddiewrites.Com, cargocollective.com/eddiewrites/Yamaha-Star-Motorcycles-
GetLost-Campaign-Broadcast-Print.
YamahaMotorUSA. “YamahaMotorUSA.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/YamahaMotorUSA.
Simmons
Media Flight Plan

38 Appendix A
Overall Motorcycle Sales

39Appendix B
Age of Motorcycle Riders

40 Appendix C
Motorcycle Use among TArget

41Appendix D
Television Consumption for TArget

42 Appendix E
Magazine Consumption among TArget

43Appendix F
Social Media Consumption among TArget

44 Meet the Team
Alison Teadore is a senior Integrated Marketing Communications major at Ithaca
College from River Vale, New Jersey. She is also pursuing a minor in Communication
Management and Design. She is currently the Director of Publicity for ICTV and the
Co-president of the Ithaca College Tap Club. Prior to this, she was the Design Editor at
The Ithacan, Ithaca College’s student newspaper, for 2 semesters and Assistant Design
Editor for 3 semester before that.
Alison Teadore
Sophia is a sophomore Integrated Marketing Communications major at Ithaca College.
She is from Fair Haven, Vermont, where she has lived for the past 12 years. She is the
marketing director for Girl News International and vice president of the IC club softball
team. In her free time she enjoys running and hiking.
Sophia Hadeka
Elizabeth Gulino is a senior Integrated Marketing Communications major and Journalism
minor at Ithaca College. She is from Middletown, New Jersey. Currently, she is the
campus editor of The Tab Ithaca, on the events committee for senior class council, a tour
guide for the Roy H. Park School of Communication, and co-captain of the club field
hockey team. This summer, she interned at Complex and Paper Magazine in New York
City and previously spent a semester in Los Angeles interning at The Hollywood Reporter.
She is looking forward to pursuing a career at a publication following graduation.
Elizabeth Gulino

45Meet the Team
Alison Teadore is a senior Integrated Marketing Communications major at Ithaca
College from River Vale, New Jersey. She is also pursuing a minor in Communication
Management and Design. She is currently the Director of Publicity of Derek is a junior
Computer Science Major with a Integrated Marketing Communications Minor at Ithaca
College. He is from a Boston Suburb named Needham, where we was born and grew
up his entire life. His favorite thing he is involved in on the Ithaca College campus is
participating on the men’s Track and Field team where he runs the 400m dash. He is
also involved in the Ithaca College chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters as well as the
student run music radio app ‘Meg’s Radio’. In his free time he enjoys being outdoors,
riding his bike, and learning more about anything that currently holds his curiosity. r
ICTV and the Co-president of the Ithaca College Tap Club. Prior to this, she was the
Design Editor at The Ithacan, Ithaca College’s student newspaper, for 2 semesters and
Assistant Design Editor for 3 semester before that.
Derek Howes
Madelyn is a senior Integrated Marketing communications major at Ithaca College. She
transferred to Ithaca her freshman year after spending a semester at the Savannah
College of Art and Design. After her time in Savannah, she realized that she has a
passion for the arts but wanted a different type of education. She’s from southeastern
Michigan and loves to travel as well. She spent her last semester studying abroad in
New Zealand and traveling all around the country. She also enjoys photography and
hopes to pursue a career that incorporates the arts with her interest in the marketing/
advertising field.
MadelynTurkington

Harley Davidson Media Plan

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