Few brands engender such intense loyalty as Harley-Davidson. Harley buyers have a granite- like, unshakeable loyalty to the brand. Few people sport Yamaha, Kawasaki, or Honda tattoos. But a recent social media survey found that Harley-Davidson was the third-most tattooed brand, trailing only Disney and Nintendo—and each of those brands included hundreds of characters. Harley-Davidson riders don’t want just any motorcycle— it’s got to be a Harley. Harley-Davidson sponsors numerous events including an anniversary celebration every five years in its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hometown. This year’s 120th anniversary celebration will kick off a new annual event, the Harley-Davidson Homecoming—a four-day festival with live music, food, and “moto-culture.” About 100,000 to 200,000 fans from all over the world are expected to attend. The event will fill Milwaukee with the thunderous exhaust notes of tens of thousands of Harleys, riders swapping biker tales, and T-shirts proclaiming things like “Screw it, let’s ride!” and “I’d rather push a Harley than ride a Yamaha.”

As Harley-Davidson’s core market ages and declines, how should the company attract new buyer generations? Consider the positioning of some of its product lines, how the company can encourage targeted customers to modify their (existing) buying decision process related to a motorcycle, and the marketing mix—product, price, place, and promotion.