Harley Owners Group

Harley Owners Group
Abbreviation	HOG
Formation	1983
Type	Company-sponsored club
Membership	1,000,000+
Affiliations	Harley-Davidson
Website	www.hog.com

The Harley Owners Group (HOG) is a sponsored community marketing club, operated by Harley-Davidson for enthusiasts of that brand's motorcycles. The HOG is "the grandaddy of all community-building efforts," serving to promote not just a consumer product, but a lifestyle. The HOG has also served to open new revenue streams for the company, with the production of tie-in merchandise offered to club members, numbering over one million strong,^[1] making it the largest factory-sponsored riding club in the world.^[2] The Harley-Davidson community was the prototype for the ethnographic term subculture of consumption, defined as "a distinctive subgroup of society that self-selects on the basis of a shared commitment to a particular product class, brand, or consumption activity."^[3]

The Harley Owners Group was created in 1983 as a way to build longer-lasting and stronger relationships with Harley-Davidson's customers, by making ties between the company, its employees, and consumers.^[4] HOG members typically spend 30% more than other Harley owners, on such items as clothing and Harley-Davidson-sponsored events.^[5] Much of the intent of this branding effort is presenting Harley-Davidson as an American icon, with the focus on authenticity and pride in being American-made. All of this is credited with turning flagging sales around, and allowing the Harley-Davidson company to grow again.^[6]

The name HOG comes from the word used to describe Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It is also Harley's corporate stock ticker symbol.^{[citation needed]}

^ Denove, Chris; Power, IV, James D. (2007), Satisfaction: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer, Portfolio, p. 195, ISBN 9781591841647
^ "Harley-Davidson to get new ticker: HOG", The Business Journal of Milwaukee, 10 August 2006
^ Schouten, John W.; McAlexander, James H. (June 1995), "Subcultures of consumption – an ethnography of the new bikers", Journal of Consumer Research, 22 (1), The University of Chicago Press: 43–61, doi:10.1086/209434, ISSN 0093-5301, JSTOR 2489699
^ Popcorn, Faith; Marigold, Lys (2000), EVEolution: the eight truths of marketing to women, Hyperion, pp. 24–25, ISBN 9780786865239
^ Clifton, Rita; Simmons, John; Ahmad, Sameena (2004), Brands and branding; The economist series (2nd ed.), Bloomberg Press, ISBN 9781576601471
^ Wilson, Jerry S.; Blumenthal, Ira (2008), Managing Brand You: Seven Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, ISBN 9780814410684

[1] Denove, Chris; Power, IV, James D. (2007), Satisfaction: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer, Portfolio, p. 195, ISBN 9781591841647

[2] "Harley-Davidson to get new ticker: HOG", The Business Journal of Milwaukee, 10 August 2006

[Schouten1995-3] Schouten, John W.; McAlexander, James H. (June 1995), "Subcultures of consumption – an ethnography of the new bikers", Journal of Consumer Research, 22 (1), The University of Chicago Press: 43–61, doi:10.1086/209434, ISSN 0093-5301, JSTOR 2489699

[4] Popcorn, Faith; Marigold, Lys (2000), EVEolution: the eight truths of marketing to women, Hyperion, pp. 24–25, ISBN 9780786865239

[5] Clifton, Rita; Simmons, John; Ahmad, Sameena (2004), Brands and branding; The economist series (2nd ed.), Bloomberg Press, ISBN 9781576601471

[6] Wilson, Jerry S.; Blumenthal, Ira (2008), Managing Brand You: Seven Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, ISBN 9780814410684

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