Harley Davidson Museum- Is it Using Experiential Marketing Innovatively

[Freespirit]

Business week had this story about Harley Davidson opening its museum at Milwaukee's south side. The article mentions that the museum will have artifacts such as the hogs owned by Elvis Presley & dare devil Evil knievel. It also mentions how the look of museum and all the Harley stuff inside will provide visitors unique experience. From a commercial point of view it has been mentioned that it is really not a marketing-driven project.
Mmmm....But is it really not a marketing driven project…i was thinking what is the purpose of having a museum of a product which already is being sold and can be seen on roads. Why would companies like Harley Davidson & Toyota motors have their museums and Can other companies learn something from it. I think the major reason why Harley Davidson is going in for a museum is to provide experience to visitors of a Harley living and what it means to be an Harley Rider…..so that the visitor (which very often young being accompanied by their parents or themselves) gets a real feel of Harley Experience & gets converted into a customer. Its known as experiential marketing.
Increasingly, I think companies need to focus on giving their potential customers a taste of what they are, whats their culture is, how their products look, what is it like to own their product.
I guess, this technique in future will be used by Companies recruiting in the sense that instead of recruiting company going to campus for placement interviews,
prospective candidates can visit companies, be there for a while, experience the culture by meeting employees, may be work on very short projects free, etc . In this way both parties (recruiting company & candidate) gain as in recruiting company gain by showcasing its real culture to candidates and checking whether candidates can perfectly fit and avoid attrition rates and the whole cycle of selecting & training new candidates again. The candidates will be much more clearer about whether or not the company is perfect for him/her.

Experiential Marketing is an old phenomena but its time that it is being used in some innovative ways to provide potential customers a chance to experience company's culture & product and turn them into customers and may be brand loyalists. And one last thing Harley will be charging $16 for adults and $10 for children (great stuff the company is marketing its products & instead of paying for Advertising/Promotional Activity, customers are charged for it!!!) What do you guys think

[Scott Lerman]

You asked, "what is the purpose of having a museum of a product which already is being sold and can be seen on roads." As a brand consultant to Harley I had the opportunity to tour the collection before the museum was built. Wow--early designs, military and police versions, special editions, shapes and forms I had never seen. The bikes were crammed into a series of rooms--no fancy stands, labels, or tour-guides. Still, the overall impression was overwhelming. The collection connected you to the extraordinary tradition of Harley-Davidson. It demonstrated the thread of design that makes a Harley a Harley, showed the breadth and depth of its long history, and proved the company is a unique and enduring institution. Opening up that experience to the faithful and others will anchor the brand to its heritage. Something few companies can do.

[Freespirit]

Hey thanks for replying. EXPERIENCE- Precisely, that what every company should provide its customers. Harley & Toyota are doing it with the help of their museums. what it does is that the people after visiting these museums turn into fans. I have been to Toyota museum in Tokyo and the experience that one gets about the precision, challenging attitude and desire to excel from models displayed, information about Toyota production system & even the staff over there is breathtaking. I immediately got transferred into Toyota fan.
Each and every company should be able to provide experience to its customers and efforts should be not to sell products/ services but experience. Starbucks don’t sell coffee, its sells experience through its cafe. Companies needs to decide what is the type of experience it wants to projects and from where. In case of Harley & Toyota its their Museum, in case of Starbucks its Cafe. If customers are able to experience what the company wants to project then as you pointed out ,others will too anchor the brand to its heritage.

[Chris Bedford]

I was very interested to hear that Harley is opening such a museum in the US as we have created something similar for them here in Canada. Our work for the Trev Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition and the Classic Harley-Davidson Exhibit was designed in part to drive Harley-Davidson Canada’s vision of making the Harley experience a more positive and influential one in Canada. Evidence of our success is partially demonstrated by the more than 800% increase in visitors to the new exhibit compared to the previous one. There was little question of our clients goal in this project. It was always seen as an interactive brand building experience to benefit Harley Davidson, and that's exactly what it's doing. I am certain the one in Milwaukee will have the same result. Attached is a photo from the exhibit.

[Scott Lerman]

Thought you might want to see a photo collage of some of the vintage bike storage at Harley-Davidson (before the museum was built.)