the IBM Harley Davidson Case Study PDF

EASY RIDERS:
THE NEXT GENERATION
THE STORY OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON AND IBM
Synopsis
This mini-doc will tell the story of how Harley-Davidson, the perennial American icon,
has been able to transition from the past to the present with the help of IBM. The Harley
of today is different than the Harley of yesterday. Bikes have changed. The culture
has changed. And consumers have changed, as the definition of “Easy Rider” now
includes women, Latinos and young adults. We will explore the Harley motorcycling
culture of the 1950’s and 1960’s and show how it has evolved in the 21st century.
And as Harley begins their next 100 years in business, we want to show, that with the
help of IBM, they are in a position to grow their business, maintain their status as an
icon and remain the company that allows people to “fulfill dreams.”
Treatment
The piece can essentially be broken down into four short chapters:
Chapter I: Harley Culture
The beginning of the piece will focus briefly on the Harley Davidson motorcycling culture.
A glimpse into the past. We will show how Harley was featured in movies and in the press.
We will show archival footage of people and their Harleys in order to establish the passion
for a brand and how the brand had a deep personality and image.
We will talk to Willie G. Davidson, VP of Styling, son of former President of Harley and
grandson of one of the original founders.
We will talk to hardcore, devoted Harley owners.
And, if possible, we would like to talk to Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, from the movie
“Easy Rider,” about the Harley culture.
This portion of the piece will establish how Harley was so entrenched in popular culture,
but also how that tight association with its target was limiting and affected future sales.
Chapter II: the Harley Business Situation
We will then talk about the change. How Harley needed to reposition themselves
for future growth given the evolution of its core audience. In this section we establish
the problem that IBM had to help fix. This will be communicated through a VO and
interviews with various Harley personnel.
We’ll talk to executives within the company. Through interviews we will establish that
Harley recognized it had a problem. And it needed to enlist the help of IBM.
We will also show through footage what was happening in the culture of motorcycling
and bikes in order to show what the environment was like when the Harley/IBM
partnership was born.
CHAPTER III: The IBM Story
We will then focus on IBM. How IBM helped Harley transition from the past to the present,
while continuing to grow opportunities for the future. How IBM helped modernize the
internal organization at Harley, helped them find new customers, helped their process
run more efficiently and helped their relationship with dealers. All things Harley knew
were necessary in order to stay competitive.
Through interviews we will learn about the problems and issues they identified as
needing to be solved and what they did to solve them.
We will learn about how they helped transform Harley’s IT infrastructure. How they
were able to connect departments. We will learn about IBM’s data mining techniques
to show how to find new customers and cut down the time it takes to make a sale and
process a transaction.
We will talk to dealers about how IBM is helping Harley communicate with them, and
helping them talk to other dealers.
As a testament to this change and as a way to show how IBM’s improvements were put into
practice, we will feature a new bike, “The Nightster” ­— showing its life cycle from inception
to sale, and how the IBM IT infrastructure and data mining applications were utilized.
We will interview Willie G. Davidson and Richard Christoph, the two designers of
The Nightster and two people who embody the past and future of Harley.
We will also establish that the resources IBM used to help Harley could benefit
other industries.
CHAPTER IV: New Riders
We will show where Harley is today. We will go to the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days
rally in Lexington, Ohio, to show the kind of people who participate. We will show the
new generation of Harley riders through the diverse people who are attending the
festival. We’ll also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Sportster line —
including the new Nightster — with keynote speaker Willie G. Davidson.
We will make the association through VO and interviews that it is that partnership
between IBM and Harley that helped find these new customers and position Harley
for the future.
Opening Sequence
We hear the first few chords and the beginning of a classic, driving rock song.
We then cut to great archival footage of Harley riders. We see portraits of people with their bikes,
photographs and also footage of people riding. These are quickly cut together in sync with the music.
We hear Willie G. talk about the impact Harley has had on our culture. He could even tell a personal
story of Harley. The most fanatical fan he’s ever met. Or a story of a journey on a Harley. This would
be a compelling quote to get us into the piece.
We then see the IBM graphic and the title. “Easy Riders: The Next Generation.”
Interviews
Harley:
Willie G. Davidson — VP of Styling, son of former president, grandson of one of the original founders
Jim Hainey — CIO
Laura Lee — VP of Enthusiast Experience
Richard Christoph — Designer
IBM:
Bob Remme — Client Executive
Dave Carlquist — Partnership VP
Other (Nice Haves):
Peter Fonda
Dennis Hopper
Jay Leno
Hardcore Harley Enthusiasts
Consumer Trends expert
Locations
Harley-Davidson Headquarters
IBM Headquarters
AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days rally in Lexington, Ohio
Vans Warped Tour
Various compelling locations that add texture to the film (i.e. a Harley-Davidson dealership,
people’s homes, places in Milwaukee, etc.)