Tag Archives: SWOT analysis

by | Wednesday, July 5, 2017 · 4:17 am

Harley-Davidson Takes Over Ryder, ND

The motorcycle season is upon us, and this season, motorcycle manufacturer, Harley-Davidson, has a goal to take over an entire town and help every town resident get a motorcycle license. The town is Ryder, North Dakota, population 85. (Yes, that’s correct, 85 people.)

The company is partnering with Ryder, which has agreed to change its name to “Rider” for the 2017 motorcycle season. The town is the envy of other small towns as Harley-Davidson repainted the town’s water tower (which is a replica of the company’s water tower) and included the company name on one side. As the mayor stated, “The tower was in dire need of a paint job.” There has also been a street dance and party, along with stationary motorcycle for practice shifting gears. Harley-Davidson’s goal is to have Ryder become the first town in America where everyone has a motorcycle license.

Will this be enough to help the company though? Harley-Davidson is seeing slow sales, increased competition, an aging Baby Boomer consumer base, and an uninterested millennial market.

How about it – do you have a motorcycle license?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss how to build and use a SWOT analysis grid: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (internal and external factors).
  2. Show Harley-Davidson Web site: http://www.harley-davidson.com
  3. Video of the promotion: https://youtu.be/Ds3HugeXjHs
  4. For Harley-Davidson motorcycles, break students into teams and have each team build a SWOT analysis grid.
    1. Strengths: what is company good at?
    2. Weaknesses: what needs work?
    3. Opportunities: what is going on in marketplace?
    4. Threats: what should company be wary of?
  5. Based on the analysis, what are the issues and risks that might occur?
  6. Debrief by building SWOT analysis grid on the white board.

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brandchannel.com, other news sources

 

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by | Monday, December 12, 2016 · 7:00 am

Drive for Free in Ad-based Cars

car

Want to rent a car for free? If you are in the Santa Monica area, then check out WaiveCar. The company, launched in January, provides a fleet of Chevy Spark electric cars that are resplendent with advertising on the vehicles. In essence, the cars are mobile billboards for companies. Companies pay to display their ads, and drivers gain free use by taking the cars/ads around town.

WaiveCar rents its cars for two hours at no cost. If the rental goes longer, then the price is $5.99/hour. It is simple to use. Download the app, register, and find a car near you. The reservation holds for 15 minutes while you get to the car. The car unlocks when the mobile app detects that the driver is within 10 feet of the car. The driver removes a key from a sensor in the glove box to activate the car and drive away.

When the ride is over, a map on the dashboard GPS will show where to drop the car off. The car also monitors the electric charge and reminds the driver about charge level and driving range. Cars are only allowed to go within a 20-mile radius of the company headquarters in Santa Monica. WaiveCar expects to expand in the Los Angeles area and in three new cities.

Go ahead – take a drive – it’s free.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss different promotional tactics that can be used outdoors.
  2. Show WaiveCar’s Web site:

Waive Car: https://www.waivecar.com/

Video explanation of how the program works:

https://youtu.be/WAPlGKNJlQw

  1. Discuss how to build and use a SWOT analysis grid: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (internal and external factors).
  2. For WaiveCar, break students into teams and have each team build a SWOT analysis grid.
    1. Strengths: what is company good at?
    2. Weaknesses: what needs work?
    3. Opportunities: what is going on in marketplace?
    4. Threats: what should company be wary of?
  3. Based on the analysis, what are the issues and risks that might occur?
  4. Debrief by building SWOT analysis grid on the white board.

Source: Ad Age Daily

 

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by | Monday, September 12, 2016 · 7:49 am

Dollar Shave Club Becomes a Billion Dollar Shave Club.

shave

Nearly everyone has heard about Dollar Shave Club (DSC) these days. Started in 2011 and focused on selling inexpensive razors to Internet-savvy men, the company quickly disrupted the staid razor blade business and grew to nearly $200 million in revenue, and it owns a significant percentage of market share. The company got so big that it has attracted a number of competitors, and one very large suitor.

This summer, international consumer goods giant Unilever signed an agreement to purchase the five-year old company for about $1 billion.  Unilever makes and markets 1,000 different brands around the world. These products are consumed 2 billion times a day. Yeah, that’s big. Although Unilever has a number of personal care brands (such as Ax and Dove), it does not have a direct-to-consumer men’s shaving line.

Corporate acquisitions are a high-risk undertaking. Many fail to meet expectations when either cultures or organizations clash. It will be interesting to see how these two firms will work together.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. It’s always fun to bring up the company’s Web site and show the viral video that launched it: dollarshaveclub.com
  2. Next, bring up Unilever’s brand portfolio and discuss it with students: https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/?page=2
  3. Another good visual is the graphic of the company’s brands at https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-be-a-Brand-Manager-at-Unilever
  4. Discuss how to build and use a SWOT analysis grid: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (internal and external factors).
  5. Divide students into teams and have each team build a SWOT analysis grid for one of the Unilever brands:
    1. Strengths: what is company good at?
    2. Weaknesses: what needs work?
    3. Opportunities: what is going on in marketplace?
    4. Threats: what should company be wary of?
  6. Based on the analysis, what are the issues and risks that might occur?
  7. Debrief by building SWOT analysis grid on the white board.

Source:  New York Times, Bloomberg News, other news sources

 

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