Harley Davidson launches crowdsourcing Facebook app
Harley Davidson is rolling out a crowdsourcing initiative as part of its transformation strategy to make the company more “customer-led” and connect with the “next generation” of fans.
It is launching a crowdsourcing Facebook app that sources advertising ideas directly from the motorbike brand’s Facebook fans.
The “Fan Machine” app allows Harley-Davidson’s Facebook community to review advertising briefs, submit creative ideas and vote on other fans’ suggestions.
Harley Davidson will reward fans for their contributions and then work with its existing marketing partners to develop the ideas.
The brand has been approaching crowdsourcing in a minor way for several months but hopes to bring it to scale through Facebook. Its “No Cages” campaign in February began as a crowdsourced idea.
Mark-Hans Richer, Harley-Davidson’s chief marketing, officer says: “This is not a publicity stunt, or a limited time engagement. We’re committed to crowdsourcing because these ideas naturally flow from our passionate fans. As the true stewards of our brand, our fans now have a huge new platform to share their ideas.
“It works for us because their passion for our brand is second-to-none. They’re going to light this thing up, and it will be fun to watch.”
He adds that Facebook is helping the brand engage with younger audiences as the average Facebook fan is between 18 and 34.
The first design brief is available now via Facebook.
