1. The situation is that the Thorr motorcycle is reaching a mature stage of its product life cycle and needs to be repositioned.
2. I recommended that it reposition itself in terms of price, promotion, place, and services. The price was too high for a younger consumer audience, so I lowered it to the $13,000 to $15,000 range. As far as promotion is concerned, since this age group is highly influenced by Hollywood films, I decided that the product needed to be promoted by such films. Including the motorcycle in an action movie adds the edge of excitement to the productÆs image and increases its appeal to the younger age group, who can watch the movie and identify themselves with the action hero who rides the motorcycle. The more such films the motorcycle appears in, the greater the effect on the consumer audience, as the frequency with which they see it featured will increase their subliminal perception that it is coveted by the action heroes they admire. I included the Internet in the place for the product, because the younger consumers get information on products via the Internet and also frequently shop over the Internet. The Internet presence makes the product accessible to the right age group of shopper and also adds a dimension of credibility to the product, since young people tend to distrust any product that does not have an Internet presence as being possibly an undeveloped or ôfly-by-nightö company. An excellent website is considered to be a measure of the reliability of a product, so this is a critical factor in the productÆs repositioning for a younger age group. In terms of services, I recommended financial services, customization options, and training to dealers. Financial services, particularly financing for the motorcycle, is important to this age group, partly because they are not yet affluent and cannot generally buy a product this expensive with cash, and also because they are accustomed to buying ...