The «others» in consumption of Harley-Davidson: analysis of exogroupal ties in the brand community

Abstract

Changes in advertising communication have led to consumers and their bonds at the center of brand and product offer strategies. This has been especially relevant in the case of brand communities. However, not much attention has been paid to the conflictive aspects of these bonds or to those associated with references to the outgroup, with the implications this may have for the communicative processes of the brand images. With the aim of contributing to develop this question, in this work we analyze from a sociological perspective and through qualitative methodology, the meaning of the ties developed in the Harley-Davidson (HD) consumption practices. With this we will know more broadly the types of tie generated from certain consumer environments, and we can calibrate in a general way the implications that could have on communication. There were 4 discussion groups and 5 open interviews (in addition to complementary observation) with HD consumers with different socio-demographic profiles, in Barcelona and its surroundings. The results reveal different configurations of the «others» in a general tendency to construct a collective imaginary based on opposition and differentiation with respect to these forms of otherness.