Introduction
This paper analyzes my perceptions of three brands – Harley Davidson, Naked Juice, and Tropicana Juice. While the paper contains individual analyses of each brand, it also highlights four issues in each segment – how each brand captures my attention, what captures my attention about the brand, my sensory perceptions of the brands’ aesthetic values, and my thoughts about the brands.
Harley Davidson
How the Brand Captured My Attention
The Harley Davidson brand came to my attention when a friend bought a motorcycle with the same brand name. Besides the bike’s design and performance, I liked Harley Davidson’s customization features, which provided customers with an opportunity to express their interests and personalities.1 Similarly, their high engine capacities made the motorcycles attractive because they were adaptive to racing.
What Catches My Attention now, and why?
The brand culture that Harley Davidson has built over the years has always captured my attention. Particularly, I have always liked the fact that the brand has attracted many young people. Indeed, based on its fanatical following, some people in the US use Harley Davidson bicycles for their motorcycle biking clubs (the police also use its motorcycles for highway patrol).
Based on this background, my greatest concern (now) is the dwindling popularity of the brand (particularly, in the wake of foreign competition – mainly from Japanese biking companies). Concisely, with new high-performance bikes filtering the market, Harley Davidson’s popularity may become limited to classical motorcycle fanatics only.
Response to Sensory Presentation
Since many modern Harley Davidson bikes have a classic motorcycle design, they mainly appeal to classical bike lovers. Relative to this design, the brand appears as part of an “outlaw” culture. Indeed, many outlaw groups use such bikes as their primary transportation means.
My Thinking
Based on the unique brand attributes of Harley Davidson, I believe the brand should modernize by changing its classical style to a modern style. However, this recommendation does not mean that the company should eliminate the classical bike segment (completely); instead, it should diversify its product portfolio to appeal to a modern customer group which likes performance motorcycles. This way, Harley Davidson could expand its customer segments.
Naked Juice
How the Brand Captured My Attention
Naked Juice captured my attention in 2012 when some people sued the company for communicating misleading marketing campaigns. They said the company marketed its products as “all-natural,” when they were not. The critics also claimed the product contained artificial sweeteners and synthetically manufactured vitamins.2 Consequently, they believed it was “not natural,” as claimed.
What Catches My attention now, and why?
Since Naked Juice is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PepsiCo and its main competitor is similarly a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Coca Cola Company (Odwalla), the brand appears as part of the traditional competitive wars between the two beverage industries – Coca Cola and Pepsi.3 Therefore, the success of the Naked Juice brand hinges on the success of its parent company. This way, I do not believe Naked Juice is an independent brand. Its success is also limited in similar regard.
Sensory Response
According to the packaging style of the Naked Juice brand, someone would think that the brand is completely natural. The name “Naked” (in its brand name) suggests that the company has nothing to hide (or rather, it has a “pure” production process). However, based on the recent lawsuits against the company, it emerges that the brand is not “Naked” after all. Stated differently, it may have something to hide. Therefore, although the name, Naked Juice, is catchy and interesting, it is deceptive.
My Thinking
The main contentious issue for the Naked Juice brand is its use of the term “natural.” Although the company recently admitted that some of their ingredients were synthetic, it could be difficult to fault the company for using the term “natural” because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have a clear definition of the term.
For example, the FDA does not limit companies from using the term “all-natural” if their products contain added colors or artificial flavors. Therefore, authorities need to define the term (clearly) to avoid “embarrassing” companies, or tarnishing their images for marketing their products as “natural.”
Tropicana Juice
How the Brand Captured My Attention
The Tropicana brand captured my attention when a consumer group sued the company for failing to inform its customers about its manufacturing quality.4 The group claimed that the company misled its customers by marketing its products as fresh products when they were not (they discovered that the company added processed flavors to the brand). This case prompted one judge to rule that the company had misleading marketing campaigns. Consequently, the case created a lot of media attention.
What Catches My attention now, and why?
Like other brands that produce fruit-based juices, Tropicana has joined the list of companies that attempt to convince their customers that their products are natural. However, they fail in this regard because customers and consumer groups eventually learn about their misleading marketing campaigns. Such companies should engage in honest marketing campaigns that reflect their brand quality.
Sensory Response
Tropicana has always had an appealing bottle design and company logo. The brand’s name (Tropicana) creates an image that the product is a “holiday” brand. While this image has contributed (partly) to the product’s success, in 2009, Tropicana changed its product design. Instead of having an ordinary bottle cap, the company introduced a bottle cap design that symbolized an orange.5
Tropicana experienced a dip in its sales because this design made the product look “weird.” Based on this design failure, the company had to change the design (again) for its customers to accept it.
My Thinking
Tropicana has largely made a name for itself by marketing the product as an orange juice product. However, I believe the brand should diversify and market other fruit brands as well as it has done with orange. This strategy would give the brand a stronger market presence and appeal to a wider customer pool that does not necessarily like Orange Juice.
Conclusion
This paper shows that the three American brands highlighted above have unique issues that undermine their future success. However, Tropicana and Naked Juice brands have the same challenge (dishonest marketing).
Both companies need to improve their marketing strategies to reflect a factual depiction of their manufacturing processes. Harley Davidson also needs to improve its brand image by improving its production processes (making modern motorcycles) to appeal to a wider audience. This way, the three brands would trigger positive emotions among their customers.
References
Dobrow, Joe. Natural Prophets: From Health Foods to Whole Foods—How the Pioneers of the Industry Changed the Way We Eat and Reshaped American Business. New York: Rodale, 2014.
Doeden, Matt. Choppers. New York: Lerner Publications, 2007.
NYDN. “Pepsico Won’t Label Naked Juices Natural Anymore, After Lawsuit.” NY Daily News. Web.
Taylor, David. Grow the Core: How to Focus on your Core Business for Brand Success. London: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Wiist, William. The Bottom Line or Public Health: Tactics Corporations Use to Influence Health and Health Policy, and What We Can Do to Counter Them. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Footnotes
1 Matt Doeden, Choppers (New York: Lerner Publications, 2007), 46.
2 NYDN, “Pepsico Won’t Label Naked Juices Natural Anymore, After Lawsuit,” NY Daily News.
3 Joe Dobrow, Natural Prophets: From Health Foods to Whole Foods—How the Pioneers of the Industry Changed the Way We Eat and Reshaped American Business (New York: Rodale, 2014) 220.
4 William Wiist, The Bottom Line or Public Health: Tactics Corporations Use to Influence Health and Health Policy, and What We Can Do to Counter Them (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 357.
5 David Taylor, Grow the Core: How to Focus on your Core Business for Brand Success (London: John Wiley & Sons, 2012), 108.