I’ve been covering the automotive and powersports industries for the last 15 years. Before that, I worked as a porter at several local car dealerships, and even worked as a salesperson for 4 months. To be honest, I couldn’t stand how fraudulent the whole game was and just walked out one day and never looked back.
This is the context of this rant, as it arose from a political-style attack ad that Indian Motorcycles launched against its main rival, Harley-Davidson, and was a response to the backlash it received from the general public.
See, in response to the hundreds of thousands of comments on its social media accounts, as well as the brand’s comments about Harley’s DEI initiatives, its choice in CEO, and how it has failed the “real rider,” Indian brass, through an unnamed spokesperson, claimed that Harley conducted what is known as a “victory” program against Indian on the day that Carrollwood LP, the private equity firm that purchased the motorcycle brand from Polaris, signed the contract. and announced that Mike Kennedy would become the new CEO. It has become its own story, with more outlets reporting on the sales methodology and repeating the Indians’ claims.
However, in my opinion and experience it lacks substance. And according to a Harley-Davidson spokesperson, who spoke ride separatelyThis was also not true.
Victory sales are a part of the business of being an automaker, and it happens in every part of the auto industry. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is striving to stay ahead of the competition, either through what accessories they offer, deals on the table, tech-laden capabilities included, or just straight up cash on the table when you switch from automaker A to automaker B.
Search Google right now, and you’ll find every manufacturer offering victory deals as well as deals designed for those who are thinking about changing nameplates as a loyalty “incentive.” From Infiniti to Polaris, Kawasaki to Ford, every automaker plays this game, and has been doing so for decades.
An article from 1985 the new York Times details the practice, and quotes a Ford executive as saying, “The hope of attracting younger and more affluent buyers is one reason Ford has gambled with European-type styling. ‘We still have things like the Grand Marquis’ – a big, square sedan – for our older buyers,” one Ford person said. ‘But I think we can wrest some conquests from imports with these cars.’ In Detroit jargon, a conquest sale is when a company sells a car to a customer who previously drove a competitor’s model.”
This was two years before I was born, but the practice is decades old. This is not a new phenomenon, nor should it be treated as one, and both Indian and Harley have run victory programs for their respective competitions. If they didn’t do this, I would question the wisdom of their marketing and sales teams, as there is always someone who is dissatisfied with their purchase who can be brought to the other side. However, more than that, after very light research, I found this story from self development, Dated 2015, Indian Motorcycle was sending out a press release about its own Harley-Davidson Victory program.
This is where I will remind everyone once again that the Internet is forever. But let’s come back to the Indians’ allegation and why it actually doesn’t hold water.
According to the comment given to rideapart’s Inbox, “Harley-Davidson understood the competition when it launched its ‘Indian Conquest’ program targeting Indian riders on the first day of new ownership and Mike Kennedy as CEO. It was treated as business. When Indians compete, it shouldn’t suddenly be seen as bad for motorcycles.”
Now, according to a Harley-Davidson spokesperson, the brand actually has a conquest program for Indian customers willing to make the switch. But, according to him, the motor company also has the same program for BMW, Honda, Kawasaki and other brands. However, it was not implemented on the first day of Carrollwood LP’s ownership and Mike Kennedy being named CEO. This was already the case with the Indians’ own victory sales promotions.
Still, by saying that Indian’s attack ad campaign is fair and “understands the competition” for those reasons, Harley could call on Indian for its own victory promotion during the public dispute between Harley’s board and Jochen Zeitz, when Artie Starrs became CEO, or whenever Harley got bad press over the past twenty years. Hey, Harley could have issued this type of statement many times over when this whole culture-war BS reached its peak last year after the brand was deemed “woke.” Because even during those moments the Indians had those incentives on the table.
Fair is fair, isn’t it?
What I mean in this rant is that the Victory sales promotion, which is being reported by many outlets as something new, is not new. Conquest sales promotions are used by virtually every single manufacturer, as they are excellent sales methods. Then again, there’s always someone unhappy with their vehicle, and if the company didn’t do this and I were the CEO – a terrible idea if there ever was one – I would fire the entire marketing and promotion team for gross misconduct.
Instead, this is what – in my opinion – Indian Motorcycle executives are attempting to do damage control after hurting their reputation through their political-style attack ad campaign against Harley. But by doing so they made it worse. And in the immortal words of pepper brooks“It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it works for them.” However, unlike the average Joe, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
