Rand McNally Rides Harley-Davidson Display

Skokie, IL -- With the help of easy-to-shop displays for its highly impulse-driven product, sales are exceeding expectations for Rand McNally's first edition of the "Harley-Davidson Ride Atlas of North America." The displays rolled out for the May launch, and were expected to stay up through July. A second round of displays for the winter holidays, with more copy and elaborate pictures, are in the works.Shoppers can pick up the officially licensed Harley-Davidson books from display trays on counters at Harley dealerships, or from floorstands that are placed in truck stops and automotive and military outlets. The atlas has 284 pages of maps, mileage charts, city indexes, road construction information, local motorcycle laws and rider tips.The first manufacturing run called for 1,250 floorstands that hold three trays, and 1,200 counter trays. Floorstands cost about $25 to $30 each. "There are two s-hooks at the back of the trays so they can be hung," says Jon Boeve, Rand McNally's merchandising and promotions manager. At the last winter Harley dealers show, the company was swamped with orders for the displays. "Our sales group went into the other channels and sold it in directly ourselves," Boeve says.Some channels wanted it in their stores by May 1, but Boeve hadn't planned to get it in until June. In the interest of speed, Rand McNally and display producer Great Northern Display Corp., Racine, WI, had to ditch some really cool aspects of the display, like trays that looked like saddlebags, says Boeve.The iconic Harley-Davidson brand and colors speak for themselves, so very little copy was needed for the header of the unit. Each book weighs two pounds, and eight books fit into each tray.A simple marketing and PR program included press releases, an article in People that suggested the atlas as a great Father's Day gift, a spot in the Harley-Davidson catalog, an ad in Enthusiast magazine and a website. There's no comparable sales data for new books, but "We look at it in terms of participation," says DJ Dammann, Rand McNally's brand manager. "Every channel has taken the book. Reports of sell-through have been very strong. About half of the dealers that got the books first have already ordered more after about eight weeks."

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