-By Kamal Wahi & Grishma Patel
You might wanna grab one of these before reading on (Butter beer or Pumpkin juice)!!
Source: Google.com
Having huge fan base round the globe, Harry Potter’s long trail of books & movies reminds us about its mammoth success worldwide and evolution of a brand in itself. Is it just because the books and movies were so brilliantly written and picturised or is it something else that made it like that? The answer is the “magic of marketing”!! Yes, being rejected by 12 publishers with the first book to be launched in the year 1996 and accepted by Bloomsbury publishing house, from here, there was no stopping!!
Harry Potter was a commercial success because of the marketing strategies employed using all of the available resources also known in technical terms as Integrated Marketing Communication(IMC). IMC is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels and using different promotional methods to reinforce each other.
First book released and gathered eyeballs,
Now marketing would be a piece of cake? Not Really!!
Book Advertising budget was $3.5 million, Movie Advertising budget was $142.7 million, DVD/Video Advertising budget was $68.5 million and Merchandise/cross-promotion Advertising budget as $54 million. IN TOTAL $268.7 million (Gosh!!). Also one of the main factors was word-of-mouth of fans that did wonders!!
Finally Fans take control…
Source: google.com
A lot can be expected if fans take the control and start promoting the brand..
Harry Potter in these famous print medias:
Source: google.com
Books were massively famous in terms of print media, as these were the first look and feel of the tales before the movies could be made(So obvious). Though not so obvious as J.K Rowling had no plans to invest in movies until Warner Bros. offered it on a large production scale which turned out to be a mammoth success.
Launch of Pottermore website to interact with fans and engaging them with harry potter tales forever!! Brilliance of marketing with long lasting effect!!
Source: Pottermore.com
Visit pottermore website and get sorted into your houses!! No unneccesary wand waving please..
Example of tease marketing or countdown marketing:
Source: nbclive.com
Not giving them complete information and creating curiosity among readers to get them in finding out the story behind everything..Perpetual/Tease marketing.
It is rightly said that consumers build the brand by making them emotionally attached, their experiences and by giving them the control of the ship, so that they make it sail and not sink! This is the reason that harry potter fans are loyal to the brand leading to its advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing!!
Consistent communication and messaging became a unified effort and part of IMC. Consumers were surrounded by experience of branding by witnessing jumbotron ads at Times Square(New York), Running knight bus in London, participating in contests, artificial supply of books leading to limitation and massive pre-orders (JUST LIKE OUR APPLE IPHONES!!).
Contest conducted for Harry Potter Fans, letting the consumers take control of marketing!! Share your pics dressed in your favourite character and Win Tickets!! Simple…
Source: google.com
Why would a true fan miss this chance..?!
People went a step further to replicate the movies by setting up quidditch matches, mobile games and fancy dress parties dedicated to harry potter characters.!!
Source: google.com
Here we introduce the concept of Pull Marketing..
“Pull marketing is an approach designed to draw customers to a brand through search engine optimization (SEO) and other non-intrusive methods. The ultimate goal is to strengthen consumer awareness of a brand and products and foster demand” (WhatIs.com, 2015).
It is consistently mentioned said that customer’s demand drive sales and not the marketing tactics but on the flip side of the coin, marketing is used as a catalyst to foster demand…( All we talk about is marketing!!)
The marketing specialists played wisely in this game of building brand monopoly by also limiting the merchandising and not overextending the brand(No Happy meals, No Shreks and Cars) receiving success in developing demand in public and making people to want more,..more,…and more!!
Harry Potter’s merchandise flood the market…Fans lovin it!!
Source: Google.com
Actual showroom to buy harry potter products(You might wanna visit once..!!)
Source: Google.com
All of these images represent direct and indirect way of marketing involved which are also conventional in some way whereas unconventional phase of marketing is social media & internet.
After the last movie released, the focus shifted in engaging the fans emotionally by developing online communities. The interest of the marketers shifted towards social online communities withpre-analysis about extensive usage of internet and involvement of people to utilise internet more often than watching TV and visiting places. However, it is wondrous to see people going to universal studios where the entire set of Hogwarts is setup for public viewing and business minded marketers capitalising on it by building theme parks which are amusing for both adults and children.
HOPE you found the stuff interesting and informative. Please provide your valuable comments on the blog.
Finishing off with some fun-filled facts about harry potter movies(not many of us know) (BuzzFeed, 2015):
- The graphics team hand-wrote thousand of letters but then found out that they were too heavy for the owls, so they had to make them again.
- Even then it took the owls six months to learn how to carry the letters.
- The doors at gringotts actually work,it took three months to make the door they used for bellatrix’s vault.
- There was only one staircase built for the movies.
- Many of the portraits on the walls(the moving pictures) in hogwarts were actual images of the cast and crew. For example, one of the portraits has production designer Stuart Craig in it.
- All the potions they drank were actually soup.
- Every exterior shot of Hogwarts was made using a model. It took seven months and 40 people to make it.
Now that’s magic.
List of references:
BuzzFeed, (2015). 31 Unbelievable Facts That Make The “Harry Potter” Movies Even More Magical. [online] Available at: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mackenziekruvant/unbelievable-harry-potter-movie-facts-london-tour#.puNJ5E9MjE.
Weintraub, S. (2013). HARRY POTTER Platform 9 3/4 Shop at Kings Cross Station in London Pictures. [online] Collider. Available at: http://collider.com/harry-potter-platform-9-34-shop-kings-cross-station-london/.
WhatIs.com, (2015). What is pull marketing? – Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/pull-marketing.
Marketing Management Blog 
Harry Potter the brand has indeed been highly successful, why and what’s the secret?
When the books were released in the 90’s, many children and adults read these and enjoyed the story line as well as the journey they were taken on. Fast forward to the movie releases and people were already captured by the wonderful story lines, the next adventure was what cinematic enjoyment lay ahead given the endless adventures previously experienced within our own imaginations.
Harry Potter the brand already appealed to many consumers and I agree with the blogs comments in that word of mouth played a huge part in the cinema release success. J.K. Rowling was well known when it came to story telling and when she teamed up with Warner Bros to have the movies released, this would undoubtedly further the success of the story line.
We could analyse the various marketing communications utilised by Warner Bros when the movies were release however I do believe a lot of the success was due to a previous hype given many people were already aligned with stories.
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Thanks wiky001 for your insightful comment.
They have indeed utilised every form of marketing communication possible. To support this point as rightly mentioned by you, marketing is all about creating the ‘hype’ so that people are bound to buy a certain product without giving it a second thought. The Harry potter idea crossed our mind while thinking about various IMC campaigns. with launching of movies being the biggest example. Marketers utilise every aspect of traditional and non-traditional methods to create awareness among its consumers. It was just not Warner Bros. but also the publishers and PR agencies which were responsible for marketing the campaign as a whole. Thanks again!!
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Great blogs guys. very interesting. and you have touched on most go the points.
Indeed, Harry Potter was one of my favourite books and movies.
the various marketing channels the brand has undergone is amazing.
when a brand is newly introduced to the market and if it can create that “Hype” into the people/consumers mind, in creating a need rather than a want; thru various marketing channels. and if the company or the brand could keep that hype up throughout the years, that when the brand has achieved success.
For example, lets take the brand “Apple”; even tho at start, the “Hype” for having an Apple product was not “cool” or “In fashion” and not as popular as now, they changed their way of marketing and introducing their products. in recent years even children have an iPod or iPhones and iPad and so on, its become a trend, and they are keep that up by innovating new products and keeping that “Hype” up.
and in Harry Potters case, thats what J.K Rowling then warner bros did.
The first book was introduced, kept the reader interested, and anticipated to read the next book, and so on till the 7th book. then just as the “Harry Potter hype” was declining. – because the story ended-,
they came up with the movies, and the excitement of the brand increased again.
Always keep your consumers anticipated and on their feet for the next big thing.
P:S: I like the point about tease marketing. quite interesting.
Thank you.
Best of luck.
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Thank you haitams88 for your comment.
By leaving consumers wanting more, each marketing tactic implemented to promote that brand (directly or indirectly) can build upon the one before it until the anticipation and buzz reaches a fever pitch.
Leaking bits and pieces of information, holding promotional events and contests and creating a veil of secrecy around the next product to launch related to a brand can drive the word-of-mouth marketing necessary to boost sales to the highest level possible.
The team behind the marketing of Harry Potter got better and better at tease and perpetual marketing over the lifecycle of the brand. Apple is another great example of a company that leverages tease and perpetual marketing quite well in order to boost sales. You can also integrate a tease and perpetual marketing strategy into your own marketing plan to build excitement around your business.
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I think Harry Potter has reached back into timeless history and the use of books. Children associate themselves in the playful worlds and parents who are probably paying are happy to see children reading. The consistent message across all ‘products’ makes it easy to recognise the message, positive associations and benefits.
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Harry Potter, built on the frenzied success of books (quality content!), appeared to use an evolving marketing strategy that was built up over time, to the point of saturation, backed by large bank-roll. I would imagine that any product with a $268.7M bank roll, consistent actors that personified the brand and series (almost to the exclusion of all else), and a wide public appeal (segmentation) – would generate this sustained interest. The financial backing overwhelms me more that the methodology. I would be interested to read like-type successes on with smaller budgets.
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Thanks for your comment tlimpens.
Midnight releases, pre-orders and other promotions brought the Harry Potter frenzy to new levels.
Starting with the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, crowds of people wearing black robes, ties and round-frame glasses began showing up at bookstores for midnight release parties in 2000.
Customers who feared their local bookstore would run out of copies responded by pre-ordering over 700,000 copies prior to the July 8, 2000 release date, according to Gunelius.
The seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series became the fastest-selling book in history, reports The New York Times, with more than 11 million copies sold during the first 24 hours in three markets alone.
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Thanks – That’s a great blog post. It’s really interesting to see the integrated marketing strategies that have been employed, and have made the Harry Potter phenomenon so successful. However, you can’t turn ‘Sh!# into strawberry jam’, and at the heart of this marketing phenomenon is a really great product that people have loved. However, there are a lot of great teen books out there that are also brilliant, and the equal of HP, so I think you’ve captured the essence of why HP has taken off.
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Great post, Harry Potter mania had captured every kid in the early 2000’s. Althogh most of the readers were between 8-18 years, they had also successfully captured the older generations. Sale of books were only relying on the word-of-mouth communication during the last decade. Harry Potter series were the first series which used innovative platforms for advertising.
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Thank you for the comment shuluga.
Most brands target a specific age group. The big problem with this approach is that it positively discourages customer loyalty—and, as we all know, it’s a lot cheaper to keep customers than to find new ones. To get around this problem, companies should consider creating brands that mature with their customers
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Good research guys!!
Harry porter was a phenomenon not only because of word of mouth publicity but also with the proper use of International marketing. Harry porter made strategic global alliances with Coca Cola, Mattel & Lego and with Danish Toy manufacturers producing toys of all characters and huge social media networks. Coca Cola spent 150$ millions of worldwide sponsorship to produce its 1st movie in 2001-2002. It placed well-known Harry Potter logo in 850$ millions of beverage bottles. Coca Cola used the themes of happiness, friendship, trust as the best fit for establishing Harry potter brand. With Coca Cola, Harry Potter reached unsought places.
With the Initial rejection by 12 Publishing Houses, Today, from the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando to the new Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London, Harry Potter is a true global phenomenon, and Rowling, whose net worth is estimated at $1 billion, has thousands of fans worldwide. Harry Potter’s mysterious world has enchanted readers and smashed literary and box office records.
The use of International marketing build emotional attachments with readers through teaser and literacy campaigns by giving a worthwhile message of what is good and bad. People show Harry Potter as a symbol of friendship, honesty and imaginations which do not have any cultural and geographical differences.
“Harry Potter is not about magic, Harry Potter is magic”. Through their global strategic marketing, People believed that it is an appeal to their fantasy which they related as a solution to their problems.
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Some powerful marketing at play when broken down by Kamal & Grishma in the original blog. It is interesting to the see the power of the connection built between the product and consumers can then be engaged and leveraged by a strategic IMC to build it to unprecedented levels.
Although the levels of engagement witnessed through the Harry potter phenomenon were set at dizzying heights, the brand loyalty and connection of this nature, in my mind, is not new.
As I sit awaiting the AFL semi finals to start, the MCG has over 80,000 loyal customers who have made the journey to display their brand loyalty to their team, whilst those whose teams are not in the finals race are already looking forward to the next ‘edition’ in 2016.
In a few weeks thousands will descend on Mt Panaroma in Bathurst, driving their Holden or Ford and proudly displaying their connection and loyalty. The depth of this transcends generations, like HPotter, to become a familial pilgrimage.
Whilst the marketing machine around HPotter was unprecendented in terms of global reach and spend, the tribal connectivity of brand loyalty, that it was based on has been the cornerstone of sports marketing for generations.
http://www.academia.edu/1430324/Brand_Emotional_Connection_and_Loyalty_Journal_of_Brand_Management
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Interesting read. Another great example of how movie promotions can use integrated marketing communications to publicise their upcoming movie is Despicable Me 2. ‘Despicable Me’ was first released in 2010 by Universal studios. It proved to be a huge success which was mostly due to the popularity of the Minions that featured prominently in the movie. For the second part of the movie, Universal Studios created a 55ft minion shaped blimp as an integrated marketing tool. This blimp was touring the US skies to promote Despicable Me 2.
There was a website created to track the ‘Despicablimp’ where people were encouraged to post photos on Facebook and Twitter when they spotted the blimp. This was later streamed to the website. The minions were an essential part of the marketing plan to promote Despicable Me 2, appearing in almost every ad for the film. They were everywhere, bus ads, billboards and commercials. Fans all over world loved the bumbling gibberish, their clumsy nature and their childlike mannerisms. McDonalds used minion characters to promote their happy meal products. This worked towards building awareness about the movie and also helped McDonalds attract minion frenzy kids towards their happy meal.
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Very appealing !
As a child when I started reading Harry Potter it never crossed my mind why it is so popular. It was not until the first movie released that harry potter was a phenomenal success. I could never issue the book from library as there used to be innumerable holds on that and it was always issued by someone. They identified every nook and cranny of integrated marketing from print releases, movies, apparel store to online forums. It was also quite evident from the fact that the last book of the series “Deathly Hallows’ was released it 2 parts and even the movie was released in two parts. It can be attributable to the overwhelming response that Harry Potter received that the last series was prolonged to keep making profits.
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Being a Harry potter fan myself I did enjoy every bit of information that is presented along with the philosophy of integrated Marketing. Specially the conclusion gave out some facts to savor for long. From my knowledge and the details of the blog I see Harry potter marketers to involve in perpetual marketing that not only keeps the buzz alive but also constructs a defense against other products that entered the market in the life span of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter. Certainly as confirmed in the blog the adaptation of the book into a movie was a vertically integrated marketing strategy that eventually presented multitude marketing opportunity for Harry Potter as a brand. In coherence was the pull marketing instead of the push approach that could have impacted the loyal consumers negatively. Harry Potter for all reasons is the first social media marketing success story of recent times. This success actually reminds me of Rocky which started as a cult brand and rose to an iconic status. But once the movies started to overextend the quality deteriorated. This wasn’t the case with Harry potter because of thoughtful integrated marketing campaigns.
As also mentioned in the write up I can see Apple as a similar winner that made consumer develop an emotional involvement with the brand and started to leverage it for the brand image over years.
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A great topic to cover. Harry Potter series definitely created a huge fanbase since its introduction on the global scenario. Harry Potter movies cast a spell at the box office. After setting loads of new records last weekend with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the Harry Potter franchise became the highest-grossing series ever. Warner Bros announced that the magical eight-film series has raked in an astonishing $7 billion worldwide!
In the U.S., Harry Potter’s wands beat out Star Wars’ lightsabers — Star Wars held the previous box office record as the biggest-grossing series with its six films and now Harry Potter has conjured up the top spot. Their integrated marketing campaign as mentioned in your blog surely did wonder and succeeded in creating an emotional attachment with their fanbase.
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An interesting and fun to read blog!
Marketing campaigns integrated over many channels guarantee that you hit your target audiences, often in multiple places, consistently raising awareness of your key marketing message and keeping your brand top-of-mind. By knowing where your audience is and how to best communicate to them across different platforms, you don’t need magic to reap the rewards of a well-executed campaign.
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