It is well known that Harry Potter is one of the most popular fictional characters in the history of literature and film. In fact, the Harry Potter book series created by JK Rowling stands as one of the most popular and most successful writers of all time. Even after six popular novels, and a seventh on the way, the Harry Potter series does not appear to be losing any of its steam. Most Harry Potter fans are actually awaiting the final installment of the Harry Potter series with bated breath. How has Harry stayed on the minds of readers? Many publishing analysts have pointed out that Harry Potter has become a marketing phenomenon not only because the books are very entertaining; they also represent, with a few glitches here and there, some of the best product roll-outs in recent history.
For the most part, the marketing of the Harry Potter books and movies have been nearly flawless. One of the few glitches came a week before the highly anticipated release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. A supermarket in Canada accidentally sold 14 copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a few days before it was to be officially released. This caused a clamor in the publishing world. The publishers of the Harry Potter books are well known for carefully protecting all of the new plots and storylines of upcoming releases. The publishers quickly put forth a court order to protect the contents of the new book.
Few were surprised by the uproar surrounding the accidental early release of the new Harry Potter book (although some have questioned whether the early release was truly accidental, or if the store purposely sold the books before the official release date), but not many would have predicted the success of the series based on the first release. The first Harry Potter book—titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the United Kingdom—was a relatively obscure release when the Bloomsbury publishers released the first volume in 1997. Even before the possibly accidental release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, rumors had been circulating that Dumbledore would be dying the penultimate volume to the series. This is an example of the excitement and eagerness with which fans await the latest Harry Potter release to come along.
For the most part however, Bloomsbury has succeeded in keeping all the plot details of the upcoming Harry Potter release a secret. This sense of secrecy and expectation is part of what makes the Harry Potter marketing phenomenon so successful. It appears that by keeping hush-hush about the book, the publishers have succeeded in fanning the flames of anticipation. For all of this, the Harry Potter books appear to be a marketer’s dream come true. The book has achieved a level of global popularity that has never been seen before. It is estimated that the Harry Potter brand is worth well over one billion dollars, with over 260 million books sold in almost as many (200) countries. And then of course there is the popular film franchise backing the book series. The two appear to be mutually promoting each other, and even with the end of the book series in the horizon, critics and readers alike contend that Harry Potter will continue to live with us for years to come.
Another important face of the Harry Potter series is that it appeals strongly to both children and adults. This also makes the series a marketer’s dream come true. To accommodate both sets of readers, the Harry Potter books have even been printed in many different editions, with different cover art for children’s and adult editions.Â
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