The Harry Potter books are the biggest sellers of all time, making J. K. Rowling the highest earning author in literary history. The story of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Scholastic has created a publishing legend and an iconic brand.
Why did Harry Potter become so successful? What is the appeal? What are the distinct features of Harry Potter that make up the brand? Why did customers queue at midnight to buy the books? In this new book, Susan Gunelius analyzes every aspect of the brand phenomenon that is Harry Potter. Delving into price wars, secret locations for stock, box office revenues, merchandising, the social web, word-of-mouth and perpetual marketing, brand values, and the forthcoming Harry Potter theme park, this is not just the story of the most incredible brand success there has ever been but also an investigation of whether or not the unprecedented success of Harry Potter can be duplicated.
Introduction The Making of a Global Literary Phenomenon
Ch. 1 The Book that Lived 1
Ch. 2 The Value of a Good Product: Setting the Stage for Marketing and Promotion 11
Ch. 3 The Buzz Begins 23
Ch. 4 Harry Potter as a Powerful Product and Brand: An Education in Marketing and Promotion 36
Ch. 5 Harry Potter's Influence on Print Publishing 50
Ch. 6 Harry Potter's Influence on Movies and Television 62
Ch. 7 Harry Potter's Influence on Retail 74
Ch. 8 Harry Potter's Influence on Merchandising 86
Ch. 9 Harry Potter's Influence Online 97
Ch. 10 Harry Potter Becomes a Theme Park 107
Ch. 11 Harry Potter's Global Business and Personal Impact 117
Ch. 12 Predecessors to Harry Potter's Success: Who Else has Gotten it Right or Wrong? 126
Ch. 13 What is Next for Harry Potter and the World Affected by the Boy Who Lived? 144
Ch. 14 Conclusion: Recreating a Literary Phenomenon 161
Bibliography 164