A Review: The Magical Harry Potter Marketing Strategy

There is real magic in the Harry Potter marketing strategies. The Harry Potter franchise has captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world, and its marketing strategy has played a major role in its success. From the release of the first book in 1997 to the premiere of the final film in 2011, the franchise has consistently used innovative and effective marketing techniques to keep fans engaged and excited about the series. Let’s review all the main points that make it such a success:

1. A good product well-publicized

Marketing strategies can only go so far for a bad product. For a good product, it not only enhances its efforts but creates a snowball effect, word of mouth, etc. The Harry Potter series was simple to read and had a great storyline and plot. It had such an intricate world developed in such a way that kept its public clung to it and wanting more.

We need to create our products the same. It’s not that we all need to create the same type of thing that J.K. Rowling did, but the attention to detail in her product, is one we could all appreciate, and that goes for creating any type of product, that is made with attention to detail to make it the absolute best it can be. So this is what we should strive for.

(If only marketing was as easy as this?)

2. Find the right market in the beginning, and persevere. In the future, you will be glad you did.

When J.K. Rowling started marketing her first book in the UK, it was not as successful and she had a rough go at getting it published, to begin with, namely by 12 different UK publishers. Later, it was picked up by the US market. Once it started selling globally, word-of-mouth marketing had taken over like wildfire from traditional advertising to promote the first book of the Harry Potter series.

J.K. Rowling had to go through all that to then get her book off the ground, then the rest was history. It wasn’t an overnight success, but more a triumphant effort of perseveration, another keynote to this story.

3. The personal connection with your public

A product, business, or brand cannot make the statuses that Harry Potter did without the personal connection it had with its public. Maybe the kids identified with Harry Potter a little more than with goldilocks. Maybe they loved how Harry Potter took them to the secret society of the wizarding world. Altering the reality of right now and making us think what if? Maybe it was all of it? Doesn’t that sound like a good personal connection? Another thing we need to think with on our products. Can people relate to them and want to use them in their life, for longer than just a few days? Or is it just a passing moment in time that will be forgotten about and thrown away?

This is also why branding is important, you want to get your public to constantly be brought back to your product. And if it’s a good product that is remembered, then you win and they win.

4. Word-of-Mouth

As a lot of Harry Potter’s fame was generated with word-of-mouth, you could probably ask anyone and they’d tell you where they heard of Harry Potter first and it’d be a family member or friend. This goes back to the earlier points above, of having a good enough product, making a connection with the public/consumer, and finding the right market. Those alone should generate word-of-mouth, as well as conversely is true as well, if they are done badly, they will do the opposite when the product is bad.

The other matter of word-of-mouth is things such as the Internet being used as a catalyst to build it. In this day and age, things and songs go viral on TikTok and become extremely successful through that kind of word-of-mouth. Instagram’s influencers describe a product that helped them in a big way, etc. all those things boost a good product and will build its momentum.

(the world was captivated by the final book release in 2007)

5. Continual Teasing & Marketing

By leaving your public/consumers wanting more, each Harry Potter marketing strategy tactic implemented to promote that brand (directly or indirectly) can build upon the one before it until the anticipation and buzz reach a fever pitch. The team behind the marketing success of Harry Potter got better and better at teasing and pushing their message across for the next product.

TV shows such as Stranger Things are another great example of a company that uses teasing in all kinds of media and marketing, but even down to the show itself, or any great tv show, the ending of each episode leaves you in such a state of a cliffhanging situation, that you have to watch the next thing to figure out what is going on.

6. Keeping things consistent with your brand

Once the earlier steps are done with your brand, you will need to get to the point of maintaining it to keep things going the way it’s going for momentum to build. You don’t want to do anything that goes against your loyalty to your brand. You have to meet your public/consumer expectations in every branded interaction or they’ll be confused and turn away from your brand in search of one that does consistently meet their expectations.

When J.K. Rowling was given opportunities to extend the Harry Potter brand, she said no to merchandise pitches and famously refused to allow Harry Potter to appear on a McDonald’s Happy Meal.

This Harry Potter marketing strategy has continued to deliver its routinely good products and grew a beautiful brand loyalty which allowed it to grow into what it is today. You need to use the same consistency and keep it pure to your market to ensure your brand promise doesn’t waver in the publics’/consumers’ minds.

7. Immersive Exerriences

Another important Harry Potter marketing strategy is the emphasis on immersive experiences. The Harry Potter franchise has consistently created opportunities for fans to immerse themselves in the world of Hogwarts, from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Hollywood and Flordia to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. And more recently an explosively popular and immersive video game: Hogwarts Legacy. These experiences allow fans to feel like they are part of the story, and they also serve as a powerful form of advertising for the series.

(We Hope You Catch The Golden Snitch of Marketing Strategies)

Conclusion

Harry Potter is an excellent example of marketing and branding: building a robust brand, surrounded around amazing products. When you have a great product, build an emotional connection with it, and promote it well, things can make it to the next level. When the consumers who experience a brand, make it their own, develop emotional involvement with it, become loyal to it, and advocate it they are actually responsible for the success or failure of a brand. Let them experience your brand, make your products good, and you’ll open the doors to the potential success known to lead brands like Harry Potter, Apple, Nike, and more.

I hope you enjoyed this blog, please let me know in the comments below if you have any questions and if this helped you at all in your marketing efforts, feel free to check out my other blogs, thank you!